What are some good marketing tips?

Is your ebook enrolled in KDP select?  Have you tried running a free promotion yet?  Free promos are a good way to get exposure to start off with.

CabanaBooks.com said:

Is your ebook enrolled in KDP select? Have you tried running a free promotion yet? Free promos are a good way to get exposure to start off with.

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The problem is, I'm with a pod self publishing company. So unfortunately I can't do those things. Wish I could...

If you can, I'd suggest getting out of your agreement with Infinity (not recommended on P&E) and take back control of your book.

Rework the cover?  I can't read any of the text.  Do you have an end page for your book?  I'm talking about a thank you page that has links to your own web page or where people can sign up for your mailing list or sample other works you have available.

Monique said:

If you can, I'd suggest getting out of your agreement with Infinity (not recommended on P&E) and take back control of your book.

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What's P&E? I went with them because I like their services. I didn't like the way my book looked on the Kindle, and I couldn't figure out the formatting. Plus I wanted to have my book in print. I know create space is available but again I looked into that and didn't like it.

SBJones said:

Rework the cover? I can't read any of the text. Do you have an end page for your book? I'm talking about a thank you page that has links to your own web page or where people can sign up for your mailing list or sample other works you have available.

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Well this is my first and only book at the moment. I'm writing the second book of the series now and plan to have it on the Kindle by summer time. The cover is being worked on now. I want the words to look bigger and to have a border around them so that the title and author name will be easier to read.

elake28 said:

What's P&E? I went with them because I like their services. I didn't like the way my book looked on the Kindle, and I couldn't figure out the formatting. Plus I wanted to have my book in print. I know create space is available but again I looked into that and didn't like it.

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They have an "F" from the BBB.

http://www.bbb.org/washington-dc-eastern-pa/business-reviews/vanity-publishers/infinity-publishing-in-conshohocken-pa-80019395/

P&E is Preditors & Editors.

http://pred-ed.com/pebi.htm

Mathew Reuther said:

They have an "F" from the BBB.

http://www.bbb.org/washington-dc-eastern-pa/business-reviews/vanity-publishers/infinity-publishing-in-conshohocken-pa-80019395/

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Well they were also rated high in Mark Levine's "The Fine Print of Self Publishing"

So I guess it depends on who you ask. I haven't experienced any major problems with them. A few things here and there but nothing to warrant bad business. I would like to be able to give away some copies of my eBook but they don't allow that. Still, I feel like I'm just not finding my readers. I know there's an audience for my book. It has all the ingredients of a traditional superhero tale. And who doesn't love a good superhero story.

Join the www.goodreads.com community, be active in the groups. There are nine million (or is it thirteen million now?) avid readers on there.

Contact review websites for your genre. Offer them a free copy.

elake28 said:

Well they were also rated high in Mark Levine's "The Fine Print of Self Publishing"

So I guess it depends on who you ask. I haven't experienced any major problems with them. A few things here and there but nothing to warrant bad business. I would like to be able to give away some copies of my eBook but they don't allow that. Still, I feel like I'm just not finding my readers. I know there's an audience for my book. It has all the ingredients of a traditional superhero tale. And who doesn't love a good superhero.

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You cover doesn't say superhero to me. It says "weepy girl" . . . so if you've got a superhero story, you've got the wrong cover. Good covers are good marketing. They don't have to spell a story out, of course. But it's interesting that you describe the story in a way that I didn't get at all from the cover.

NatashaHolme said:

Join the www.goodreads.com community, be active in the groups. There are nine million (or is it thirteen million now?) avid readers on there.

Contact review websites for your genre. Offer them a free copy.

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I agree with this. Get on Goodreads, join some groups, do a give-away, make some friends, etc.

Also networking at sites where people who like your sort of book would hang out may help you find some new eyeballs.

Mathew Reuther said:

You cover doesn't say superhero to me. It says "weepy girl" . . . so if you've got a superhero story, you've got the wrong cover. Good covers are good marketing. They don't have to spell a story out, of course. But it's interesting that you describe the story in a way that I didn't get at all from the cover.

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Well you have to understand what I'm doing here. As you probably have guessed, the woman holding Banjie is his mother. This image is significant because Ruth (Banjie's mom) gives him his humanity. Without her, his life would have gone down a different path, a darker path. So I chose this as the cover to show the importance of their mother son relationship.

Think of that classic comic book image of Bruce Wayne making the vow to his parents. Or the image of Bruce sitting beside his parents after they were killed. Those moments are so significant because that's when he became Batman.

Ruth could have looked at Banjie differently after the mutation. But she didn't. She loved him just the same. That's what gives him his true strength. Ruth raising him to be a good man, and not abandoning him (like Heath's mother, Banjie's arch enemy, did to him).

And I am sure that all makes sense to you.

My point is that it's not making sense to someone who doesn't know your book, that's all.

You can take it or leave it, but the observation stands: the cover isn't super-heroish.

Mathew Reuther said:

And I am sure that all makes sense to you.

My point is that it's not making sense to someone who doesn't know your book, that's all.

You can take it or leave it, but the observation stands: the cover isn't super-heroish.

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I hear you. Hope I didn't sound like I was ignoring your feedback or anything. Thanks for taking the time to lend some helpful advice.

Actually, that's why I hired a comic book artist. I wanted the book to apeal to comic book readers, too. I was hoping that the comic book art alone would give a hint that this was a superhero tale.

But as you said. Reworking the cover would help it standout.

Comic books aren't all about super heroes though. So while the art's genre might be comic book, the implied subject matter isn't perfect.

I don't hate the cover, mind you. (I do find it a bit off center.)

I simply don't think super hero when I see it.

The other suggestions in the thread are good though.

The one other thing I'd add?

Keep writing. Books sell books.

Yes, content is king my friend. And who knows. Maybe the second book will open the flood gates for the first book.

Mathew Reuther said:

And I am sure that all makes sense to you.

My point is that it's not making sense to someone who doesn't know your book, that's all.

You can take it or leave it, but the observation stands: the cover isn't super-heroish.

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I agree. That cover needs some work - especially the text. When viewed as a thumbnail it's really easy to not even see your name and the title is almost unreadable. All I can make out is "Beast" although it could also be mistaken for "Feast."

Robert Brumm said:

I agree. That cover needs some work - especially the text. When viewed as a thumbnail it's really easy to not even see your name and the title is almost unreadable. All I can make out is "Beast" although it could also be mistaken for "Feast."

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I've asked a lot of people about this. Everyone is saying the same thing about the text. So that has to change for sure. But as far as young Ruth and baby Banjie go, I think adding to the image would help. Something in the background. Something that would give readers a better idea of the story. I'm thinking of making the image of them smaller, and adding an image of adult Banjie in the background. Or maybe even a shadow of him all grown-up.