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Post by Becca Mills on May 14, 2014 11:15:08 GMT -5
 Anyone else ever seen a 4.9 average across 92 reviews? I sure haven't! Oh, and he's No. 1 in the free store.  |
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Post by Suzy on May 14, 2014 11:38:20 GMT -5
woohoo! That's amazing!
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Post by shawninmon on May 14, 2014 12:57:05 GMT -5
Oh. Em. Gee.
"Shawn is easily embarrassed and prefers to hide under a rock in times like these."
Thank you, Becca. It was a crazy day yesterday.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2014 13:57:28 GMT -5
Dude, you rock!! Congrats!!
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Post by Alan Petersen on May 14, 2014 14:02:51 GMT -5
Wow, king of the hill, top of the heap! Congrats.
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Post by Becca Mills on May 14, 2014 14:46:59 GMT -5
Oh. Em. Gee. "Shawn is easily embarrassed and prefers to hide under a rock in times like these." Thank you, Becca. It was a crazy day yesterday. Rock disposal unit, reporting for duty.  |
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Post by shawninmon on May 14, 2014 15:52:56 GMT -5
I have to admit, it was kind of cool occupying the top slot... never been there before.
One other side note about this promo. I had done a .99 Bookbub ad for this book in November, and it really under-performed. It moved about 500 units, but it only recovered about one third of the cost of the Bub ad. I didn't think it was the Bub, so I looked at the book itself and decided that the cover/blurb weren't doing their new job. So, I worked with my cover designer over the next few months to create a new cover and slaved over a new blurb for weeks on end. Okay, maybe it just seemed that way because I hate writing blurbs so much.
Once I had that all in place, I reapplied to BB and this time it didn't underperform. Same book, different look, which reminded me to not give up on a book too easily.
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Post by Becca Mills on May 14, 2014 16:31:25 GMT -5
That's interesting and inspiring, Shawn. I remember the old cover. Do you by any chance happen to still have the old blurb on hand, so we could compare them?
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Post by shawninmon on May 14, 2014 18:19:41 GMT -5
That's interesting and inspiring, Shawn. I remember the old cover. Do you by any chance happen to still have the old blurb on hand, so we could compare them? Sadly, yes. Yes I do. I'll post it when I get home. This is the "Embarrass Shawn" thread, isn't it? |
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Post by Becca Mills on May 14, 2014 18:35:46 GMT -5
That's interesting and inspiring, Shawn. I remember the old cover. Do you by any chance happen to still have the old blurb on hand, so we could compare them? Sadly, yes. Yes I do. I'll post it when I get home. This is the "Embarrass Shawn" thread, isn't it? Why yes. Yes it is. |
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2014 19:14:00 GMT -5
Amazing. Congratz.  |
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Post by shawninmon on May 14, 2014 19:49:53 GMT -5
So, since Becca asked (and who can say no to Becca?) here's the original blurb for Both Sides Now:
"Just as she was flowering into her teens, life uprooted Dawn from the tanned crowds and sunny beaches of Southern California. It transplanted her into rainy, rural Washington, where she strove to adjust, mature and thrive.
Love came to Dawn--and was ripped from her by events and manipulations she could not control. But Dawn had a core of steel. An emotional castaway, she battled grimly through life's trials and sorrows, safeguarding her heart against further ravages.
Then love reached out to Dawn once more--if she could find the courage and spirit to grab it with both hands, and this time, never let go.
This is her story."
I had struggled with coming up with a halfway decent blurb for it for days, so I finally outsourced it and that's what they came up with. I never did like it (dislike it ever more now, looking back on it) but I thought maybe I just wasn't seeing it clearly.
Here's the new and (hopefully) improved blurb which I am currently using:
"Do you remember your first love?
When Dawn moved from Southern California to rainy, rural, Washington state in 1976, love took a backseat to worries about fitting in at her new school. Over time, her friendship with the boy next door grew until she realized she had found her first love without ever looking for it. Their sweet romance turned sour in 1979, and she said good-bye to that first love, apparently forever.
Twenty seven years later, a chance run-in led Dawn to question whether or not first love can really last and if she can find her own happily ever after. If you remember your first love, what it was like growing up in a small town where everyone knew your secrets, or the simpler times growing up in the seventies, you will find much to relate to in Both Sides Now.
Both Sides Now is a standalone true story that is a companion piece to the best-selling memoir Feels Like the First Time. They can be read separately or in any order."
I wrote that one. I still don't love it, but it captures the essence and style of the book much better than the initial blurb, I think.
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Post by Miss Terri Novelle on May 14, 2014 19:53:13 GMT -5
I grabbed my copy! Can't wait to dig into it. And, dude, you kicked ass!
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Post by shawninmon on May 14, 2014 21:07:56 GMT -5
Thank you, Laura. Because it had underperformed last time it was on the Bub, I had no expectations heading into yesterday. When it got 6,000 downloads the first hour after the ad hit, I knew we were gonna be okay.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2014 22:01:06 GMT -5
Shawn, the second blurb is so much better! Good work!
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Post by Rinelle Grey on May 14, 2014 22:03:15 GMT -5
Awesome, congratulations!
Writing blurbs is so hard! I do agree that your second one captures the essence of the story better than the first.
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Post by shawninmon on May 14, 2014 22:15:51 GMT -5
Thank you! I'm much happier with it.
The first one is an example of when you hire someone to write something that doesn't "get" your style. I would never use a word like "flowering." It's not inaccurate, it just doesn't reflect the writing style inside the book.
The covers, on the other hand, were completely my fault. My designer gave me exactly what I asked for, and I loved it, but it was totally wrong for the genre. It read more "paranormal romance" instead of "true love story." I actually still like it better than the current cover, but this one speaks to the genre much better. Plus, my wife likes this one, so... that overrules all!
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Post by Becca Mills on May 14, 2014 23:42:58 GMT -5
The new blurb is so much stronger. The earlier one has sort of a dark, sad feel to it. The positive elements are very limited. The second one feels much more positive and uplifting, and it includes the all-important info that the opportunity for love that presents itself later in Dawn's life is the first love returning. That's key, and it's really not there in the first blurb in any form that would be recognizable to readers who don't already know. So I can totally see how the blurb change could've made a big difference. In fact, it's hard to imagine a better example of how important the blurb is. Textbook case? Makes me wish I had the blurb gift myself. Jeepers. I do think you're right that the old cover had a paranormal vibe -- the clock and lightning suggest a time-travel story, to me. That probably mattered, too, but I bet the blurb is the big thing. P.S. Saving the "can't say no to Becca" thing to pop on my husband at the opportune moment! |
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2014 8:10:55 GMT -5
It's interesting that the first blurb was written by someone you hired. Fortunately, the person I hired to write my blurb wrote it in the style *I* would write it.
"An emotional castaway, she battled grimly through life's trials and sorrows, safeguarding her heart against further ravages."
So NOT my style.
"When Dawn moved from Southern California to rainy, rural, Washington state in 1976, love took a backseat to worries about fitting in at her new school."
MY style.
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Post by shawninmon on May 15, 2014 9:53:25 GMT -5
Until recently, my blurbs were way down on my list of priorities. I knew I had to have them, and like anything associated with my books, I wanted them to be good, but I never realized the impact they have on my sales until this. Which is really dense on my part, because the cover might catch my eye, but it's the blurb that actually sells me. Sigh. Still, although I might be slow, I am not incapable of learning. From now on, the blurb gets as much attention as the cover.
And Becca... good luck with the hubby. When I turn to Dawn and say, "Hey, one of my readers says I'm hilarious," she just rolls her eyes, says, "They don't have to live with you," and goes back to her book.
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