THE WEEKEND--NEED ADVICE!

Since I did absolutely nothing newsworthy this weekend, I'd like to ask for some advice from my readers.

I've asked for advice on this subject in the past, and I hate to beat a dead horse, but I would appreciate your honest opinion.

When I first published, I made the choice to go with illustrated covers. I love my book covers, I really do.

However, recently For Nick was placed on a Goodreads list entitled, "Favorite Children's Books."

Ugh. I had to message Goodreads and have it removed, letting them know that it was a contemporary romance novel.

AND I was recently rejected by Book Bub (an ebook advertising site) for I Have People. (They accepted Lancaster House) I Have People has 18 five-star and four four-star reviews on Amazon. And only one three-star review. I would venture to guess that the reason is the cover. It doesn't look like a contemporary romance novel.

These two experiences have made me wonder if I should rethink my covers. Do people glance at them and think they are children's books?

I don't want to change my covers. I love them. But I do wonder if sales would improve if I changed the covers. (sales are the best they've ever been right now--but they could also be a lot better!) Self-publishing is an uphill battle and in order to succeed, books need to have the right cover!

I'm 48,000 words in to my next novel, entitled, I'm With You. This image--taken from istock and unpurchased as of yet--goes perfectly with the novel, and with my other covers, and I love it. But, I'm hesitant and unsure which way to go. (It's also very similar to For Nick) A woman standing alone, holding balloons, is extremely significant to the novel. But without that knowledge, perhaps it just looks like a children's book.

I'm considering going with something like this:

Any advice?

Do you think I should leave my covers as they are, or go for a more traditional look?

Thank you for your help!

Old versus New

Old Cover

New Cover

As you can see the concept cover for Sierra didn’t change too much. It simply went from a real picture to an illustration. Since all of my other books covers are illustrations, I felt Sierra should be too. A cabin in the snowy mountains is THE cover for Sierra. No doubt about it. You’ll understand when you read it.

I’m getting ready to self-publish very soon. There’s been many a hiccup along the way. As a matter of fact, I feel as though I’ve had a bad case of the hiccups. For example, the first proof copy of Lancaster House—while an amazing moment—just wasn’t right. It was 6 X 9, white pages, and size 12 font on the inside. I didn’t know that it wouldn’t work till I received the proof copy—hence the reason why ordering that proof copy is so very important. Do not proof online and assume everything will be fine. Order the physical proof and hold it in your hands. I ended up changing my books to the 5 X 8 size with cream colored pages. I also changed the font to size 10. Now it looks like a novel and not a text book, manual, or self-help book. This change held things up and now my book will not be available as soon as I wanted it to be. But, if you’re going to self-publish, DO IT RIGHT. Don’t get in so much of a hurry that you don’t put the best product out there.

Hope this thought helps someone out there is who is self-publishing. If I’d known this beforehand, it would’ve saved so much time.

Sidenote: ai finale was last night. Phillip Phillips: You had me at VOLCANO.