Nancy's Notes From Florida

BookBub Deal Conclusions
May 12, 2025

BookBub is a site where readers can subscribe for free to a daily newsletter and receive news about free and bargain books in the genres of their choice. Achieving a spot on their daily deal has been coveted by authors for years. BookBub has strict guidelines on what works for them, and authors may apply numerous times before getting accepted. As a reader, I like this site to discover new series and authors that I enjoy reading.

I have done daily deals twice before, both for international markets only. This time, I landed one that included the U.S. for Easter Hair Hunt on March 10 at a discounted $0.99 price. Expecting to pay $1036 for my Cozy Mystery spot, I was surprised to learn BB had just instituted a new policy and the cost would be reduced to $829. This new policy allows BB to offer two books per day in the same genre. Prior to this change, I believe there was only one book per day per genre, which led to less competition.

As before, I stacked other ads around this date. These included sites such as Book Doggy, Authors XP, Bargain Booksy, a 5-day Facebook ad via Written Word Media, Book Goodies, The Fussy Librarian and EReader News Today. Including my own newsletter cost and a BookBub ad, this brought my total ad costs to $1406.

Then rumor said March was a month designated for an Amazon boycott. Whether this affected my sales or not, it’s hard to tell. Sales on Amazon have generally been dismal this year so far. Either it’s the economy, or people are choosing books at Kindle Unlimited instead. I did not earn back the money I’d invested in this venture.

I did notice two things about my BookBub Deal that also may have affected sales. Readers had to scroll down through the BB newsletter the day of my deal and click on a link at the bottom that read, View Entire Message. My book was on the second page, not visible to a reader unless they clicked on this link. How many readers bother to do so or even notice this other page?

Also, I felt the story blurb for my book was poorly written. I had no say in the ad copy, and I worried that this description might discourage readers rather than entice them to buy the book. Hopefully, this wasn’t the case.

The only good thing to come out of this adventure was Easter Hair Hunt made #1 on the Amazon Bestseller List in their Holiday Fiction category. So that was a win. And the number of Amazon ratings for my book increased, if not the reviews.

I also saw more downloads of my first-in-series free title, Permed to Death, and a smattering of purchases for other books in the series. Sales swelled at Barnes & Noble, Google and Apple. But I still didn’t make the big bucks other authors had led me to expect nor did I get paid back for my advertising expenses.

All of this has made me rather cynical of applying for another BB Deal. If I run a sale again, maybe I’ll just promote it on these other sites. The next few months will show if there’s a tail to this sale from other books in the series.

How about you? As a reader, do you click all the way through the newsletter when you receive it to check out all the choices? As a writer, have you had success with a BB Deal?

GIVEAWAY

Enter Here to win two free books from Booklovers Bench 

 

 

 

 


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Book Production – Uploading Your Manuscript
April 27, 2025

Before you upload your book to the various distributor sites, you must prepare your book description in long and short forms, any review quotes you’ve obtained, keywords and categories, and your author biography. You’ll also need your ISBNs, subtitle, series title and volume number.

Uploading Your Manuscript

If you’re going wide, choose if you want to submit your ebook directly to Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Barnes and Noble, and Google Play, or if you want to go through a third-party aggregator such as Draft2Digital for some of these. Definitely upload to Amazon directly. You’ll still want to submit to D2D for all the other sites it covers, including library sales through Hoopla and Overdrive.

Exclusive or Non-Exclusive

Decide if you want your book in Kobo Plus, which is a subscription program like Kindle Unlimited but without exclusivity. And will you go exclusive on Amazon in their Kindle Unlimited program? Be careful when you upload to make the right choice. This also applies to your print book. Do not select Expanded Distribution at Amazon if you plan to also upload your print edition to IngramSpark.

You can save your books at each site as a draft without publishing yet, or you can submit for preorder. Make sure your details are consistent at each site. You’ll also have the opportunity to review digital proof copies.

Metadata

At each site, you’ll be asked for the book title, subtitle, series, and volume number. In most cases, you’ll upload the ebook cover and the ePub file. Then you may be asked to choose the categories and keywords, add an author bio and review quotes, set the price and publication date. You’ll also be asked for your ISBN numbers. I suggest you buy your own so you are listed as the publisher. ISBNs are also required at IngramSpark and to enter certain published author contests. Read more about this choice HERE.

At this point, you can submit for preorder or hit the save button and exit. This allows you to come back later to hit the Publish icon. This is helpful if you don’t have all of your information ready or if you’ll be submitting a revised book file. Or you may have to wait until you’re within the parameters of preorder dates, like for print books at Amazon KDP.

Launching Your Book

Once your book is ready and a pub date is set, you can prepare for your book launch. For my upcoming September book release, I’ve already scheduled a cover reveal, a virtual blog tour, and an online launch party. I’ll publish my ebook in June for preorders. This will allow me to collect the buy links for my scheduled cover reveal.

Then I will start soliciting advance reviews, if not before. I’ll do a preorder alert on BookBub and put my book into NetGalley through an author co-op. Meanwhile, I’m writing all the guest posts for my blog tour and for my Facebook launch party. You can also draft newsletters and blog posts ahead of time for your preorder and your book release dates. And don’t forget to create memes to promote your book on social media.

Go here for a more detailed launch countdown – https://nancyjcohen.com/preparing-for-a-book-launch/

Free Workshop

You can also sign up for this free workshop where I’ll be doing a Power Point presentation with much more how-to advice and examples:

Saturday, June 21 at 2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT, “Self-Publishing Made Simple: Your Roadmap to Success” with Nancy J. Cohen via Zoom sponsored by Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University – https://nova.libcal.com/event/14245503

 

View my previous posts:
Finalizing Your Manuscript
Choosing an eBook Distributor
Choosing a Print Distributor

 


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Book Production – Finalizing Your Manuscript
April 8, 2025

Getting your manuscript ready for formatting means adding front and back material and completing your copyright page.

For your copyright page, you’ll need the ISBN numbers for each edition. Make sure you have your book description, eBook cover, and author bio ready before you get started. You’ll need a separate ISBN number for digital, paperback, and hardcover editions.

You can use the same print ISBN at Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, but you’ll need a separate one for Barnes and Noble if you plan to upload direct. Otherwise, IS will get your print book listed at Barnes and Noble. You can use the same ebook ISBN at all vendors.

For detailed instructions on how to buy and assign ISBN numbers and why this matters, go to: https://nancyjcohen.com/buying-and-assigning-isbn-numbers/

Aside from the title page and copyright page, what else can go in front of your book? And how about items you can add in the back, such as Acknowledgements, Author’s Note, Book List, and more? It’s best to leave the front end as clear as possible for the “Look Inside” feature, so the reader doesn’t have to scroll through several pages to get to the first chapter. Instead, put most of that material in the back. Here’s a detailed look at what these pages might include: https://nancyjcohen.com/adding-front-and-back-material-to-your-book/

Once you have finished your front and back matter, you’re ready for formatting. You can do this yourself, use a third-party aggregator such as Draft2Digital to convert your files for free, or hire a professional. Once you have your pdf file, you can give your cover artist the page count for the paperback cover.

Now that you have your ePub and/or pdf files and your covers, it’s time to upload your work to the various book distributors and either save them as drafts or submit for preorder.

PRIOR POSTS:

Book Production – Cover Design 
Publishing Choices

Coming Next: Book Production – Uploading Your Book

DEALS AND STEALS

 

Last Day! $0.99 sale on EASTER HAIR HUNT ends tomorrow. Get your copy now or buy a print edition as a gift! An Easter egg hunt at a historic mansion turns deadly when hairstylist Marla Vail discovers a body in a bunny suit. Can she use her egg-cellent sleuthing skills to crack the case? Available in print and ebook editions – https://books2read.com/EasterHairHunt

GIVEAWAYS

Easter Egg Hunt Blog Event at Coffee Time Romance – Recipes, Prizes and Book Spotlights. Join now at https://coffeetimeromance.com/easter-egg-treasure-by-nancy-j-cohen/

Enter the All Things Cozy Giveaway (Cozy Mystery & Cozy Fantasy) and you could win a bunch of eBooks and a brand-new Kindle! Look for my book, Easter Hair Hunt, as one of the featured titles. https://www.bargainbooksy.com/all-things-cozy-giveaway-040125/

What is your favorite chocolate dessert? Leave a comment at Booklover’s Bench for a chance to win an ebook copy of A Bad Hair Day Cookbook– Recipe and Giveaway!  https://bookloversbench.com/lets-talks/national-chocolate-mousse-day/

 Enter to win two free books from Booklovers Bench – https://bookloversbench.com/contests/win-two-free-books-april-2025/


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Book Deals and Giveaways April 2025
April 3, 2025

April is a busy month with Passover and Easter holidays. Stock your book basket with the deals and steals below and enter the giveaways.

BOOK GIVEAWAYS

April 1-May 31

Enter the “All Things Cozy (Cozy Mystery & Cozy Fantasy) Giveaway” and you could win a bunch of eBooks and a brand new Kindle! Look for my book, Easter Hair Hunt, as one of the featured titles. https://www.bargainbooksy.com/all-things-cozy-giveaway-040125/

April 4

Easter Egg Hunt Blog Event Coffee Time Romance – Recipes, Prizes, and Book Spotlights. Join now at https://coffeetimeromance.com/easter-egg-treasure-by-nancy-j-cohen/

April 3-10

What is your favorite chocolate dessert? Leave a comment at Booklover’s Bench for a chance to win an ebook copy of A Bad Hair Day Cookbook!  https://bookloversbench.com/lets-talks/national-chocolate-mousse-day/

April 1-22

Enter to win two free books from Booklovers Bench – https://bookloversbench.com/contests/win-two-free-books-april-2025/

ON SALE

March 2 – April 9
Ending Soon!! EASTER HAIR HUNT is On Sale for $0.99 – An Easter egg hunt at a historic mansion turns deadly when hairstylist Marla Vail discovers a body in a bunny suit. Can she use her egg-cellent sleuthing skills to crack the case? “Cozy fans will love it.” Available in print and ebook editions. https://books2read.com/EasterHairHunt

EVENTS FOR WRITERS

April 22-25 – The Business of Writing Summit

The Business of Writing Summit is a unique event where authors and entrepreneurs come together to share their best insights on craft and the business of writing. These workshops will provide tools for you to succeed as an aspiring author and for those wanting to improve their skills. The summit will consist of approximately 16-19 pre-recorded sessions. Look for my topic “Book Promotion on a Budget” on Day 4. Register April 13-21 at https://trouche-curreri.com/rgstr-bw?am_id=nancy5331

April 13 – Safety Awareness

Join Citrus Crime Writers on Sunday, April 13 at 2:00 pm ET for a workshop via Zoom on “Safety Awareness” with forensic expert Heather White. Free Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/safety-awareness-with-forensic-expert-heather-white-tickets-1284390690129?aff=oddtdtcreator

Happy April!


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Book Production – Cover Design
March 28, 2025

If you’re an indie author, you have full responsibility for book production. This includes the cover, formatting, metadata and more. Let’s start with the cover. You can be working on this aspect while finalizing your completed manuscript.

Getting Started

Choose a ready-made cover, design one yourself, or hire a talented cover artist. I prefer the latter because I want my book to look as professional as possible, and I have no skills in this area. Plus, for a series, you need a coordinated look. Decide which route you’ll go and then consider these elements below.

Sample Covers

If you’re not sure what type of look you want, go to Amazon and put your genre in the search window. Click on any covers that attract you. Then click on the series title and see them all laid out. Decide what it is about them that draws your attention. Collect the links to several cover styles that appeal to you and send these to your cover artist as examples. 

Type of Image

Do you want a person, pet, architectural/landscape scene or an object on your cover? These are listed in order of popularity for cozy mysteries according to a recent market report. For my next release, I’m choosing to have a person on the cover and a scene depicting where the story takes place.

Here’s an example from Hair Raiser. The original cover needed a revamp (see image on left). I knew I wanted a chef on the cover. In the story, his Bananas Foster erupts into flames. But how to get that fire just right? See these proofs.

Hair Raiser     

     

Color Palette

What colors represent your author brand? Are your stories dark and suspenseful, or are they light and humorous? Do they take place in a particular locale such as a tropical setting with bright, bold colors or at a seaside resort with pastels? Again, you may vary the colors from book to book, but the overall look should be consistent.

     Hair Raiser High Resolution

Placement of Author Name and Book Title

Think about placement for the title and author name. Top or bottom with the image in the middle? Or some other arrangement? How about your series title? Make sure the text stands out clearly against the background images. These choices should remain the same for each book in a series.

    

Font

The text font should also be consistent. It can help set the mood for a serious or funny work. Make sure whichever one you use, that it’s legible on a thumbnail-sized image.

Subtitle

Do you want a subtitle on the cover? How about a series logo? These are other things you may want to add.

Paperback Cover 

Before you can do a paperback cover, you’ll need to have a pdf copy of your book with a page count. Then think about what you want on the spine. Your author name and book title? Series logo? Publisher imprint? Series number?

What about the design on the back? Do you want to carry through the image from the front, or use a solid color on the back page?

You’ll need to be ready with the back cover copy. Aside from the story blurb, will you include review quotes? If you don’t have any yet for this book, are there previous books in this series or another series you write that you can use?

Note that print cover templates differ for Amazon KDP and IngramSpark. If you plan to upload to both distributors, you’ll need two separate covers in pdf format. Give your cover artist the print ISBN number, but you do NOT need a bar code. The distributors will automatically create one for you.

Next, we’ll discuss finalizing your manuscript with front and back material prior to formatting so you can get the pdf page count you need.

ON SALE

Easter Hair Hunt is on sale for $0.99 until April 9! Grab your copy now while this price is still effective or read for FREE on Kobo Plus. You can also get a print copy as a gift.


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