Comments on: More Things I Didn’t Know About Being A Writer

By: David E

David E — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:52:14 +0000

“Cover art matters more than you think.”

So true. Would any of us have heard of Conan if it weren’t for Frank Frazetta?

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:01:26 +0000

Nope, nothing like that here. The best that happens is, for example, what happened with The Lost Symbol – pre-order a copy & get entered into a competition. No wonder I saw a grand total of 6 pre-orders. To put the price of books here in perspective – lets say in dollars (don’t have a clue what the pound-equiv will be be) a paperback is $10 & and a hardback $20, we will pay around $320 for a hardback. I’m not talking about conversion here, just how much more a hardback is compared to a softcover. So the publishers have to try and sell expensive books so that they can keep going, and with a total of around 70000 people who read for pleasure, that’s a tall order. Unfortunately (taking into consideration the example in dollars I gave above), Nights is close to $400. No bookshop in SA would stock your book. In the States they pay around $10 more for a hardback (or something close), but we pay 2 or 3 hundred Rand more. So no, no 2 for 1 or 3 for 2 specials here.

By: What Newton Did Not Know About Being a Writer | Market My Novel

What Newton Did Not Know About Being a Writer | Market My Novel — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:13:55 +0000

[...] More Things I Didn’t Know About Being a Writer, Newton shares three more tips about spin, money and cover art. Be sure to check it [...]

By: Mark C Newton

Mark C Newton — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:17:14 +0000

Dave: if it doesn’t happen now, it might do in the future! Books in the UK are charged to go into promotions (3 for 2 offers etc.) Does this happen in SA? But yeah, you work in a store – you know how these things go at the front line. Not everyone is a hardcore fan; they like pretty pictures to guide them.

Gav: well I’m glad you gave me a good review! But yes, it’s difficult these days to keep that separation. I think what most people often forget is big picture stuff. Online, we’re not the usual book buyers. We’re a minority – we pay attention to all the details. Casual customers (the majority) don’t – they’re led by positioning of books, the prices, the cover art etc.

But yeah – cover art is similar a lot of the time, and for good reason. It works! It persuades people to try a similar kind of book, purely because it looks similar…

LKWAB: Yeah, it’s hard when you’re a fan, isn’t it? But then again, I think it’s okay in genre – because it’s a unique, fan-filled community. It’s the way it’s always been.

Absolutely! You have to be a dab hand at skimming walls as well.