As part of my publishing plan for this year, I’m going to be revisiting both my and Coscom Entertainment’s older titles and updating the covers of those I feel need a facelift. The first to undergo a change this year was my supernatural thriller, Undeniable.
The second was my love story, April, which I wrote under the pen name Peter Fox to set it apart from my usual superhero and monster stories. I released it in paperback and eBook way back in 2004.
April has been a strong seller on the Kindle for me over the past several months, with 101 sales in February at a $5.99 price point. I’m being transparent with the sales for this particular title because I want to see the impact a new cover has on an older book and, in general, the importance of a good cover. Now this is where you go, “Duh! An awesome cover will move copies way better than a bad one.” Sure, that’s what commonsense says, however, I’ve been around this business long enough to know that even books with terrible covers do quite well. Likewise, I’ve seen the same through personal experience. Hey, look at April‘s first cover below to see what I mean. Over a 100 sales on just one platform (never mind others) is nothing to sneeze at.
Check back weekly to see how April is doing compared to last month, and remember the only thing that’s changed is the cover.
My hope is also that my transperency for this experiment can help writers reading this blog. I’ll be doing another experiment later this month (hopefully) that some might find controversial, but it’s definitely worth documenting.
The old cover and new one for April are below, and beneath that is the book’s plot synopsis. If you like reading love stories by Nicholas Sparks, James Patterson or Erich Segal, then this book will be right up your alley.
Thanks.
Old APRIL Cover
New APRIL Cover
Synopsis:
Some moments come along and your world—your life—changes. Something shifts inside and everything’s the same yet somehow different. Sometimes someone comes into your life and helps you to breathe for the first time, to think with clarity and to give you truth and joy.
Often, we never see it coming. But it also happens when we need it the most and, usually, when we don’t realize we need it.
For Joseph Bailey, life has come to a standstill; existence, living, call it what you will, have stopped moving, stopped flowing, stopped growing. Those he knew while growing up seemed to have gone down the right path, creating a so-called normal life. He’s not sure if he followed.
Spending lonely nights writing comic book scripts and hazy afternoons watching cartoons brings him to his knees, and he needs something—maybe even someone—more. One Friday, while at a coffee shop working on a new comic script, Joseph is interrupted when a quirky girl with long black hair and smooth-as-marble gray eyes sits down across from him, seeking sanctuary from her controlling boyfriend, Dan.
Her name is April.
All seems under control even when Dan follows her in to the coffee shop, looking to patch things up. At least, that’s what was supposed to have happened. Once Dan leaves, Joseph figures his work is done and April will be on her way, never to be seen again. Instead, she stays, removes her sweater and orders an apple cider. Just then something slips inside Joseph, something good, right and pure.
Their weekend begins.
From a quiet night in an old railway car to seeking the undertones of humanity at the art gallery, to bringing to light the tender commonalities that we as humans share, April is a story of how a simple chance meeting can hold you and protect you, and give you what the human heart is continuously after—
Hope.
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19th Mar 13
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