Setting out to create a book box set can be a daunting task. Join the online writing community and gather data on this topic as soon as you think you might go in this direction. Lots of great advice is out there and it will help you with these steps to create your own book bundle.
Series Title
You’ll need to invent a series title for your box set that is different from your actual series. It helps to include the words “box set, boxed set, collection, or omnibus” to show that it’s a bundle. Avoid the word “anthology” because this has come to mean a collection of works by different authors. You’re doing a same-author set. I went with The Bad Hair Day Mysteries Box Set for my new series.
Then you must give each individual book a title. For me, this became Volume One, Volume Two, etc. The subtitle is Books 1-3 and so on. Go to Amazon, put in the search window any of the terms above along with your genre, and study the titles. For example, put “cozy mystery box sets” and see what pops up. Note how those authors handle the series title and subtitle.
Manuscript Preparation
For each book, strip out the front and back matter. Decide if you will keep the individual title pages or will insert a book cover photo instead.
Format each book the same, i.e. single space, one-inch margins, chapter header styles, indent first line, etc.
Compile the set. At the end of book one, copy and paste book two. Repeat for book three if this is a triple bundle.
Front Material
Add a title page to the front of each boxed set.
Create a blurb page with a story blurb for each individual book title. Here’s where you can mention any awards a book has earned. I include a review quote for each book as well.
Obtain an ISBN number and assign it to your box set title at MyIdentifiers.com. [See my previous post for instructions.] Add this to the copyright page for your box set. Put the copyright info for the box set volume at the top, followed by the original copyrights for each individual title. I put the credits here also for my cover design artist and my professional formatter.
Back Material
Include one Author’s Note with a Call to Action (i.e. Request for Review, Newsletter Signup) at the end of the box set.
Add an “About the Author” page with your bio and social media links.
If you wish, present a Book List at the end with all your titles in series order. Don’t forget a buy link. I send readers to the books page on my website so as not to run into conflict with distributor policies. For example, you can’t have an Amazon link on a book you upload to Apple.
Cover Considerations
Hire a cover designer to create an overall theme that carries through from volume to volume. This may include a new logo for your box set series. (Credit to Kim Killion at The Killion Group, Inc. for my designs). Consider placement and fonts for series title/logo, subtitle, and author name for consistency. Choose a color scheme (i.e. bold colors, tropical hues, pastels). Decide on a background image. Note all mine take place in the salon with small variations. Marla, my hairstylist sleuth, is on each cover holding a drink or item related to one of the stories.
Order both 2D and 3D covers for each set. The book distributors will have different policies in this regard. I use 2D covers at Apple and Kobo, and 3D covers at Amazon and BN. Having both types is also helpful when marketing your work.
Get Ready to Publish
Format for your distributor(s) of choice. I send the assembled manuscript to my formatter, who makes sure any errant coding is removed, checks chapter headers for consistency, inserts book covers in place of individual title pages, and converts the set into my choice of ePub format. You can also upload to Draft2Digital for free conversion.
Marketing Tips
Decide on a release strategy. How many volumes will you be releasing? How soon together do you want to launch them?
Create a short blurb for each set to use as part of your book descriptions. Examples:
Set 1
Meet Marla Shore, a Florida hairstylist and salon owner with a knack for styling hair and solving crimes. In her debut case, the brazen beautician unravels a shocking murder that’s making waves all over Palm Haven, a small southern town where almost everyone has something to hide. A coastal fundraiser and a murder at a fitness club round out this trio of fun, light reads.
Set 2
Meet Marla Shore, a Florida hairstylist and salon owner with a knack for styling hair and solving crimes. In this trio of adventures, Marla helps her ex-spouse solve a murder, searches for her missing pet-loving neighbor, and stumbles across the body of a rival hairdresser.
Set 3
Meet Marla Shore, a Florida hairstylist and salon owner with a knack for styling hair and solving crimes. In this trio of cozy mysteries, Marla stays at a haunted hotel, has a blast at a beauty trade show, and sails on a Caribbean cruise with a killer onboard.
Create several memes at BookBrush.com for the first volume in your series.
Once you have the cover and blurbs, begin a page on your website for volume one and save as a draft.
Upload to the distributors and collect your buy links. Add these links to your web page.
Write blogs in advance for pre-order and for launch date.
Prepare a newsletter to announce the new book.
Write a page of tweets and FB posts that you can use with your memes.
Plan a Launch Party and decide upon giveaways.
Determine if you will seek reviews for this volume or let them populate at will.
Think about ads to attract new readers to your series via your box sets.
Consider applying for a BookBub deal for volume one after volume two launches.
Want to get started reading The Bad Hair Day Mysteries? Check out my Box Sets at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZDVH1VW
GIVEAWAY
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