Your Cover – Does It Sell Your Book? by Beverley Bateman

Thanks for being here today Beverley.

Your Cover – Does It Sell Your Book?

missing_cover200x300_2(And I love Cynthia’s covers, by the way.) A great cover is so important in
selling your book. How do you get the perfect one? I don’t think it makes a lot
of difference if you’re traditionally published or indie, it still comes down to
your dream cover for your book. With traditional you have input but often don’t
make the final decision. With indie you have the control, but still, how do you
design it or explain to a cover artist your vision for that cover? I try to
visualize my dream cover. If it’s a series I try to find something that can be
repeated on each cover, a series brand. In Missing it’s the background of the
ranch. In my Holly Devine series it’s the target through a gun sight. Then I
have to decide do I want people, object, animals and tone of the cover. What
will catch the reader’s eye? And if it’s an e-book it’s usually quite small so
it can’t be too busy. Writing a great book is the most important thing, but
getting a great cover comes in second.

Book: MISSING – A MAINSTREAM WESTERN ROMANCE

Blurb:
A small Montana town doctor, Luke Hawkins, gets a New York City doctor, Allie
Parsons, to assist in his clinic temporarily. She can’t believe how remote the
town is and wants to get back to city life. , but the townspeople and the sexy
doctor are getting to her. When his daughter is kidnapped, he has to save her,
and convince the woman he loves that she really is a small town doctor at heart.

Excerpt
Allie pushed open the door to the clinic and stepped into the small, crowded waiting room. The slight scent of antiseptic tickled her nose. She stopped.
Silence crept across the room. One by one, heads turned toward the door.

It might be the novelty of a stranger, but more likely it was the novelty of a stranger in fancy city clothes with a run in her stocking. She threaded her way through the patients to the reception counter. Patients watched her. A few of them put down the magazines they were thumbing through.

She’d bet a month’s salary those magazines were three or four years old. The furniture in the waiting room had seen better days, but it was serviceable.

The men and women stared at her, probably wondering who the heck she was. Several patients smiled at her. She managed to return the smiles. At least no one laughed.

A man stood behind the counter, tall, broad-shouldered, and maybe thirtyish He had curly dark hair, a strong, square chin and he caught her attention right away. His cobalt blue eyes, under long dark lashes, latched on to her as she walked toward him. Even partially covered by his lab coat, his muscled chest strained against the white t-shirt.

If he was the doctor he was definitely not the old geezer she’d expected.

A few feet from the counter, she stopped. His electric blue eyes locked on her. She couldn’t look away. Sensuality oozed across the space between them. Her breath hitched into an irregular rhythm, kicking her pulse up a notch.

“Good, you finally got here. I thought Jean would send someone a little faster.” His rich, smooth voice rolled over her. “Look, we’re backed up. Patients’ files are over there and the appointment book is on the desk. Check them in, pull their file, and put the file in the slot by the examining room door.”

“Excuse me?” She stared up at the man snapping orders at her. She’d run away from one tyrant and had no intention of putting up with another overbearing one, even if he was knock-down gorgeous. His firm abs, linebacker-type shoulders and muscular body did not compensate for his attitude.

Who did this jerk think he was?

Her back stiffened. She assumed he was the doctor, but his manners confused her. If staff and working partners were expected to put up with this, no wonder they hadn’t been able to find another doctor.

“You’re not going to make me repeat all that are you? I have a room full of patients. When I asked Jean to send a temp over from the hospital, I thought she’d send someone with training and at least a vague idea of what they were doing.” A sigh slipped through his lips and he rolled his eyes. The look he gave her placed her one step above an idiot.

He pointed to a huge pile of folders. “The patients’ files are…”

Allie pulled her shoulders back, raised her chin and tightened her lips together. “Excuse me. I believe you’ve made a mistake. First of all, I’m not stupid. Second, I’m not your damn temp. I’m a doctor, Alexandra Parsons, M.D. I understood you were expecting me.”

“You’re the new doc? Shoot. I didn’t expect you today.” The heart-stopping man stared down at her. His full lips drooped in apparent disappointment.

The disappointment could be her or the fact he still didn’t have a temp. She couldn’t tell.

“I arrived early, so I could acquaint myself with the town and find a place to live. I dropped by to introduce myself.”

He focused on her, drawing his eyebrows into a frown. “You’re the new physician? I should have known by that fancy outfit, it screams big city.”

“Sorry. I’ve just arrived and haven’t had time to get my jeans and plaid shirt yet. I’ll move that to the top of my list, so I’ll fit in.”

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but he controlled it, as he ran his fingers through the tangle of dark curls.

Buy links:
http://amzn.to/1mbfV6l
http://bit.ly/1tJsbEI
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/missing-67

Bev1._2Bio:
I’m a Canadian author and live in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, BC.
It’s beautiful country with lots of large lakes, beautiful beaches, orchards of
apples, pears, peaches plus raspberries, blueberries and lots of other fresh
produce. And of course, it’s wine country. We have world class wines which I
feel is my obligation to taste.

Social links
Facebook Authorpage – http://www.facebook.com/AuthorBeverleyBateman?ref=hl
Twitter @kelownawriter
Blog http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/okwriter
Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Beverley-Bateman/e/B008M01F5E
BLOG – http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/beverley.bateman.18
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7052567.Beverley_Bateman
Webpage http://www.beverleybateman.com

7 thoughts on “Your Cover – Does It Sell Your Book? by Beverley Bateman

  1. I agree with you completely Beverley, as a reader the cover is the first thing to draw my eye, especially true with a new to me author. As an author do you have any tips on what we should look for when planning our own covers? I know branding and keeping things clear and easy to read are important. What about font? Or name placement? I hear a variety of different things on this.

    • Good questions Jacquie. I think you’ve covered some of the points; if it’s a series the brand is important. For the Hawkins series I’ve stayed with the ran h in the backgrojndand a cowboy up front. For my Holly Devine xeries I used the primary theme (cruise) in the crsoss hairs of a rifle. Always remdmber if it’s an ebook it’s ususlly small so you want title and author name clear and easy to read – I stick to a basic font. Colors should hint at the tone of the book.

  2. Covers are strange things when it comes sales. People do judge a book by the cover. The worst thing anyone can do is have a bad cover! Unfortunately most people aren’t artists and don’t always know a good one from a bad one!
    🙁
    Cute excerpt! Love the line about the jeans and plaid shirt.

  3. First, thank you Cynthiz for having me. And second, I apologize for being so late in responding. I was traveling to a conference and then left @6:30 in the morning for a tour of Lackland Air Force base and Fort Sam Houston where combat medics train.
    That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

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