Introduction
If you have any hope of your book achieving critical and financial success, you need to understand how your readers (your customers) view your book (your product) when they first see it (online or on a shelf). Once you fully understand how your readers will perceive your book when they first see it, you can adjust your book accordingly.
To accomplish this, you must separate yourself from your personal feelings about your book and think like the target buyer would. What would attract you to a book like yours? What would draw people in your audience to a book like yours? Would you, as a buyer, be more attracted to a pretty cover or the advertising notes on the cover? Would you buy a book based on its cover, or on the familiar names cited on the cover? Does the page count of the book seem too long or too short to adequately cover the topic? Does the subtitle seem to promise too much for such a topic? How do your book’s attributes compare to other books within its subject category?
Here’s a quick look at the first things readers notice when they first see your book:
1.Cover Art
Have the graphics, images, photographs, illustrations, colors, fonts, etc. appropriate is essential if you hope to catch the attention of book buyers. Books with great-looking covers almost always sell better on Amazon than those with dull, confusing, or unprofessional-looking covers. What should be on the cover of your book that will attract or attract a reader and a buyer? Are the graphics, colors, and fonts appropriate for the theme of the book? Make sure to design multiple covers. And don’t be afraid to hire professional help.
2. Title and subtitle
Your headline needs to attract your buyer as quickly as possible. Generally, you should let the reader know what your book is about in as few words as possible. You can give more specific details in the subtitle. This is where the author lets the buyer really know what the book is about. When deciding which book to buy, the buyer tends to give more importance to the subtitle than to the main title.
3. Author name
Well known big names will always get more attention. But there are several ways that lesser-known authors can catch the buyer’s eye. The new or lesser-known author can impress the consumer by putting the title of an earlier book he has written directly below his name on the cover. They could also draw attention to your business or personal website that the consumer can quickly search the Internet for. One of the best ways to draw attention to a lesser-known author is to get a much bigger or better-known name to write the foreword to the book. This person’s name will also appear on the cover, directly below the author’s name.
4. Cover Drafts
Blurbs, or short testimonials, are essential to book sales. And they are not hard to get. The best ones, and those of great authors and celebrities, should be on the cover, front and back. You should include all other banner ads you accumulate within your book, as well as on your book’s website. You should get them from a wide variety of sources, not just the big names.
5. The Prologue
The foreword is a discussion of why the reader should read your book. It is the place where a guest author shows the reader why he should read this book. If it is written correctly and by the right person for the job, the author of the book will gain a lot of credibility in the eyes of the reader.
6. The Preface
The preface is a discussion of how the book came to be. It is a place for the author of the book to tell the reader how this book was born and why. It will build credibility for the author and the book. More credibility will translate into more book sales. Here the author must explain why he wrote the book and how he came to write it. The author must show the reader why they are worth reading and buying.
7. The Introduction
The introduction is a discussion of the content of the book. Here the author sets the stage for the reader and prepares him for what to expect from reading the book. The introduction grabs the reader and intensifies the reader’s desire to know more and hopefully devour the entire book.
conclusion
The key to doing this successfully is to force yourself to look at the book as if you were a buyer and not the author. Be as objective as possible. Ask your family and friends for their advice without hesitation. Compare your book to others, especially those by successful authors and those published by major publishers. How does yours compare? What is your first impression of the other books? What is calling your attention? Spend an hour or two in a large bookstore walking around and perusing the books throughout the store. It’s not a difficult process, but you do need to spend quality time exploring.