A Cookbook With A New Look

Sometimes we make mistakes.  It's a good thing that some mistakes can be corrected.
For example, the cover for Recipes To Die For: A Victoria Square Cookbook.  The picture I chose for the original cover.  It was ... okay.  The cover designer did a great job with my poor choice.  She added a little noose to my name, she made a nice "sign" for the cookbook, but for some reason the whole thing just didn't "sing" for me.  But, up it went.  Sales have been lackluster.

I've been thinking about changing the cover for a long time.  What held me back so long?  The box of bookmarks I had made up.  You see, I've only used about half of them.  But finally I decided--the heck with that.  I want my cookbook to find its way into the hearts and homes of my readers, so I started hunting for a new cover picture.

I don't have the resources of a big publishing company.  They have a marketing department.  There's just me.  I don't have a marketing degree.  I don't have years of experience when it comes to marketing a book.  But I do know when it's time to change a cover.  I spent a couple of days going through stock photo sites, trying different keywords, until I came upon one that seemed to work.  Next up, getting Mr. L to play with the concept.

My second choice of cover was a purple-blue close up of a silverware pattern.  Mr. L said right off the bat, "I don't think that's it."  But he was game to try.  He was right.  He liked my first choice, and I think it worked out well.

It's already up on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords, and should eventually filter through to the other e booksellers.  The new cover should be up for the print version in a couple of days.  (It takes longer to do than an E cover.)

So, what do you think?  Do you like it better than the original cover?  Would you be enticed to buy the book with its new cover?

Failure makes me even more determined

This is been a disappointing week.

FIrst of all, Wednesday was D-Day.  Would A Crafty Killing make it to the New York Times bestsellers list?  It had a hefty print run, I'd been busting my butt for TWENTY THREE MONTHS to get the word out to Lorna's readers that Lorna and Lorraine were the same author.  I sent out over 3,000 postcards, but obviously not to the people who buy from stores that report to the New York Times.

I feel like a complete and utter failure.

I've been on the Atkins diet for two weeks.  I lost two pounds the first week.  I GAINED a pound the second week.

I feel like a complete and utter failure.

I could just give up on trying to let my readers know that Lorna and Lorraine are the same person.

I could just give up and go back to my other eating habits.

Instead, I'm going to change tacks.

I'm going back on Weight Watchers.  It's the best diet/lifestyle plan there is.  I was too stressed to do it while I was waiting to find out about A Crafty Killing's sales status.  Well, that stress is gone. I hate the thought of counting points and keeping a food diary, but . . . I want to lose weight because A) I'm vain and B) I don't want to end up with diabetes like my Dad and die a horrible death twenty-thirty years down the road.

The next Victoria Square book isn't coming out for a year.  That gives me a lot of time to keep pushing the first one, trying to find Lorna's readers and let them know and . . . hoping for the best.

So, I'm picking myself up, dusting myself off and starting over again.

What else can I do?