New Book Covers For the Dream Jumper Series!

Book covers are super-duper important to authors' sales! A great book cover leads to the person reading the blurb. A great blurb leads to... You get the picture.

My Dream Jumper Series was first published in 2013 with a cover I made myself. I didn't have the extra money to commission a cover artist for $150, so I made my own. Looking back, it was a DIY rinky dinker.

I fiddled with probably ten different versions of that photo of the two holding hands on a beach, then finally found a cover designer who charged what I thought was a reasonable rate. By this time I was making money off the book regardless of the home made cover. I filled out her form about what the story was, who my market was, what I hated in book covers, what I loved and she came up with a really pretty, conceptual style cover that conveyed the setting, the danger and a gorgeous font. I'm kind of a font nerd so this was important!


I kept with that pretty blue cover for a couple years. That same designer did the next two books in the series and I loved them all at the time. The second book Secret had a dock which I happen to love on book covers. They indicate a journey, a jump off to unknown waters and that's what Secret is about. A friend of mine later suggested we add in a threatening shadow and that worked beautifully! The third book Pursuit, was a bit of a mish mash and I take full blame for that cover. It was supposed to be the city of Granada in Nicaragua with the heroine going after a child abductor but it turned out a little strange. Still, I loved her font and design of all three books!

Then, two years ago I decided to jump on the Gone Girl style of Book Covers Train and do something really simple on a black background.
Now, it's six and a half years later and this book has done well. Well enough to attract the attention of a literary manager who encouraged me to turn the story into a screenplay.
I did, it won some awards, and is now over at Amazon Studios being considered as a movie. It's a very long shot they'll pick it up but you never know. My manager loves this story and wants to see it as a movie some day. Me too.


I made new covers in celebration of the book needing a shot in the arm. Nothing too strange, different or busy. Same black background and gritty font but a clearer photo this time with a tag line. I'm one of those Indie Authors who, if I can fiddle with my work and change things, I will. I republish one of my books every week, even if it's just because I found a sentence I didn't like. Sometimes I republish the interior of a book because I have a new website, which means all books must be republished to direct readers to my site.
I ended up liking the new covers. They're conceptual. The Promise book does have a lot of underwater scenes but the Secret book doesn't necessarily have a red hall and the Pursuit book doesn't have a scene with a flower that won't burn. I like metaphors and my readers are smart.

I hope you've enjoyed the Dream Jumper series and if so, have blessed me with reviews. One reader in about 300 reviews the book and I find that number staggering. If you spent 4-6 days reading a book, living with the characters that someone created and you finished the book and liked it, I would hope you'd take a moment to tell the world (really, the author) that it was an enjoyable read. I write short reviews for books I read because it's not my favorite way to spend my time. But I review.
And if a book cost me below $2.99, I know the author is making only a few cents off my purchase so I be sure to show my gratitude.

Book Covers are important as the first opportunity an author has to draw you in to the story. I hope these new covers lead you to the next step in buying the book. The Blurb...

THE DREAM JUMPER'S PROMISE on Amazon


Kim Hornsby is the Author of Award-Winning The Dream Jumper's Promise available on Amazon Books. She is a Bestselling Supernatural Suspense Author who lives in the Seattle area where she writes during the rainy months.

Finished a Book? Write a Review

The 40 Second EASY REVIEW!

Did you like or love the book but it's hard to know what to say in a review?

Ready to write a 4**** or 5***** REVIEW?

Go to AmazonBooks

-Type the title in the search box, Click
-Find the Book's landing Page

-Scroll down the page to where you see a bunch of GOLD STARS on the left
-Below that it should say

Write a Customer Review
Click on it

-Then, simply Copy the whole message below (between the stars) and

Paste it into the review box. 

**************

I enjoyed/loved/liked this book because it was suspenseful/funny/compelling .
The author did a great job with the characters/the plot/the ending/the setting.

The book will especially appeal to teens/women/men. 

************

-Next, delete extra words and add your own words (if you like.)

-Click the SUBMIT tab under the box on the right

This process takes less than 40 seconds!

NOTE: If you received the book free from the author, and don't have
a VERIFIED PURCHASE, feel free to add this:

******

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*******

READERS:

On behalf of authors, whose careers depend on good reviews, I thank you
for taking 40 seconds to help. And remember, mean, snarky reviews are not
necessary. A lack of reviews already speaks volumes to the public. If you
feel like giving one or two stars, please refrain. That author took months,
sometimes years to write that book.

This is one of my favorite recent reviews on AMAZON:

5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent book. I was completely engrossed in the story ...

ByKarenon August 7, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Excellent book. I was completely engrossed in the story line.

__________________________________________

Don't forget to write that review if you liked the book. Unless the author has hundreds of reviews coming in fast, they will see it,
will probably read your review and be happy. Trust me.

If you feel like being an over achiever, leave copy and paste your review on Goodreads and BookBub. 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/

Authors: 

Feel free to add this blog link at the end
of your books to help your readers leave 
a quick review!

https://kimhornsby.blogspot.com/
2019/04/finished-book-write-review.html


Kim Hornsby is a USA TODAY BESTSELLING Author of  
The Dream Jumper's Promise available on Amazon 
Books. She is an Award-Winning Suspense Author 
and Screenwriter who lives in the Seattle 
area where she writes overlooking a tree-lined lake.

Getting Your Novel Optioned for Film

Tonight I'm speaking on getting optioned for film.

I'm using this blog to organize my thoughts but seeing I just open my mouth when I give a talk and spew on and on, I may or may not use these key points listed below. It works out better if I just have a few areas I need to address during a one-hour talk and just talk and talk and talk, in between those key points. I usually stay on topic. I usually stay focused although once I had dental work that had me spitting and slurping and that was distracting.

I try to not laugh at my own jokes when I speak. I also try to say interesting things to keep the room from emptying. Fingers are crossed that I can achieve this tonight at the Whatcom Writers and Publishers Dinner this evening in Bellingham, Washington.


With a background in entertainment and stage work, I am not usually nervous to speak but more like a racehorse at the gate, waiting to run. My over confidence helps in these situations.

Playing Sugar on Stage

My 3-book Dream Jumper Series is optioned for film and although many books get optioned (reserved contractually) I think that the first film will actually get made. When my super agent negotiated the contract, I asked to be a contributing producer and after promises to not interfere and be obnoxious on the set, I got the concession. I'm doing everything I can on my end to help get this movie made.

Here's my points to touch on tonight and a peek at my talk about how to get optioned:

-Write a compelling novel with a unique story that answers a burning question the general public will be interested in
-Make your characters as real and 3-dimensional as possible, with flaws, idiosyncrasies etc
-Have it professionally edited
-Write a one-page synopsis
-Write a three-page synopsis
-Publish your novel and promote the hell out of it, get reviews, have a compelling cover, make the blurb sound like a movie trailer.
-Write a movie tag line
-Learn how to write a treatment and then write one showing marketability of your story
-Make a Pinterest board if you need visuals, Choose A-List actors in the leads
-Get an agent who specializes in book to film or who has connections in film and tv (send the query, the treatment and even the screenplay if you wrote one!)
-Learn to write for tv and screen
-Learn the Hollywood market, see where your book fits in and will sell

-Hollywood likes novels, especially if they have a built-in following
-You don't need fame to sell an idea, it just helps
-Go for a big agency, find who's taking clients, go for the intern or lowest on the totem pole
-Be easy to work with
-Send your treatment to film companies, producers, directors, agents to a)get representation b)get a producer interested
-Take workshops on writing, improve your craft, watch tv, watch movies, learn the craft
-Pitch like your book is the next Harry Potter
-Don't be rude or aggressive, just be available and interested
-Build up your brand and your book concept online
-Be patient
-Be confident

I was lucky to find an agent with connections who knew a producer and the next thing I knew, we were meeting, talking, negotiating, planning and then a contract arrived. More negotiations, more talk and signing.
My 3 book series belongs to a reputable production company that has awesome connections in Hollywood, I trust the company president, and I'm excited.
Right now, I'm waiting for my project to get out of development and into pre-production and that looks like about 6-9 months. My movie is second in line with this film company and it looks like they are filming project number 1 soon.
I wrote the screenplay hoping that someone who is REALLY talented as a screenwriter, will take the thing and make it awesome. My version is the spec screenplay and every day I hope it's good enough to sell this concept to an A list director who will then attract the A list actors and money. That's how it works apparently. The director comes first.
While waiting for someone to get back to you, dream over here at IMDb to check out actors, directors, producers, film companies etc.

So People, keep perfecting your craft, keep writing, keep hoping, and maybe one day you'll get that call that Dreamworks wants your book and Natalie Portman and Chris Pine are starring in the movie version. It could happen. Why not?


KIM HORNSBY is an Amazon #1 Bestselling novelist who lives in the Seattle area and writes books about women in dire circumstances rescuing themselves. Her book series, Dream Jumper, is optioned for film and now in development.

Newsletter Signup for Book Releases & Free Stuff www.bit.ly/KimHNews
Kim's AMAZON site www.bit.ly/kimamzn

Hitting the USAT List!

I'm trying, once again, to reach USA Today Bestseller status. It's a lofty goal for any writer but not unattainable. And I believe I'm as deserving of many who've reached this milestone as a writer.
I put together a box set anthology of 12 happy Christmas Romance novellas. Some are sweet, some sexy, one is a bestselling mystery, there's a cowboy in one, a Marine, a hockey player, a juror. All have loads of Christmas spirit and at the end of the set is a wonderful collection of over 20 Holiday Recipes.
If we sell a lot of these books, USAT bestseller status might happen for the six authors of the thirteen who are not yet USAT bestselling authors.
It's hard for an Indie author to reach this status without lots of money from a publisher to buy ads. Ads sell books.
We have only $1200 to spend, not $20,000 like the big publishing houses who can pretty much buy bestseller status for their authors.
On November 14th, our box set launches everywhere and we have one week to make enough sales to reach top 150 books sold that week. We have 800 sales, so far which might seem like a lot, but we need about 4,000. Our ads that week, will hopefully make up the difference. Our fingers are crossed.



My first box set in 2015 got really close but we didn't make it. My second didn't get all that close because we made some serious mistakes. I'm hoping third time is a charm.
If you can spare 99 cents, even if you don't read romance, please consider donating to breast cancer with that money. We are donating proceeds to the Breasts Cancer Awareness Fund. The last time I did this, we gave over $1,000 to the charity.

So for 99 cents you get a Christmas Recipe Book, 12 wonderful Christmas novels and a donation to cancer.
Thanks for your support!
BUY A COPY Here...

Amazon link

Barnes & Noble link

KIM HORNSBY is an Amazon #1 Bestselling Author who lives in Seattle, writing Suspense and Romance. Find her on Amazon to see how she opened shows for Jamie Foxx and The Smother's Brothers in Hawaii, then became a novelist.

Sign up for Kim's Newsletter to get info on FREE books, new book launches and Kim News!

www.bit.ly/KimHNews

Pitching Your Book for a Movie Deal!

Writers Take Note: If you are hoping to pitch projects to Hollywood, not all books adapt best to a feature film. Some stories will transfer well to a small screen because...

Screens are getting smaller, entertainment content is getting shorter.


This is something I learned from the Connecting Writers with Hollywood Conference this weekend. Sad, but probably true. The future of entertainment--movies, TV, screen viewing, is shorter stories to be viewed on smaller screens, like a tablet or phone.
When our children grow up, they will be used to viewing on a phone screen the size of their hand. My son says he'll always want to watch good movies in a movie theater but for the most part, the market will head towards projects that can be viewed on small screens.


If you are writing and want to tailor it to what Hollywood is looking for, here's some nuggets from Entertainment Agent (formerly with William Morris, now with The Wayne Agency) Shawn West:

Must have a RELATABLE HERO, STRONG VISUAL, 3 ACT STRUCTURE, 2 HR LIMIT,
And Hollywood wants writers that take responsibility.

If your story  has franchise potential, that's great.
Also mass appeal, like young men, young women, old men, old women.
Is there merchandising potential, like dolls, happy meal toys, etc.
Can it be made for under 10 million in easy-to-shoot locations?

If you have a story that involves thousands of cast members, ten international locations, CGI and 30 million to make it, you will need a very large studio to make the movie.
If you have a story that involves only several key players, it takes place in basically one location and no CGI, it will appeal to more studios and film makers because it will cost less, the risk will be less, the possibility of making back their money will increase.

If your story can be made into 6 shorter parts to be viewed on HULU, that is something different from a feature film and will have different appeal to a studio.

One thing Shawn said in his talk was write what you know and be authentic. Great advice because no one else can do you, like you can. Write your 10 second log line and go get'em!

Kim Hornsby is the Author of Award-Winning The Dream Jumper's Promise available on Amazon Books. She is a Bestselling Supernatural Suspense Author who lives in the Seattle area where she writes during the rainy months.

Books Make Great Films!

I just returned from a conference in which I behaved like the Prima Donna I want to become.

Don't get me wrong. I wasn't mean to people, I didn't trash my hotel room rock star style, I didn't have people toting and fetching for me (well maybe I asked someone to run upstairs to get my business cards) Oh, I did ask someone else to run to the ballroom to cancel my next meeting while I talked about the logistics of making my book into a movie but both my fetchers were friends, going that way anyhow. Phew! I behaved like a Prima Donna in believing my own PR. I am big stuff. I write books. We tend to downplay that but I'm going to up-play that now! I want to be an approachable celebrity, one to make people say "She's so nice, considering her success!" Now I just need to get successful.

Last weekend, I attended JD deWitt's Connecting Writers with Hollywood Conference in Spokane, Washington, a lovely, small city close to the Idaho border that is teaming with creative people. I heard Chuck Palaniuk speak (author of Fight Club), Jess Walter (Beautiful Ruins), Shawn West (The Wayne Agency), Brian Bird (BIG producer and writer in Hollywood!), talked adaptation with producers, film makers and directors and generally felt like an author who might possibly get a movie deal someday.
I signed up for the Con last summer to attend in September 2016, it was moved to May 2017 and by the time I attended the thing I had a book to film agent and interest from a production company who loved my novel The Dream Jumper's Promise.

When May rolled around, I didn't need to pitch to agents, but schmoozing was on the agenda, something I love because I'm a super-social person. I went to the conference to socially network, increase my visibility, teach a class on self-confidence in public, meet potentially interested and interesting people and represent my business, which is me.
I tacked on a book signing and talk at the famous Indie bookstore--Auntie's on the Saturday afternoon to make the trip more worthwhile and then forgot my box of books on the doorstep back in Seattle! So, I talked and peddled my friends' books.
I'd heard that adapting a novel to a movie is entirely possible but had always assumed you needed a screenplay to pitch. Turns out you can pitch the book without having someone write the screenplay.
Last year, I went to see the movie Nerve, a YA thriller written by a Seattle author, Jeanne Ryan, who got a call one day from Lions Gate Films to say they wanted to buy the option on her book. I'm sure there was more to Jeannie's story than just answering the phone, but the point is that her book was made into a movie. Someone hired by Lions Gate wrote the screenplay. See where I'm going here?
Book Adaptations are golden nuggets of material for studios, producers, and all the folks who need good stories for the big screen. I've heard this enough now that I believe it to be true. Great books make great films for the most part and are sought after, sometimes more than a screenplay in Hollywood. If you are a successful Indie author with a successful novel and a built in reader base, your book might be attractive to an film maker. The story is there, the characters are already fleshed out, the locations are chosen, the platform is there.
That was a clear message from everyone who spoke at the conference this weekend and one I attended last year. Books that have done well make great options for film and TV. Especially if you have something unique. Don't look for a trend because by the time you write, film, and produce that project, the trend is over. Instead, set your own trend.
If you are an author with a great book, consider learning to write a treatment, which is a 4-20 page synopsis of the book, complete with more information about the logistics of your book's success.
The treatment often has dialogue from the book. Choose only relevant, clever passages.
Once you have that, consider getting an agent who specifically handles book to film. They are out there. Google it. Most studios will not take a look without representation, I've learned.
Once you get that agent, get ready to field offers while you sit in your office with fingers crossed. Let the agent do their magic while you dream about who to play the leads! Like Stephen Amell would be perfect for the role of Jamey in The Dream Jumper's Promise. He looks the part, is the right age, has the acting chops, is a swimmer, likes Hawaii, might be available next Spring when we shoot (I'm getting way ahead of myself here but that's OK) and we have the same birthday and are both from the Toronto area. It's kismet. If you know me or read my books, you know that I believe in all that mumbo jumbo like numerology, kismet, co-incidence, intuition. Oh, and Stephen worked with Brian Bird who I met this weekend and has a connection to my agent. AND Stephen has a winery in Walla Walla which has absolutely no connection to anything except it's in Washington State, where Jamey, my character, is from.
Tomorrow's blog, I'll drop my first choice pick for the role of Tina!

In the next week, I'll be blogging about all the informational nuggets I learned at Connecting Writers with Hollywood, so become a follower of the blog if you don't want to miss that information.

Or like my FB page over here www.facebook.com/kimhornsbyauthor  where I will probably post as a new blog goes live.
Or twitter www.twitter.com/kimhornsby

And if you have a book that would make a great movie, whether it's Blockbuster of epic proportions or a quaint Indie story that takes place in the same two rooms with only two characters, you could see your name on a book to film contract someday. Find an agent, pitch that story and keep your fingers and toes crossed!

Kim Hornsby is the author of Award-Winning The Dream Jumper's Promise available on Amazon Books. She is a Bestselling Supernatural Suspense Author who lives in the Seattle area where she writes during the rainy months, escaping to Maui when possible to scuba dive and get fodder for her next books.

InD'Scribe Fulfills their First Page Promise!

I am an Indie Author who appreciates a little help getting my books read.
Actually, I'm a hybrid author, which means other publishers own some of my books but I identify as Indie.
Writing conferences are great for networking, learning, spreading the love, and making you vow to eat less, write more, banish those weak verbs and revamp your web site.

I just rolled in the door from Los Angeles where I attended InD'Scribe Conference put on by the nicest group of people ever to take on the almost insurmountable task of organizing a writers' con. Those people over at InD'Tale Magazine are the bomb! The whole thing is headed up by a dynamo with manners and heart and cheerleader-like enthusiasm named TJ Mackay.
She's as efficient as she is pretty and that's saying a lot. Look to the right...TJ has it all, including a great husband, Dwayne, and in-laws who charmed their way through hundreds of authors this last weekend.
The conference was super low cost, the hotel was perfect, the workshop topics were diverse, and I came home alternating between exhaustion and a burning need to write a bestseller.

Here's what I learned in a nutshell from the conference and the workshops I had time to attend (I had three slots where I was co-teaching, or on panels so I missed many that I REALLY wanted to attend.)

- Register early, take the Master Class - Although I was co-teaching I learned so much from The Editor Devil from her side of the class on how to promote and get the most out of a conference.

- Put yourself out there or the plane ticket is a waste - Say your full name when introducing yourself and don't be shy to trade biz cards - imagine you're in rock star mode to channel a confident you.

- The bar is a great place to mingle even if you don't drink.

- Wear T-shirts to advertise your brand (Andy Peloquin, Bitch 1 and Bitch 2) It's self-promotey but what are you there for if it isn't to promote, learn, and network. It's a great way to be remembered. Wear your brand.

- Smashwords is a fantastic forum for Indies and Jim is super-helpful!!

- Get a good night's sleep night 1 or you'll meet Anne Perry in the elevator on the way to breakfast and be too tired to say anything clever.

- Anne Perry - Your characters must have heart, stakes must mount, relationship changes must be believable, must have save the cat moments, plotting a mystery is key, no saggy middle, say it once strongly but don't repeat, trickle in backstory, begin with inciting incident, Keep Act II moving at a clip like a train too fast to jump from.

- The Editor Devil/Christine Fairchild on Writing a Bestseller - Most bestsellers have this in common: Watch openings and endings of scenes, end on a hook, enter scenes late, leave early, page 1 tension! if you can't deliver tension deliver contrast, main heroes are often mavericks who don't fit in their community, with secrets, no unnecessary dialogue, trim it. setting is a character, have a moment of Eden for main characters then tear it down so they spend the rest of the story trying to get back to Eden, use loaded verbs, sex scenes (use sparingly) must have purpose, Characters must have heart- what is the one thing they'd sacrifice everything for?


- Rebecca Forster - The Blurb - Absolutely Crucial!!! You have 7 seconds to grab a reader's interest. A blurb is 1-4 paragraphs to show critical characters, time/place, call to action, Write it over and over to find perfection, Start with the incident to stir the reader to keep reading and only choose strong words, use reduction writing. Tighten everything. Show conflict, be clear, make characters sound fascinating, sympathetic, worth reading.

A lot goes into those photos you buy at The Killion Group and Period Images to making that photo perfect to sell your book-- even finger placement. Kim showed how she takes photos with a cover in mind, leaving room for the title and author.
 Loved the Killion workshop with the mock shoot with Julian, who does pushups between shots to keep those muscles defined and glistening... sigh...

-
Sprinkling in Backstory with Catherine Bybee and Marina Adair - Write your detailed backstory for each main character before you start writing the first pages to get it out of your system. Write a scene to show what's absolutely necessary to know inside the action. Backstory through secondary connection. Show backstory through dialogue, use subtext to suggest backstory, use setting to show backstory, give only absolutely crucial info in the first few pages, In a series, take 1st book blurb to pepper in only what's important in the second book. Be ruthless with the editing pen.



Kindle Worlds Panel with Kathryn Le Veque - Kindle Worlds writing is not just for super fan/readers anymore, bestselling authors are using fellow bestseller authors' worlds to cross promote, Anyone can use writing in the World to gain readership. Choose your world carefully - some World Owners are not involved in their World writers' books and don't promote for them. Some do, like Kathryn. You don't need permission from the KW Owner. There are 40 Worlds including TV shows to choose from. Amazon KW must approve book and cover. KW Owners like Kathryn have individual contracts. Some only allow certain characters to be used. Amazon OWNS your characters in a World book. Not you. Read the fine print.

- Book Signing Events - Rolynn Andersen - Have a theme for your table that ties to books, genre. Be creative! Don't make it about selling books so have a hook to get people to stop and talk, Have a giveaway for newsletter names, candy helps, swag. Don't sit behind table. Greet everyone who walks by. Don't poach people from other writers, - Set up near the biggest traffic, draw people in to talk, don't force a book on them. Give out cards, Offer to send ebook for free, You are looking for a long-term reader not a one book buyer.




- Get your books reviewed by InD'Tale Magazine and get in the Rone Awards!

- Ann Richardson. Audio Books are on the upswing and finding a great narrator is key, Audition voices. Use Ann!


- Although I didn't hear Suzan Tisdale speak, she is one nice lady!

- Bring more comfortable shoes next year! Drink less, sleep more, give out biz cards with less inhibition, and get pics with the hunks even if you think your arms are fat.



Thank you, TJ, Tonya and all the InD'Scribe staff and volunteers!

Did you go to other workshops I didn't attend? Feel free to add anything in the comments...





Kim Hornsby is an Amazon Bestselling Author of Supernatural Romantic Suspense. She writes kick ass heroines with strange baggage and high stakes. Find her on Amazon www.bit.ly/kimamzn

Book Covers Drive Me CRAZY!

Book Covers drive me absolutely Bat-Poop, Around-the-Bend Crazy. I want to tear out my hair.

Because it is entirely possible (and probable) to judge a book by its cover, having a compelling book cover that represents the story is absolutely imperative. You don't want a photo of a pretty pastel-colored house with a flower garden if it's Suspense, nor do you want to have a bloody knife, if your story is Women's Fiction. Those are obvious examples but there are so many grey areas that I drive myself to Chardonnay when trying to decide on a book cover.

I am a person who sees everything from 27 different angles so a final decision never actually happens. I have to give up changing, looking, tweaking. I have to actually get so frustrated, tired and broken in spirit, that I give up, like some wild mustang that has to be shown who's boss in the ole corral. Don't get me started on how long it took to decide on this cover:

Recently, I had the opportunity to change my cover for a non-Indie novel of mine published with a wonderful publishing house. Don't get me wrong. Taking away some of my torture by making me a cover and then not letting me have a say in it, was wonderful in a way.
This book (which I LOVE!) had a cover that did not represent my story very well. At least the hero was wrong. The hero on the cover has skinny, adolescent-girl arms, wears a mint green polo and has a very tall head with a clean-cut look. In the book he is described as someone more, shall we say, ruggedly manly. On Pinterest, he is Sawyer, that hunk from the hit TV show LOST.

Don't ask me how I got the publisher to agree to changing the cover but I did. I then went to all the Stock Photo sites and spent about 3 days trying different things, playing around with ideas. I hardly left my office for hours on end.

The story of Necessary Detour is Rear Window (Hitchcock) meets The Bodyguard. The woman is in turmoil as she finds distraction in spying on the strange family next door.

I finally decided that I wanted to have both characters on the cover and eventually came up with this...

I sent my idea off to the publisher and the cover artist came up with this...

I love it! Although I did like the stars and lake in the first one, the new cover represents the two heroes much better. She's a Rock Star, running away from a life and a stalker and he's trying to not get involved with the woman who's moved next door on their remote, uninhabited lake. It's a Romantic Suspense, so this font works really well. Thank you, cover artist.

One cover down.

Then I decided to change a cover I have control over. I wrote a Fan Fiction novel for Kindle Worlds in the Lei Crime category and it isn't doing as well as I'd hoped. The story is a kick-ass mystery whodunit and with the support of the author of the original series, Toby Neal, I just assumed it would take off like a 747 in a tail wind. It hasn't and I can only think it's the cover with the reference to the Rocky Horror Show (bloody font) or the young woman on the cover who might suggest she's younger than she actually is in the story. Because I'm not sure what the novel's problem is, I'm trying cover first.

I asked my buddy Bob, who is a world famous Hawaiian photographer and has the photo site Photo Images Maui, if I could have a lava photo. For free. 'Cause we're friends. He said yes and I tried a few things with his GORGEOUS photos of lava.

I finally ended up with a design that the group of authors at Lei Crime Kindle Worlds Facebook Secret Group approved. Toby Neal too, which is like saying the boss approved. She's very hands on with her Kindle World group and the way she helps us and cares about our projects I have to think she's an amazing mother. Toby suggested the font be bigger in the title and she was right! (We have to leave space at the bottom left so Kindle Worlds can put their logo on there.) Last night I uploaded the new cover but have yet to see the change on Kindle Worlds. We'll see if the new cover helps.

I actually really like this cover.
Today.
Tomorrow is a different story.
See what I mean about indecision?

As of this moment, my other covers are working for me just fine. I think. What do you think? I might get the artist to change the busy box set 3D cover. Check out my Amazon page and let me know what you think of my covers. Kim Hornsby on Amazon

Kim Hornsby is the Bestselling Author of THE DREAM JUMPER'S PROMISE, available on Amazon books. her stories usually involve a Suspense, a Romance, and a touch of Supernatural.

USA Today Bestselling Author Goal!

Box Sets and Hitting Bestseller Lists!

Box Sets are the new Biggest Thing! And you know why an author would offer a book that took her 2 years of her life to write for only 10 cents? To hit the USA Today Bestselling List. Or any other list would be nice too.
That's the main reason authors are banding together in bunches of 10 to offer a book, but the other reason is almost as good--To cross market with other authors, gain readership through them, and get people hooked on their series by offering the first book virtually free.

I'm no different. I saw the Box Set train leaving the station and jumped on board!

KOBO

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/passion-danger

Barnes & Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121719397?ean=2940152175356

Amazon
Available on Most other ebook etailers!

Two months ago I researched these anthologies on Amazon, read blogs on them, studied covers, titles, and talked to authors who are already involved in a box set. I already was a year behind, seeing I wanted to get in a set last year this time. Feeling behind in anything always drives me to maniacal productivity.

I contacted a bunch of authors, whose books I loved reading, whose writing I respect greatly, and who write in a slightly similar genre as me. While waiting for these authors to think about my proposition I worked on a title.
In terms of search engines, I decided on the title Passion & Danger, having seen a lot of romance books starting with the word Passionate and knowing we would pop up in a reader's search. All the books I planned to have in the set had these two aspects in common. Passion and danger.
I was turned down by a few authors who either couldn't give me the temporary publishing rights, didn't have anything that wasn't already in a set, or didn't see themselves fitting in with the group. I appealed to my chosen few writers by asking them if they wanted to become a USA Today Bestselling Author. If they did, here is my plan. (insert my email here.)
Only one of us holds the title of USA TODAY Bestselling Author and she said yes even though her book has thousands of reviews on Amazon and might not need to join us for any particular reason.

Alexa Grace is a superstar of Romantic Suspense but also savvy enough to know that you can always reach more readers through cross networking. We had our star author for the first book!

Toby Neal is a marketing wizard, prolific author and writes fabulous, gritty crime/romance set in Hawaii. I was amazed and thrilled she said yes. Her Lei Crime Series is so popular, she has her own Kindle World! What?

Kristine Cayne has won so many awards in Romance and Suspense, that I can't list them all here. She's a top author at Amazon and her willingness to join us was another coup. Yowza!

Dana Delamar, another bestselling author, agreed to get on board with her awesome novel, which is book 1 in her bestselling series. Love her writing! And she agreed to help us with marketing, something she does as a sideline, along with editing.

Alicia Dean who was my editor for two books and writes multi-genre. She also writes for Kindle World and heads up Authors Helping Authors and many marketing groups. She is a go-getter! Alicia let us have her gorgeous novel that weaves in a paranormal aspect. Wow!

Then I asked Pat White, the Harlequin Intrigue author who got me into this kooky business in the first place and she gave us her fun romantic suspense. I read it years ago and laughed all the way through. We had our first humorous mystery. I couldn't believe my luck.

Diana Layne had huge success with book 1 and 2 in her Mafia series and was ready to release book 3. Luckily she saw this as a good way to market and we got book 1 for the set. It's a Bestseller with about 500 reviews and is a Golden Heart Finalist. Ca Ching!

Bestselling author and Louisiana writer, Lori Leger, was convinced to lend us one of her many novels and willingly offered to do the formatting, something I didn't want to take on (even if I could) and didn't exactly want to pay hundreds for someone else to take on. I loved this love affair and all the Louisiana/Cajun spice in all her books.

My critique partner, Christine M. Fairchild, is ready to release the much-anticipated Book 2 of The Goliath Conspiracy Series and let us have Book 1--An enormous Bestseller! Suddenly I had her kick-ass thriller to complete the set and I was doing the happy dance all over my house.

Add in my Award-Winning, Best-Selling Romantic Suspense, the first in the Dream Jumper series and we had ten tantalizing books of Passion & Danger.

Everyone began with a check of their formatting while I hunted for a cover photo. We had a huge decision to make that most women never give much thought to.

Hairy chest or clean-shaven chest??? This question occupied our emails and my mind for about two weeks while I polled women. I'd found an awesome photo that depicted our theme but the cover model had a hairy chest. Dare we?
In the end we decided on the picture of  gorgeous cover model, Harvey Stables with a sultry blonde, Amber, and had The Killion Group go to work on our cover.
Note: We needed a flat version too because of Apple and they supplied all the sizes and versions when it was done! See below.

We decided on a marketing budget, put money in the pot, and set to work figuring out what sites gave us the most bang for our buck.
Lori began formatting, careful to keep the file as small as possible because of Kindle's 3 KB rule for .99 books. We really wanted to offer this for .99 and as I type this I'm still not sure if we'll be able to reduce the file from 3.5 to 3. All photos of our covers had to go as well as back matter, front matter and such. Poor Lori. She was able to keep the file large for Draft 2 Digital, a new uploading service similar to Smashwords because they can take a huge file. They will also do all the converting for you and even will set everything up for CreateSpace, if you like. Having box sets in print is completely ludicrous because they'd have to cost over $100. but it's nice to know for single books.
We set a publishing date for May 17 and have given ourselves over a month to gain all the presales we can in that month. We anticipate a nice dump of sales on that day, chosen specifically because USA Today begins their weekly count on Sundays.

As I learn more about this process, I will let you know in installments, publishing along the way about the journey to USA Today Bestselling Status. One thing I learned that was disappointing is that another box set comprised of List Authors is releasing the day after us, hoping for NY Times Bestselling status. (They start their count on a Monday). We are not so lofty in our goal--USA Today is good for now.
 We have marketing set up that includes lots of sites that will advertise our book, although BookBub does not take multi-author box sets yet. We went with My Romance Reads, ENT and Kindle Books and Tips for the big ones and Awesome Gang, Indie Author News, Book Soda, Genre Pulse, EBook Booster, Choosy Bookworm and others.

 


If you're reading this, please consider buying our presale for your own enjoyment, as well as helping us realize our Indie Dream. Here's the current links with more to come:

KOBO

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/passion-danger

Barnes & Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121719397?ean=2940152175356

Amazon
bit.ly/10for99c

And here's a photo of very embarrassed me with Harvey Stables at a Romance conference. :) Everyone lined up to pose with the generous and polite Harvey.
More later...


Kim Hornsby is an Amazon Bestselling Author of Suspense and welcomes comments to this blog.