Cover Reveal - Tips & Tricks

A cover reveal is a great way to spark interest in your upcoming book.  Before the release of ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW, I had hosted a few on my blog (and I still host them).  It seems that everyone does them differently and I have yet to hear of one not being successful.  These are my tips and tricks; feel free to let me know about your experiences, and what has worked or not worked for you.

For newbie authors or bloggers, a cover reveal is where the author shares the cover of the upcoming book on social media.  It sparks interest in the book, and if the text has the option for preorder, people can buy it early.

If you have any tips or tricks of your own, let me know!
 
1. Choose a day for the cover reveal.  Don’t post the image before that date, but build up to it.  “Can’t wait for the second book in the TREASURE CHRONICLES?  View the awesome cover on August 22!”  I have planned my cover reveals for six weeks prior to the release to start the excitement, but I know some authors wait until the week before.  If your book is available for preorder two weeks prior to the release, that would be a great date to use for the cover reveal.

2. Have your book on GoodReads.  Even if people can’t preorder your book yet, they can mark it as “to read.” 

3. Contact bloggers.  Many bloggers will host cover reveals.  A great way to find a willing blogger is to browse different book blogs and contact the owners if you see they have hosted something similar.  You could also reach out to authors for a list of recommended bloggers.

4. Create a cover reveal blog post.  Share this blog post with the willing bloggers – AFTER they have agreed.  Never email them the material without asking first.  The blog post should:
    a. Be one document.  Many authors make this document in HTML (you can do this through various websites) or stick with Word.  The blogger should copy and paste exactly what you have.  Sometimes, depending on the blog’s format, the blogger may take some liberties while still staying true to your words.
    b. Explain the synopsis.  Tell the readers what the book is about.
    c. Include the cover image.  Duh.  That’s the point of the cover reveal!
    d. Give a catchy tidbit.  You want the blog post to stand out.  In the past, I’ve included one of the following:
              i. Author Interview
              ii. Book exceprt
              iii. Character quiz
              iv. Interview with a character
              v. Personal story relating to the novel.
     e. Give a short bio about you.  Include a picture.  List any other publications you have.  If you’ve written other books, include hyperlinks to a purchase site.
     f. Offer a contest.  I use Rafflecopter to manage all of my contests.  You can offer a copy of your book for when it comes out (this might backfire, as then readers will wait to see if they win and they won’t preorder/purchase), jewelry, book swag, or one of your previous books.  That option works great if you’re doing a cover reveal for a series.  I let my contests run for 30 days, allowing people plenty of time to enter.  

Facebook Release Party - Tips and Tricks

I admit it wholeheartedly. When I always dreamed of being an author, I imagined writing the book, having a publisher accept it, and then people clamoring to buy it. Okay, so my dream is partly true. There are just a few added factors, one of them being the marketing aspect. There are so many books out there. You have to slap your book in front of consumers before they know they want to clamor to read it.

A great tool for that is a Facebook Release Party. I hadn’t known about these until I received invites from other authors at my publishing house. A Facebook Release Party involves the author creating an invite on Facebook for a certain day. People join in the event online where they get to learn about the book. The host of this Release Party wants to make it as exciting as possible. Now, I’ve been to a lot and I’ve hosted two (as well as co-hosted a third), but I am by no means an expert. If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them here in the Comments section. These are just the tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way.

1. You can pay someone to host it for you! I received an offer from one “host” and a fellow author recommended another “host.” Ultimately, I did it myself because both “hosts” cost money I didn’t have. They weren’t too pricey (around $50) and I’m sure they both do great work (I’ve been to a few awesome Release Parties hosted by one of them), but with all the other book expenses, I couldn’t manage it.

2. Set the date for at least a week out. My first Release Party happened on Release Day. It was fun, but people couldn’t buy my book. It hadn’t shown up in the systems yet, think Amazon and Barnes & Noble. My second Release Party occurred a week after when the ebook and paperback were available. People bought them during the party while it was fresh in their mind. Woohoo!

3. Create the event at least a month in advance. You want to give people time to see the invite and accept it. You also want to be considerate of schedules. Everyone is busy, so the sooner he or she can make plans to attend, the smoother it is.

4. Include an Invite Contest. As soon as you create the event, “pin” a post stating that you want people to leave the name of whoever invited them. The winner will receive a prize (I gave away a paperback copy of my book). Over 2,000 people joined my latest release party thanks to this feature. Participants were inviting their friends like crazy so they could win. I made great connections from getting to know so many strangers.

5. Create a catchy event picture. My publisher made the image for mine, as Photoshop is not my forte, but you could play around with different layouts or just use the cover of your book.

6. Include book contests. People love the chance to win a prize, and as this is a book Release Party, give away books. They can be copies of your own book, but that could backfire – people might wait to win it and not buy it – so ask your author friends if they would like to donate a copy. For my Release Parties, my author friends donated ebooks. This is a great way to spark interest in your event and award the gifter with a fresh reader. For the contest wording, I will say something along the lines of, “Win a copy of XYZ by Awesome Author. Just leave a comment about…” Then I will pick a topic based on the genre of my book. For my steampunk novel, I did: “Leave a comment with a picture of your favorite steampunk-inspired corset.” Sometimes the author will want to pick the winner from the list of commenters and other times I have used a “random pick” online tool to choose.

7. Include contests. While it is great to give away books, you could also give away bookmarks, jewelry, magnets, keychains… Try to keep the items related to your book. For example, I gave away a keychains shaped like my book for my first release party.

8. Choose winners the following day. During my first Release Party, I chose winners at the end. For the second one, I waited until the following day. I noticed that people kept commenting and continuing discussions up until the winner was announced, so by drawing it out, it gave more people time to enter and kept them active.

9. Include games. Keep your games geared toward the genre of your book. Games can include:

a. Picture. Post random pictures related to your genre to get the readers excited about fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, etc.

b. Caption. Post a picture and ask participants to leave their idea of an appropriate caption.

c. Recipe. Ask participants to post their favorite recipes. If, for example, your book is about Halloween, they could post Halloween-related recipes.

d. Crafts. Ask participants to post crafts related to your genre.

10. Invite guest authors to talk. Participants will get to learn more about their books – and authors love talking about their books – while being active on your Release Party. You can assign the guest authors a slot, such as 8-8:30pm, and they can advertise that on social media. “Come chat with me during the XYZ Release Party.” Their fans will join your event and discover your book, something they might not have found out about otherwise.

11. Share links to your accounts. A website, Twitter, author page, GoodReads…whatever it is, share the link to it to garner more followers.

12. Share cute writing experiences. Perhaps you wrote your book entirely on the train. Maybe you gained inspiration from your grandfather’s childhood. Share the cute stories so that participants will feel closer to you and the book.

I have heard that some people host Release Parties with fellow authors if release dates are similar. This helps to boost the amount of participants and makes it easier on the host – you aren’t posting something continuously, so you have more time to chat. I have also heard that authors host “1 Year Anniversary” parties or “New Cover” parties in similar formats to what I’ve described above. These seem like great ways to spread the word about your book while making connections with readers. If people have already read the book, they might jump in to support you or to ask you specific questions.

Good luck – and make sure to invite me to yours!

 

EASTER STORIES

I received a copy of EASTER STORIES: CLASSIC TALES FOR THE HOLY SEASON from Plough in exchange for an honest review.  This is a collection of short stories, with authors such as C. S. Lewis and Leo Tolstoy, dedicated to the Easter season.  I was thrilled to receive it in the mail, for I love anthologies and some of these authors are my favorites.  This also introduced me to a few authors I hadn’t been familiar with.

This is an anthology appropriate for the entire family, so it makes excellent read-aloud material.  The stories are also great for self-reflection or relaxation, so they can be read alone.  I’m passing this on to my mother now that I’m done.

These are definitely quick reads.  I got through it in a weekend.  The stories aren’t focused on the Easter bunny.  They get down to the true meaning of Easter.  It is perfect for this time of the year.  I highly recommend it!

LIFE THE FLAP BIBLE

I received a copy of LIFT THE FLAP BIBLE with text by Karen Williamson from Lion Hudson from Kregel in exchange for an honest review. It is part of the “Candle Tiny Tots” series.  The illustrations are by Louise Anglicas, and they are colorful and intriguing.  They appear to be different papers, with varying colors and patterns, pasted together to form images – but of course it looks better than what I just described!  The book includes eight Bible stories perfect for young readers.  The stories are just tidbits, but they will lead into longer discussions.  When young children hear more about those people, such as Daniel, they will be able to relate back to this book.

I will admit that some of the flaps were a bit weird.  The outside of the flap, facing the reader upon opening to that page, revealed an animal, for example, and when you lifted the flap, it was the same animal, but slightly different.  One flap involved a bird, and the inside showed the bird lifting its wings.  While all the flaps were cute, for some of them I was expecting something a bit more.

The book is designed for children ten months and older.  I am going to pass it on to a friend who has a young son and another on the way.  I hope that their family enjoys reading this aloud, as my family did when we received it.

The Babylon Contingency

I received a copy of THE BABYLON CONTINGENCY: ARCHEOLOGY AT ITS MOST DANGEROUS by Clifford Longley from Lion Fiction via Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review.  I was very excited for this book.  Basically, I love archeology.  I’m not an archeologist by any means, although one of my close friends is, but I’ve always been drawn into that world.  I want to discover the secrets of the past by studying how people lived.  I always feel as though some great path is going to open up that reveals a significant truth.  So, back to the book, I was thrilled to read it and dove right in.  The chapters moved along nicely.  The characters were strong and the setting easy to imagine.

It did, however, feel rushed in several places of the story.  Many of the things referenced to new to me – which might just mean that I lived a sheltered life – but I got to learn by studying them.  I love to learn. 

The coded disks are my part of the novel.  Overall, I recommend this to people who love politics and history.  I enjoy history, but not so much politics, so that’s why my rating is a bit lower.

Treasure Darkly

Beware a Treasure Darkly…

(The stunning cover art is thanks to Amalia Chitulescu)

Seventeen-year-old Clark Treasure assumes the drink he stole off the captain is absinthe…until the chemicals in the liquid give him the ability to awaken the dead. A great invention for creating perfect soldiers, yes, but Clark wants to live as a miner, not a slave to the army—or the deceased. On the run, Clark turns to his estranged tycoon father for help. The Treasures welcome Clark with open arms, so he jumps at the chance to help them protect their ranch against Senator Horan, a man who hates anyone more powerful than he.

And he is not alone. His new found sister, Amethyst, thinks that's rather dashing, until Horan kidnaps her, and all she gets is a bullet through her heart. When Clark brings her back to life, she realizes he's more than just street-smart - and he's not really a Treasure. Amethyst’s boring summer at home has turned into an adventure on the run, chock full of intrigue, danger, love, and a mysterious boy named Clark.

TREASURE DARKLY, book 1 of the Treasure Chronicles

The young adult novel is a dark mix of steampunk, the paranormal and romance in a “Wild West” setting. 

Below is an excerpt from TREASURE DARKLY.  You can read more on the Curiosity Quills Press website.

“Looks like he did drink it up.” The general client spoke from the right. “Must’ve interacted with all that bloody hertum. Look at ‘im, he’s bleeding already.”

“What’s it gonna do to him?” the guard from the morning asked.

“Lots of stuff.” The general laughed. “When he touches the dead, he’ll be able to bring them back, and exchange that life for another. Perfect soldier, huh? We only have one vial ready and I was going to give it to a lucky fellow. Guess it will be this boy.”

“Whatcha gonna do with him?” The guard snickered.

“Have to be a test subject,” the general said. “Sure thought it was that Judy who stole my bottle. Pity I killed her. She sure knew how to make my pecker sing.”

Judy.

Clark’s mother.

Clark bolted off the ground and ran. He could hide in the hole under the shed behind the brothel. Mable never found him under there. He might be cursed with raising the dead—he’d already done that to the poor mine worker—but it didn’t mean he’d let them take him for tests.

###

You can read more about Amethyst Treasure in GEARS OF BRASS, a steampunk anthology from Curiosity Quills Press available now from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Yes, this is my second full-length novel!  Want to know more about me?

Jordan Elizabeth, formally Jordan Elizabeth Mierek, is the author of ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW, available from Curiosity Quills Press.  Check out Jordan’s website, JordanElizabethMierek.com, for contests and book signing locales.  Jordan is represented by Belcastro Agency and she is president of the Utica Writers Club.

No blog tour is complete without a giveaway.   Enter below for a chance to win a paperback copy of GEARS OF BRASS.   

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Show your support of over 30 authors including USA Today bestsellers by voting in the first ever Book Trailer Love Fest. Watch the trailers, vote in the polls, and share the contest with your friends! The voting is live from February 15th to February 22nd. Winner will be selected on the February 23rd. This is a fun, free contest made to support all authors! So hop on over to booktrailerlovefest.com and get your vote on! Here is a list of authors participating in the contest:

USA TODAY Bestselling Authors:

DelSheree Gladden

Noree Cosper

Rainy Kaye

Angela Fristoe

Amazon Bestselling Authors:

Devorah Fox

Alesha Escobar

Emerald Barnes

Fiona Skye

Award Winning Authors:

J. Andersen

Also featuring these fabulous authors:

Charles Ray

Jennifer Fisch-Ferguson

Susan Laqueur

L. Bachman

J.R. Smith

Lindsey L. Loucks

Sessha Batto

Angelica Dawson

Yolanda Renee

Katherine Jean Pope

Jamie Marchant

Jennifer Chase

Everett Robert

Charity Tober

Tam Linsey

W K Pomeroy

Jordan Mierek

Elle Boca

Isabella Tredway

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