The indie-pub gurus all say that the cover of an ebook can make or break sales. I don’t know if they’re right or not, but I’m putting it to the test. Since I released Dragon Space: A Star Rigger Omnibus in mid-2011, sales have been slow. (Except during my holiday sale, when I dropped the price from $6.99 to $.99 for a week. That goosed things, but I couldn’t keep it at that price forever.) Dragon Space is a boxed set, or omnibus ebook, of two of my Star Rigger novels, Dragons in the Stars and Dragon Rigger. It includes the beautiful map of the dragon-realm-in-interstellar-space drawn for the original Tor paper edition of Dragon Rigger by Elissa Mitchell.
Now, I really liked the first cover I used; I worked closely with designer Pat Ryan (who is also writer Pat Ryan, and who has since stopped designing covers in order to focus on her writing). She gave me just what I asked for. Here’s the original cover:
But apparently it wasn’t what the public asked for. So here’s a new look, designed by Amanda Kelsey of Razzle Dazzle Design:
What do you think? Is it more of an eye-catcher?
By the way, if you already own Dragon Space and wish you had it with this new cover, feel free to save the image from here and swap it into the book with Calibre or another free program. Or, drop me a note and I’ll send you the updated book file. Or, you may be able to download it again from wherever you bought it.
Conversely, the same applies if you’re just buying the book now, but wish you had it with the earlier cover.
Judy Mintz
The new cover is great. I think it makes sense to have the book title get the prime real estate – for people who may just be discovering you. And this is a much more exciting cover. Without knowing anything about the book, it's more enticing. Can't wait to hear how it works for you.
Jeffrey A. Carver
Thanks, Judy. I went back and forth with the designer a lot on this one, too, and I'm quite pleased with the final results.