if your book is coming out from a traditional publisher, you don’t have any control over the cover. If you are using a small publisher, chances are excellent that you have at least some control over the cover. And when you publish a book yourself, you are in charge.

A compelling book cover is hugely important. The cover is the first thing people see. It sells the book. Of the 4 stages a book browser goes through as she dsecdes whether to buy, 2 are about the cover. I’ll say more about that in a bit. First, I want to share what happened with my first book that I co-authored with Bonnie Tesh.

When Dan Case of AWOC Books agreed to publish I’ll Push You Steer: THe Definitive Guide to Stumbling through Life with Blinders On,  at first, I wasn’t too  sure I liked the green cover. It quickly grew on me. but at first I wasn’t sure. Dan does wonderful artwork, and like any artist, art isn’t exactly reality. Bonnie hasn’t had blond hair for a while and my 60 lb guide dog doesn’t look like a schnauzer, even though she does on the cover. But the little gren book grew on me. Dan’s artwork perfectly represents the feeling of the book.

Bonnie and I talked to Dan about the idea for us in a fun looking car, and he created an awesome cover.

I’m working on 3 books right now.

• Ken McArthur‘s book The Story of Impact, sharing stories and strategies for touching millions of lives.
• The Peace Seed: Personal and Global Transformation through Storytelling, a Messenger MiniBook teaching you how to create peace through storytelling and story receiving.
• The Instant VIP: Insider Secrets to fame, Freedom and Fulfillment as an Expert AUTHORi, coming through AWOC Books, teaching how to write a book that explodes your business.

Right now I’m creating the cover for The Peace Seed. I have a designer who is part of the Messenger Collective who will do  the cover for me, and  it’s up to me to select the cover image.

The cover has a big job. The image, font and text on the cover need to capture your attention, demonstrate the value of the book, and cause you wo crave a copy of the book and order it.

The Cover and Emotion

The image is what will connect emotionally with the reader. I’ve looked at probably 1000 images for The Peace Seed. Naturally I know what I want the cover to convey. The reader does not, and it is the image that will either cause you to take a look or walk away.

If you are self publishing, the cover is essentially up to you, even if you have a designer.

Give me your opinion

It is a good idea to have people look at some images so you can be sure that what speaks to you will also speak to the ideal customer. I want you to help me select the cover image for The Peace Seed.

One person said he wanted to read the book first and then give an opinion. I I want the gut reaction. All you know is the title at this point. Yes I do have a video up with an excerpt but the point is you will respond to the pictures.

From the title, you know the book has something to do with peace and something to do with storytelling.

I selected 6 images that all would work and I’m letting YOU help me choose. Naturally, I’ve gotten responses all over the place. It’s great when someone lets me know (in the space provided in the survey) why they made the choice they made.

What I did to create the survey:

1. looked at bunches and bunshes of images and selected a few possibilities.
2. made a Word document with the selections and gave them a number.
3. made a PDF using a free program called PDF Printer.
4. uploaded the  PDF showing the 6 contendors to my blog. so you can access it.
5. Also turned the document into a jpeg image and uplaoded it.
6. Asking people for opinions as blog comments.
7. I sent the survey using email, Twitter, Facebook, SoKule and this blog to ask for your responses.

Bu the way…These are all free tools I used.

Want to play? –> Give me your opinion here.

How a Reader Makes  Book Buying Decision

#1 bestselling author Jason Oman first explained this to me, and it has really been an important understanding. Here are the 4 stages:

1. Front cover

• image grabs reader emotionally.
• title grabs attention.
• subtitle states benefit or promise.

2. Back Cover

• endorsements from industry leaders
• book description
• Author bio/picture

3. Table of contents

• benefit to reader
• solution to big problem or way to satiate big passion.

4. Look inside the book

• know, like & trust author
• conversational tone
• real solution

So you see why the cover is such a big deal. And it feels wonderful to hold your own book in your hands, even when it’s the “proof.”

Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian has a new book coming out called 47 Hearts. You don’t see h im in the photo that follows, but he is holding a proof copy of his upcoming book in his hands. That is an AMAZING feeling! He likens holding his book to holding his newborn baby.

I will review his book 47 Hearts in a few days, so please subscribe to RSS so you’ll be the first tocatch every post.

How to Write a Business-Boosting Book

Writing a book gives you instant credibility and instant VIP status. The Instant VIP system for writing a book walks you through a journey of writing your book in a profitable way. Check it out at InstantCredibilityBook.com

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