Writers in the Storm

by Melinda VanLone

Book covers are a lot like fashion, except the expectations change over the course of years instead of seasons. Everyone’s seen the cover of their favorite book change over the years, whether it’s traditionally published or indie. You might even be thinking about how nice it would be to change your own book cover to something more exciting or more “now”, but something is holding you back.

If you spent a lot of money on your current cover, it’s hard to swallow that it might need updating.  After all, that’s even more money and time you’ll have to invest. But there’s a time and place for everything, which means there’s a time when changing your cover is the right move.

Some Reasons to Change Your Cover

1. Trends Change

As with most things in life, nothing lasts forever. That trend of only showing a bare-chested torso today could indicate that your book is out of touch with modern times tomorrow. It’s a smart business practice to keep up with the current trends and adjust when needed. Your book is a product, after all, and it needs the best packaging for the market.

2. Genres Change

New book genres and sub-genres crop up almost every week. When they do, they tend to come with new expectations for cover art. A steamy romance today, for instance, needs more flesh showing on the cover to indicate the heat level of the story. If you’ve written a book that has slipped into a new category…remember when New Adult wasn’t a thing?…you might need to change the art to reflect that in order to reach more readers.

3.   Authors Change…Their Minds

You’ve probably learned a lot since your first book cover was commissioned. The world is a very different place than it was a few months or years ago. What worked then maybe just doesn’t work now.

Perhaps It Is Timing

Analyzing the market, target readership expectations, and overall shelf life can provide compelling clues as to when it would be worth the plunge into new art. For example:

1. Sales have fallen off the charts

Whatever your high point was on sales, if they’ve taken a nosedive even with pumped up ad spends and good click-through rates, along with other marketing efforts, the first thing to tinker with is the cover art. Often that one change can bring readers back.

2. Plans Have Changed

If you started out thinking you were writing a stand-alone, but then it turned into a trilogy…which kept going…your series and brand might need a refresh to bring cohesion. Readers love to know that books in a series belong together and the easiest way to show them that is with the cover art. So if the brand is looking scattered or dated, a refresh can breathe new life and bring new readers to your backlist.

3. The Brand Feels Dated

When I first launched my House of Xannon series, I studied the market and current trends and positioned the book within the New Adult category. Back then it was a new niche, barely defined, and had little expectations. Trying to bridge the gap between Young Adult and plain old Adult wasn’t easy for the art world.

Back then, it was fairly common in New Adult Fantasy to see magical symbols as the main focus, and no actual people. A lot of big names were taking this approach, so I did too.

But here we are years later and now that cover feels out of date, stiff, I hate the font, and it doesn’t attract the reader I’m seeking. It was time for a change, so recently I took the plunge and re-branded all five of the Xannon covers to update them to the current genre expectations. The new look attracted more readers and made my ad spends more effective.

If you are traditionally published, getting the cover art changed might not be something you can control. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask about it, and point out the reasons why you think a change would help market the book better. If you’re an indie author, then the decision is all yours. One of the things I love most about being indie is the ability to pivot. Indie authors can be nimble and flexible when something isn’t working.

While it costs money and time to re-do a cover, in the end, it might result in new readers and more sales...and how could that not be worth the effort?

Do you have book covers you need or want to update? What are some covers you've seen that you love? Melinda is open for questions down in the comments!

About Melinda

Melinda VanLone writes urban fantasy, freelances as a graphic designer, and dabbles in photography. She currently lives in Florida with her husband and furbabies.

When she's not playing with her imaginary friends, you can find Melinda playing World of Warcraft, wandering aimlessly through the streets taking photos, or hovered over coffee in Starbucks.

Her elementary fantasy series, House of Xannon, begins with Stronger Than Magic. For more information on covers, visit BookCoverCorner.com.

by Jenny Hansen

It's been a while since I posted a "Top Writing Success Tips" post here at WITS. Previously I've offered tips from the likes of Neil Gaiman, Stephen King and Maya Angelou. Since I don't think any of us can ever have too much writing wisdom, I've gathered a few stellar tips from a writer I respect a hell of a lot -- Nora Roberts.

Even if you don't read romance, mysteries, or YA (she writes all three), she has tons of wisdom to offer. She is an "Every Damn Day" writer who has earned her place on the bestseller charts with a diligent work ethic that boggles the mind.

Nora Roberts' Top Bits of Writing Wisdom

In an article last spring, titled Here's How I Work, La Nora distilled her writing advice down to these three things (language alert):

Stop making excuses and write.
Stop whining and write.
Stop fucking around and write.

She ended this section with: "I take my own advice." Here are some of my thoughts on her advice.

1. Stop Making Excuses

I am the champ at excuses when it comes to writing, so believe me I am not pointing fingers here. I love that a New York Times bestselling author has such a refreshingly no-nonsense point of view.

We own this. Our writing, our dreams, our stories. We don't always own our time -- we have families and jobs and bills. But we can own our writing. We can give our writing dreams top billing.

Sometimes we simply aren't able to do as much as we'd like. We have kids and parents and jobs that need our focus. Heck, last year every bit of my life force was focused on surviving to this year's January 1. To put it in perspective -- as bad as this pandemic has sucked, it hasn't been as excruciatingly difficult for me as 2019.

This time last year, I told my BFF: "Some years you are the dog, and some years you are the fire hydrant." (Whichever one you are right now, it passes. I promise.)

Last year I didn't write much, by choice. I couldn't bear for the most joyful thing in my life to be tainted by drudgery and depression. This year, my energy (and therefore my writing desire) is back, and I've eased back into the joyful end of the writing pool.

Whether you are the dog or the fire hydrant, whether you are writing scads of pages or none...our writing is a gift and a choice. Own it. Do as much as you are able, without excuses.

2. Stop whining and write.

Nora Roberts works for 6-8 hours on the writing and works out for 90 minutes every day. Although she's more disciplined than the half the writers I meet, there's a lot to be said for routine. Routine can pull a writer through some hard times. Nora prizes her routine but she also credits the Catholic nuns she was schooled by - she says they taught her to just put her head down and do the work.

Our own Laura Drake is similar. Up at the butt-crack of dawn to write, a few hours on Facebook, more time for the online classes she teaches, time with her hubby and early to bed to do it all again.

Setting a routine, and putting your head down to do the work, is a winning combination to finishing books. It also gets you past the scenes when the writing is hard (aka when you want to whine).

As you might know from reading my Bikini Wax Theory of Writing, writing is not always a Disney frolic through the pages for me. I tend to write humorous books with really tough story themes. Tough themes equal tough writing. But those are the stories that come to me, so those are the stories I write.

3. Stop effing around and write.

Many writers are easily distractable. *raises hand* They get caught up on social media, the internet, the laundry pile. There's a lot to be said for just getting your writing done and out of the way first thing in the day.

If your elusive quiet time doesn't happen until the end of the day, you might have to wait until then to get your writing done. I knew one writer who was a full-time newspaper reporter, who finished her entire first book at the lunch table in the courtyard outside her offices.

Let's revisit the "make a routine" advice up above. No matter what time of day your brain clicks into high gear, building a routine around that time. Steven Kotler calls this state "Flow" and defines it as an “optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best.”

Figure out your "flow" time, stop dinking around, and write. That linked Kotler article offers many examples of what "flow" looks like, and how to get that state of creativity.

Further Reading

Here are a few more posts I came across in my research:

• 27 Hard-Won Lessons about Writing from New York Times Bestselling Authors
• How Nora Roberts Taught Me To Be More Prolific
• Nora Roberts' Top 7 Tips for Writers and Authors

Which tip resonated with you? What no-nonsense tip keeps you going in your own writing life? Tell us all about it down in the comments!

*   *   *   *   *   *

About Jenny

By day, Jenny provides corporate communications and LinkedIn advice for professional services firms. By night she writes humor, memoir, women’s fiction, and short stories. After 18 years as a corporate trainer, she’s delighted to sit down while she works.

When she’s not at her personal blog, More Cowbell, Jenny can be found on Facebook at JennyHansenAuthor or at Writers In The Storm.

by Eldred "Bob" Bird

In my last two posts here on WITS I talked in general terms about building your author platform, both online and offline. Today I’m going to dig a little deeper into building a long-term relationship with your readers. This is an important part of succeeding as a writer, but how do we accomplish the task? Like any other relationship it involves a little give and take.

How Does This Give and Take Work?

One key piece of information we ask potential readers to give is an email address. This allows us to keep them up to date on new releases, share our creative process with them via newsletters, and send the occasional promotional mailings. But what can we give them in return for this valuable piece of information?

Like many authors, I’ve been giving readers a free story download in exchange for signing up for my newsletter (I admit I stole this idea from the great James Scott Bell). You might think managing all those download requests will eat up most of your writing time, but the good news is the process can be automated.

I've included the steps below. This small bit of initial setup work will save you a lot time in the long run.

What You Need to Automate the Process

Before we get too deep in the process, you’re going to need to have a few things handy.

A Reader Reward

The first thing you need is something to give your readers. What would make them squeal with joy?  Okay, maybe not squeal but you get the idea. Do you have the first chapter of an upcoming book you want to promote?  How about a worksheet or tool you can share from a resource?  Do you have bios of your characters or an extra scene that may have been cut from your novel? 

I usually use stand-alone short stories for my giveaways. It’s a great way to give readers a taste of my voice as a writer. I also suggest saving the file in PDF format rather than EPUB or MOBI. PDF files are more universal and can be viewed on any device the reader may have handy.

A Place to Host Your File

Now that you have something to give to the readers, you’re going to need somewhere in the cloud to store it where it can be easily accessed and distributed. There are many cloud storage providers out there, but Google Docs is probably the simplest solution. I have a specific folder where I upload and store giveaway files. This helps keep things neat and tidy and makes getting the download links a snap.

A Way to Collect Addresses

You’re also going to need a way to collect and manage the email addresses you receive. You’ll also be using this same application to automate the delivery of your file. Two of the most popular solutions are Mailchimp and MailerLite. Both are free up to a certain number of subscribers, and both offer delivery automation. I’ve found MailerLite to be the most flexible and robust at the free level, and a good fit for most authors, but do your research and decide what works best for you as you scale up and move toward achieving you ultimate goal as a writer.

Putting it All Together

Okay, you’ve got your giveaway file uploaded to cloud storage and your mail management account is setup and ready to go. What next?

Create a Signup Form

The first thing you will need to do in your mail management account is create a signup form. Most sites have a wizard to accomplish this or predesigned templates you can customize. You need to decide what information you want from the subscriber and add fields for each piece. At a minimum, I would suggest first name, last name, and email address. You can add fields for a mailing address, but I would make those fields optional as they may scare some people off. What we really want is that email address.

Create a Confirmation Letter

Next, you need to create an email confirmation letter that will be sent to the subscriber when they enter their information and hit the button. Again, most services will provide a template, but take the time to customize the letter to your specific brand. By this time, you’ve probably developed a style you’ve applied to your website, social media headers, and communications. Make sure to carry that look over to your confirmation letter as well.

Create a Thank You Letter

Your Subscriber has confirmed their address, so now it’s time to deliver the goods! The thank you letter is where you’re going to give them the link to get their prize. Choose a template to customize and again, be consistent with you branding. Get a share link to the file from you cloud service—if you’re using Google Docs, right-click the file and copy the link—and create a button for the link. If you’ve created a cover image for the giveaway file, the thumbnail image makes a nice action button.

Putting Your Signup Button to Work

Now that we have all the pieces in place, it’s time to put them to work and that means asking for those email subscriptions. So, where do we do that?

Your Website

The most common place to put a signup button is on your website. MailChimp and MailerLite both provide plug-ins and copy-and-paste code for websites. These plug-ins allow you to imbed your forms right on your site, as well as customize how your it appears and acts. You can choose to have a static form or a pop-up, and where the form will appear, if you want a delay on the pop-up, etc…

Your Social Media

Don’t have a website? Don’t worry, you mail management provider will also give you a URL that links directly to you signup form hosted on their site. You can add this link to your social media profile pages, as well as your posts.

Your eBooks

Add a signup link to your “About the Author” page at the back of you eBooks. Put a button below your bio with your email and social media links. Don’t have an “About the Author” page in your books? You really should. It’s great opportunity to further connect with your readers. They’ve just finished you book and are probably looking for the next one to devour.

Some Final Thoughts

The fine details on how to accomplish the tasks above will vary depending on what service you elect to use, but the general idea is the same. For specifics on your chosen platforms, I suggest hitting YouTube and looking for the latest tutorials. Be sure to check the dates on the videos. Software interfaces and functions are always being updated (anyone who uses Wordpress can attest to this), so you want the latest information you can get your hands on.

Setting these automations up can feel a little technical, so take your time, be patient with yourself, and break it down into bite sized tasks. If I can do it, I know you can. The good new is that once you have it working, changing your giveaway file in the future is a snap.

What other methods have you used to get email signups? What worked for you? What didn’t work? Share your ideas in the comments below.

About Eldred

Eldred Bird writes contemporary fiction, short stories, and personal essays. He has spent a great deal of time exploring the deserts, forests, and deep canyons inside his home state of Arizona. His James McCarthy adventures, Killing Karma, Catching Karma, and Cold Karma (available for pre-order on Amazon), reflect this love of the Grand Canyon State even as his character solves mysteries amidst danger. Eldred explores the boundaries of short fiction in his stories, The Waking Room, Treble in Paradise: A Tale of Sax and Violins, and The Smell of Fear.

When he’s not writing, Eldred spends time cycling, hiking and juggling (yes, juggling…bowling balls and 21-inch knives). His passion for photography allows him to record his travels. He can be found on Twitter or Facebook, or at his website.