When driving, I commonly cycle through the radio stations, attempting to decide which of the available songs I should listen to. Though I drive my daughters bonkers with this behavior, I’m really just trying to avoid missing out on hearing a really good song.
Even when I find that song, I can’t help but wonder what’s playing on the other stations for the duration, and I may even keep searching for a better song.
Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with books. My answer: Everything.
Think of how many options are out there now and then add that to how many avenues there are, and you will quickly see my point. Authors aren’t in competition with one another, but their books often are. And you’ll want yours to get noticed.
You worked hard on your book, and you want it to stand out. With self-publishing and small presses, readers have more options than ever when looking for their next read. And they don’t just browse bookstore shelves anymore. So how do you keep them from scrolling past your book or looking past it on a shelf? The answer is easy.
You should have a solid book cover. You want a cover that grabs attention and stands out, otherwise, how is anyone going to know it’s there? What’s to stop potential readers from simply changing the radio station?
The concept is simple, but the execution can be excruciatingly difficult. People are visual creatures. For most of us, what we see is our first interaction with something. As much as I hate to say it, many of us do judge books by their covers. And, sometimes, that’s justified.
If a book cover is sloppy or uninspiring, readers may think the book itself is the same way. After all, if the author didn’t put in the work for the cover, maybe they didn’t work too hard on the book itself. Is this a fair assumption? Maybe, and maybe not. But this is the way things work. Until that changes, book covers will continue to be of paramount importance.
An eye-catching cover will usually compel a reader to at least pull your book off the shelf and possibly read the blurb. Or maybe they stop scrolling and click on your book. This is your first test and it’s crucial you pass it.
There’s a marketing term called “unaided awareness.” This is what your book cover should accomplish—someone who’s never heard of your book stops and looks further into your baby. If readers don’t notice your book, then they won’t read it.
Readers can’t read books they don’t know about. Your book cover is the most effective way to grab their attention, pure and simple.
Mage Breaker Saga
Book One
Sean R. Frazier
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Creative James Media
Date of Publication: November 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-956183-56-6
Number of pages: 350
Word Count: 95,030
Cover Artist: Dark Angel Graphic Design
Tagline: Magic isn’t a gift, it’s a prison.
Book Description:
The planet Seralune runs entirely on magic, a powerful force regulated by an Alien race known as the Kithrak. An ancient prophecy predicts their downfall at the hands of the most powerful mage ever to live.
Ellyne is a gunslinger who reluctantly agrees to assist a woman named Nicole, who is the answer to the prophecy, when the Kithrak discover that Nicole is the Mage Breaker.
Their quest to bring down this powerful threat leads them to the discovery of magic's dark secret. How will they cope when their mission must shift from one focused on their survival to one that must ensure the endurance of the entire human race?
Excerpt:
Ellyne gently closed her eyes and breathed deeply, listening to the man mutter his incantation. His deliberate and careful pronunciations were a stark contrast to Nicole who simply teleported on a whim—as effortless as blinking her eyes. The Kithrak, too, were more skilled at certain types of magic, though their ability came nowhere close to Nicole’s. For a brief moment, Ellyne wondered if Nicole really could have beaten everyone here.It was an interesting thought—a thought that was interrupted by hot, searing pain erupting from every part of her body. She opened her eyes and screamed, feeling as if she would be torn apart.“What’s wrong?” someone asked.“I … I don’t know!” Torval replied. “The spell failed! Why’s she screaming?”“What the hell is going on?” someone else shouted.Ellyne would’ve liked to see the looks on their faces, but she only saw spots across her vision as the pressure within her mounted, came to a head, and burst outward with a deafening explosion.The hands supporting her fell away and she slumped to the ground, her vision dark and her ears ringing. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, her trying not to pass out, and she was fully prepared for someone to hoist her back to her feet and drag her away at any moment.But as her vision began to clear and her hearing returned, she neither saw nor heard movement. There was no magic battle, no shouts or yells, no flashes of light from spells being cast—nothing. The sound of her own breathing was deafening by comparison.As she struggled to her feet, standing on shaky legs, she began to see what transpired and wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be appalled. She staggered forward, stumbling but catching herself on the bench she’d just a few minutes ago used as cover. It was now bent, the metal having been twisted and shattered by the car that fell on it mere moments ago.“It’s like the Metro all over again,” she muttered.
When Sean Frazier was growing up, he never really paid attention to the written word. It wasn't necessarily something he enjoyed at the time. Once he graduated college, however, the spark ignited and he decided to write something and try to get it published. And it was...well, not-so-great. Truly, it wasn't the highest caliber material ever produced. But the spark was still there, even if it was simply buried deep within.
Eventually, that overly-loquacious, meandering work of wordsmithing became his first book, "The Call of Chaos". It took many, many years, but Sean finally rekindled that drive and found that he did, indeed enjoy writing.
When he's not writing, Sean enjoys running, playing video games, and spending time with his family. He is a bona fide Halloween zealot, loves hot wings, is a grand master at telling terrible jokes and, oh, his cat can beat up your cat.(He's a total dork.)
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