September 6, 2012
The Anatomy of a Potential Bestseller 43
What makes a book sell? What is that “thing” that has readers swarming to the stores to buy it? What attracts them to begin with? Is it the cover? The summary of the plot? Great reviews? The price? The author?
Again this week, I’d like you, the readers, to give your opinion on this book. I’d like to know–as does the author–what works for you and what doesn’t. We’d like an honest gut reaction to everything we present to you here to make sure the author is headed in the right direction or if there are things that can be tweaked to make this book the bestseller it has the potential to be.
If you choose to supplement your poll responses with personal, honest constructive comments, you will be entered to win a book from my ever growing stash of books. 
Thank you in advance for your time and your honestly. I know it’s valuable and I do appreciate it.
~~~
MAGIC IN THE STORM
Author: Meredith Bond
Genre: Regency-set Paranormal
Pages: 395
Digital Price: $3.99
Print Price: $11.98
Publisher: Anessa Books
Buy Links: Amazon ~ B&N ~ Smashwords
~~~
Morgan is trapped and powerless.
The seventh child of the seventh child has always been a girl. Until Morgan Vallentyn was born. Because he’s male he can’t access the magical powers that should have been his . In order to attain his destiny, he’s first got to escape his home and find the source of his power – in the most unexpected of places.
Adriana would give up everything for her freedom.
Born to paint the natural world with unprecedented passion and vision, Adriana Hayden is bound by the laws of 19th century English society to her scheming guardian. But after meeting the handsome and mysterious Morgan, her world begins to open to enchanted possibilities she could never have imagined.
The only way to fulfill their destinies is for each to unlock the powers of the other – through the magic in the storm.
~*~*~
SAMPLER – Opening of MAGIC OF THE STORM
Prologue
June 21, 1794
“Tatiana, stop this! Stop it right now. You cannot kill our son.”
The wind whipped through Tatiana’s hair, prying it free from her forehead where it had been plastered with sweat. Heat swirled around them threatening to burst into flames. Vallentyn jumped as a bolt of lightning shot into the ground just feet from where he stood coddling that infant in his arms.
“Our son?” she repeated, fury burning through her. “And what of my daughter?” she shouted over the gale of hot wind that wove around them. “What of the prophecy? What…” her voice faltered.
She was tired. Too tired. Although the birth had been easier than many of the others, she was getting old. Only her fury at this injustice kept her awake now.
How could this have happened? Her child, her beloved, her daughter. Seventh child of the seventh child in the seventh generation – a boy!
~~~
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Sep 06, 2012 @ 09:40:55
I hate to be so driven by economics but I am. If a book sounds interesting, like this one which seems like a great hybrid of historical and paranormal, it doesn’t matter if I know the author’s name/work. What does matter is length and price. If I look on Goodreads and the length is listed as 50-100 pages I’m not buying it at $3.99 (no more than .99 cents for that length). If I see the book is 200+ pages then I’ll fork over $3.99 because even if I hate it I’m not out that much but if I like it then I have a few hours of reading pleasure at $2 bucks an hour–not bad as far as entertainment prices go.
Secondary will be reviews on Goodreads, blogs or other sources I trust (i.e. not Amazon where it can be purchased or fam/friends.)
Sep 06, 2012 @ 09:43:21
In my honest opinion, or sounds interesting. The sample is a tad bit short and you really don’t know if you really want to read it. However, the back is intriguing to see that there is a boy who should have magical powers and doesn’t cause he’s not a girl. I do like stories set in regency area, so that along would get me to read the book.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 09:47:12
I have to say that a quick scan of the cover made me think this was romantic suspense because it looks similar to Harlequin Intrigue covers, and the title is very similar to an urban fantasy series I follow. Imagine my surprise to find that it is a paranormal Regency. I enjoyed Bond’s traditional Regencies in the past, so that would tip me over into buying this book, but the cover and title say two completely different things to me.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 09:53:36
I think the book sounds interesting. Because I have never read anything by this author before I would not pay $3.99, but that is just me. The story line intrigued me, but not enough to pay $3.99. If I know and love the author I would pay that and more for a book.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 10:38:52
The book sounds interesting but the sample is too short. I tend to look at excerpts even more than blurbs. Unless someone I know and trust reviews and recommends a book I never heard of, I tend not to buy.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 10:58:13
I think that the book sounds like a good read, but I feel like the cover doesn’t show the historical element of the book. I liked the blurb enough that I would purchase the book at the 3.99 price and give it a try.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 11:02:33
I love the premise of this book. The back blurb had me going in wait is that grammatically correct for both the male and female parts. To be honest, they very well may be but that detracted me from the book. The excerpt was too short for me to be fully grabbed. I love regency-paranormal and I can say that with what is shown here I would be hard pressed to pay $3.99 for it (I don’t have an e-reader so I’d have to read it on my PC).
Sep 06, 2012 @ 11:20:33
I’ve read this book; I picked it up on a special promotion. I wasn’t sure I’d like it – because books with fantasy and with history elements can sometimes really turn me off if they’re not written well – but I ended up LOVING Magic in the Storm!
Sep 06, 2012 @ 11:20:58
While I don’t generally read a lot of paranormal romances, the blurb interested me enough to read the sample, but 1) I wish the sample would have been longer, & 2) I wish the sample would have involved the hero of the story and his dilemma instead of his parents.
And while the cover does have a paranormal feel to it, it makes me think it is a contemporary paranormal romance. I would be more apt to consider this book since it is in a historical setting, but just looking at the cover, which doesn’t have any visual historical elements, I wouldn’t even bother to read the blurb to find out when it was set. The historical paranormal setting is what first interested me, but the cover doesn’t represent that at all unfortunately.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 11:22:52
The book sounds like a good read, but I never would have guessed it was historical from the cover. It looks like your standard fare paranormal romance (except that I already knew Meredith Bond writes Regencies). I’m a big fan of Regency-set paranormals, like Marissa Doyle’s YAs, and those covers have girls in absolutely gorgeous period garb. This shirtless man could be from any era, and I got a Twilightesque YA Paranormal feel from this cover, making me think it was werewolves in the Pacific Northwest. There’s absolutely nothing on this cover that tells me “Regency England.”
Sep 06, 2012 @ 12:08:21
The biggest problem that I see with this book is the cover. I don’t normally pay much attention to covers, but this is one where I would actually be turned off from investigating further. There’s no indication from this cover that it’s is a historical paranormal (a subgenre that I happen to love). From the cover and title, I would have guessed contemporary, maybe erotic, paranormal. Also, what’s that thing on his forehead? I can’t tell from the cover and it looks a bit strange. Even after blowing it up on Amazon, I still can’t tell what it is.
If I were browsing, I would have blown right by this and never even read the blurb, whereas thanks to this post, I’ve now read the blurb and the short sample, and I’m intrigued and would at least want to get a longer sample. However, the other problem is that the price point is too high for an unknown author, especially since it looks like this is her first book. I find that first books are often a bit rough and $3.99 is at the top end of what I would pay for any unknown self-pubbed author, especially if they don’t have many reviews.
By the way, I’m loving these posts, especially if the feedback helps some of the authors to make their books more marketable. It’s hard for self-pubbed authors as they are often working in a vacuum. I hope I’m not being too frank.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 12:47:58
It’s actually not her first book. She wrote 4 Regencies for Kensington. She’s also a college-level writing professor. But this is her first self-pub attempt.
But I agree that the cover does look erotic and I, too, don’t know what that thing on his forehead is. I’d scrap the cover altogether and go with something more historical.
Sep 07, 2012 @ 16:32:11
Hi,
The thing on his forehead is the back of his hand covering his eyes from the glare of the light. I got it right off the bat. LOL
Sep 07, 2012 @ 00:31:22
He’s holding his hand up to shield his eyes. It’s his hand against his forehead.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 12:47:37
“he’s first got to escape his home and find the source of his power – in the most unexpected of places.”
I read the blurb and this tripped me up. I think it should read:
“he first has to escape…”
The way it’s written, if I took out the contraction, it would read
“he has first got to escape his…”
and that doesn’t make sense so I know the way it’s currently written is grammatically incorrect. It’s that kind of stuff that would stop me reading and I wouldn’t bother with the book even if I thought the premise was interesting enough to purchase. But for an author I have never heard of, unless I get a glowing recommendation from someone I know, I wouldn’t pay that much for it.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 12:48:14
It definitely has potential. Print books are still my first choice and trade books are just too expensive, especially for an unknown author. I would have to hear a lot of buzz from different sources to try an unknown author. It’s a reasonable price for an ebook. The question about the cover was something I would like another choice on – I didn’t love it but I didn’t dislike it either. I would say I was in between the two. I too think it looks like a romantic suspense but that is a genre I read although I do prefer historical which would be a plus for me.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 12:54:26
Ooooh, the cover! Pretty naked man, midnight blue color… he needs a valkyrie to save him before he freezes his patootie.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 13:40:43
I probably wouldn’t buy this book. Not necessarily because I didn’t care for the cover (The horizontal line over his head breaks up the cover in a way that messes with my eyes and the font of the title/author name is a bit off to me. It just doesn’t fit the feel of it), but more so, I wouldn’t buy because the book’s not at Kobo.
The blurb does intrigue me, but I think I need a bit more of an external conflict in there to tell me more about what the book is about.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 13:41:29
At first glance I thought the cover would go with a shifter story. There is a half naked man in the woods with a full moon, so when I go to read the blurb I’m already disappointed to find out its not. The cover is all to contemporary and doesn’t reflect that it’s also a historical.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 13:47:15
I found the blurb interesting, and it was the most likely aspect to make me want to read the book. I’m not sure if I would have gotten past the cover to read the blurb, however. It’s reasonably attractive but vague, and it has that indefinable “self-published” look that I find a turn off. In this case, I think it might be the font.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 15:54:51
I definitely think it’s the font. There’s something not-quite-professional about the font. I’m guessing this is a homemade cover rather than one from a professional cover designer.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 14:52:33
I found the Blurb and the sample interesting while I know it should have been longer it still caught my interest. I really don’t like the cover because it doesn’t fit the genre of the story. A new and different cover that represents Historical and paranormal romance would grab more interest I think. But I would defintiely pick it up.
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
Sep 06, 2012 @ 14:56:11
The book sounds interesting. The cover and blurb, however, do not indicate this is a Regency-set romance, which is a shame because this is a very popular historical era for readers. I say get rid of the naked man on the cover and instead spotlight the hero wearing period garb, like the Shadow Guard series by Kim Lenox. The blurb could also do with a rewrite to highlight the Regency era. Are the hero and heroine nobles? Do they have titles? Then add that to the blurb to give it a more historical romance feel.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 15:38:00
I thought it was a shifter paranormal. And I love regencies, especially “different” regencies. I was one of the people who voted that the blurb felt awkward and would have instantly turned me off. It seems to contradict itself (Morgan is sympathetic, then he’s “scheming”??) and made me worry about the writing.
The writing is okay, but it starts with the birth of the hero and the father “coddling” his child. Based on such a small sample, I wouldn’t buy although I’d have probably kept reading another five pages (if available) (to see if it continues as an info-dump on the world and backstory or introduces the hero at his present age)
Sep 06, 2012 @ 17:07:09
I also thought it would be a shifter paranormal from the cover. I don’t think the cover would catch my attention enough to even read the excerpt on the back. It is a bit vague and the font looks strange to me. I doubt whether I would pay $3.99 for it even if the cover did catch my attention, since I have never heard of the author.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 18:19:12
I didn’t answer the last question because I don’t read reviews before I read a book. I tend to like things others don’t so won’t rely on someone else’s opinion.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 19:28:51
Though the cover immediately caught my attention, looking at I definitely do not see Regency era. It looks like a modern day paranormal so when I read the blurb it kind of threw me off. Also, after reading the sampling it just didn’t give me the Regency vibe. It just sounds too modern. I don’t think I would pay for this title.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 19:39:37
I didn’t think the cover represented an historical paranormal. It looked too contemporary. Also, the blurb didn’t grab me, but i thought the excerpt was good.
@Bev: If it’s helpful to the author, under the category, “Is this a genre you read”, could you add the response sometimes? I rarely read paranormal, but I do on occasion. It’s not a simple yes or no answer. Also, under the qustion “if you don’t like the cover . . .” the possible responses don’t take into consideration part of the previous question: that it doesn’t match the genre. In this case, I liked the cover if it was a contemporary paranormal, but not for an historical.
Sep 07, 2012 @ 19:16:38
Good idea!
Sep 06, 2012 @ 20:59:45
A short sample, but I did like it. The plot line in interesting, and I like the cover.
Thanks for introducing me to a new author. This post is a fun one to check out every week!
Sep 06, 2012 @ 21:14:20
This is one e-book where the cover does not do justice to the story. It looks too modern — and it surprised me when the story is actually set in the 18th and 19th century.
Sep 06, 2012 @ 22:13:39
I like the title and cover. The excerpt was too short. Is this a time traveling book?
Sep 07, 2012 @ 02:32:22
I’ve read and liked this author before, so that would make me look at this book. I definitely agree with others on the cover, first thing I thought looking at it was werewolf shapeshifter story, did not think magical fantasy story at all by it. Also agree the blurb was just okay and a bit short, nothing to hook someone not having read the author before.
Sep 07, 2012 @ 10:34:07
Hi.
First. Cover does not show me it is an historical in any way.
Second. That is his hand on his forehead, but as my husband said, it looks like a huge jutting forehead is liar to Worf from ST:NG
Third. Cover screams shapeshifter, with romance thrown in with the naked guy.
Fourth. Back blurb caught my attention, but the excerpt, which figures in for me while buying, does not.
Fifth. Price point is fine, due to being near 400 pages long, but I like others assumed this was a debut author.
Overall, based on the criteria given here, I would pass on this book. The blurb is intriguing but not enough to sell me on the book unless it were free, maybe.
Suggestions…
1. Redo cover to indicate in someway it is a regency era paranormal. Include “regency-era paranormal” if you need to on cover. New readers to you will appreciate this.
2. Find a new font. When in doubt, use a standard font. Look @ free font sites, such as daFont for commercial use fonts that fit the historical, regency style.
3. I agree with other posters that I would rather have an excerpt that features the hero, not parents.
4. I did a look when I saw it mentioned this was a former Kennsington author…USE THAT! Seriously, a small line that can be read that states, “Award winning Kennsington author.” Yes, I discovered she is that in fact…that would have been a possible persuading fact in this case, had I known.
Closing thoughts for the author…use all your resources. Use your awards, former publishing house, to zero in on the fact that your not a debut author as many of us thought, myself included. Spend more time on cover. It is hard, doing it yourself, I have made those mistakes, and still do, but when I see it, I change it pronto..except my husband’s last cover, as I don’t have my program with me…try bartering favors with some former contacts who may be able to create a cover that fits this genre better, offer something up you can do for them, such as editing, if you are good at that. Download GIMP for free if you have not already and do covers from there using good solid fonts.
Okay. Hope that helps a little.
Sep 07, 2012 @ 13:33:58
Ok. Im a HUGE fan of romance, historical and supernatural romance.
The back blurb looks great and would encourage me to read the book. The cover is eyecatching, BUT for me doesnt really reflect what the book is about.
Apart from that the premise looks great and I cant wait to read it!
Sep 07, 2012 @ 14:35:54
I wish the sample was a little longer. I must be greedy because I kinda like it when I’m given a whole chapter or at least a prologue. I’ve bought many a book that I’ve read a chapter that was sampled at the end of another book I’ve read or sampled through Amazon. That’s a good thing about Amazon is that you can sample a good chunk (usually) before you buy.
Lately there are so many books on my tbr pile from authors that I’m already familiar with that I tend to not want to spend too much on authors that are unknown to me (especially self-published). I have tried new reads when they are on sale through kindle for like .99 or 1.99 and ended up loving them. And if that’s the case, that author usually will go on my alert and I won’t mind paying full price for future books. If I love an author I will buy everything they write.
Sep 07, 2012 @ 17:35:28
Hi again,
Here is my official input:
Title: My biggest problem is the title, MAGIC IN THE STORM. What storm? Is it some 500 year storm that is supposed to increase your powers exponentially?
Cover Design: (Caviat–I’m a senior designer in marketing/communications/advertising, my critique is solely meant to be professionally constructive. Take the emotional equation out of it.)
I wouldn’t pick it up. It holds no appeal. It looks like contemporary suspense, not regency paranormal and definately not romance. And, a big AND, there is no tie in with the title. There is no storm on the cover, no hint of wind, no magic, no hint that this is a historical, and no hint that this is a romance. It looks like someone is holding a flashlight on a nudist in the woods at night. Honest, harsh, but true. I can think of a lot of titles that would work great with the cover art, but that’s another conversation that is to be had while drinking martinis at the bar.
Back Cover Blurb: There isn’t any connection between the title and the cover blurb and doesn’t give me any kind of meaningful hint. “The only way to fulfill their destinies is for each to unlock the powers of the other – through the magic in the storm.” This doesn’t hit the mark at all.
And why is this a problem? Do they not like each other? What is it that is so terrible that this is a near impossible task?
The blurb talks about his delima, her delima, but not their combined delima (as in what is keeping them apart? And why?)–which I think would help make the back cover blurb stronger. Also, there is no mention of the storm/or what it means, in either description.
On to the Prologue: I was intrigued and would have continued reading. Thumbs up! Good first line.
However, I stumbled over the wrong word in the second paragraph. …where he stood coddling that infant in his arms. THAT infant should be THE infant. The reader does not know who’s point of veiw we are in until Tatiana has her first viseral reaction, “…fury burning through her.” Incorrect grammar on the first page will lose a lot of potential readers.
Good luck!
Sep 07, 2012 @ 20:36:12
I wish the sample had been taken from the body of the book, not the prologue. I want a look at the characters I’ll be spending a whole book with, not one character’s parents.
Sep 07, 2012 @ 22:48:47
First glance at the bookcover, it looks to be a romantic suspense. I would not have guessed regency OR paranormal. The blurb sounds intriguing (something I’d definitely like to read), but the excerpt is too short.
Sep 07, 2012 @ 23:29:00
The book looks interesting even though it isn’t a genre I read much. I never saw this book advertised and I’m not familiar with the author. My general impression with the book is favorable. The blurb looks good. So does the cover. Yes, I would buy a self published book. I don’t have an ereader yet though so it would have to be on paper. The sample sounded good.
Sep 07, 2012 @ 23:57:29
It is not the genre I read but the cipover is cute,
Sep 08, 2012 @ 21:00:55
I don’t dislike the sample, but it doesn’t give me enough to go on. Would I read a longer sample? Yes. Would I buy the book today, based on available data? No.
Incidentally, the cover is acceptable for a paranormal, but in no way suggests a Regency setting. (Perhaps that’s intentional.)
Sep 11, 2012 @ 15:58:15
The cover doesn’t say “historical” to me. If I were to glance at it without having any other information, I would think it was a contemporary shape shifter/werewolf story. Placing the guy naked in the trees with the moon contributes heavily to this. “Oh shit, I woke up in the woods again naked… where am I and what happened to my clothes?” It also reminds me of the graphics for Fire in The Sky, that alien abduction movie. Travis Walton was on the highway, last thing he remembered was a bright light, he comes to three days later, dazed, confused, and his butt hurts. What the…?
One suggestion: try some dramatic storm/lightning graphics in the background instead. Something to indicate the hero’s magical powers… tattoos of Pictish symbols, a ring of celtic knots around his muscular arms, or something… easy enough to Photoshop onto your hottie and it would be eye-catching. Or have the main characters interacting with each other in the foreground in some manner described in your book. Lightning crackling between or around them. Something more exciting. The cover is attractive, but I like more color. Is that font Copperplate? It reads a little Western to me.