I am relaunching ASTEROIDS with the subtitle “Bridge to Nowhere” and the new cover art shown above.
ASTEROIDS was originally published in April 2019 with the subtitle, “Escape from the Arcadians.” The book garnered good reviews and I invested in several advertising and promotional activities, but sales did not gain any traction.
For example, ads on Goodreads had over 45,000 views but attracted only 5 clicks after four months. Luckily, I paid only for the clicks. Many times, the advertisements feature the cover artwork and a few words. It’s unfortunate, but the old cliché; people judge a book by its cover, seems to be true.
I felt the cover and subtitle should be more mysterious. The old cover featured a guy on a motorcycle getting chased and subtitle, Escape from the Arcadians, told you all you needed to know. A guy gets chased and he escapes. No need to know more. No mystery or intrigue.
I tested the new artwork on Goodreads and received 5 clicks in a few days, so it seems this new cover art will get more attention.
Am I doing this just because I want more sale? Yes, of course! I spent five years working on this book. I can’t just give up. I know I shouldn’t expect too much from my first effort, but I want to give the book the best chance it has at success.
I also believe this is all part of my learning process. I am learning how to write novels and hopefully, how to market them.