Rebranding Project Enterprise

I am in the process of rebranding my Project Enterprise series because I am working on a new book in the series! (See, I do listen you, readers!) I’m having to learn some new [mad] skills in the process.

It’s made me realize, no, that’s not the right word, it’s made me remember things I have known a long time, but things that get lost in the hustle and bustle of trying to manage the creative side of writing AND the business side (yes, there is a business side!). It’s sometimes feels like dancing on the head of a pin—one that is moving. lol

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some wonderful experiences muddling along, writing stories that I have loved, and finding readers who liked them. My “little time” (as opposed to the “Big Time”) has provided me a lot of joy. I’ve loved the fan mail and (most) of my reviews.

And I would probably continue to muddle along, but there is this part of me that I inherited from my dad.

He was a very good businessman. When I say good, I mean he managed his business well and he tried to take care of his employees as well as he was able. He didn’t start out knowing everything, but he learned from his mistakes and found people who could help me learn what he didn’t know.

I’d like to be like my dad. I’d like to manage my business well.

Now, if I were really smart, I’d probably change what I write, but my creative business partner (the other side of my brain) won’t stand for that. But I can try to manage what I do write, as well as I can. And I can listen to feedback from my awesome readers.

So what is rebranding, you ask?

Well, it’s revamping the blurbs and the covers (while dodging the bombs Life has been tossing my way lately). I posted a couple of cover options on Facebook for feedback and you all responded most enthusiastically. Thank you! (If you’d all agreed, it would have helped. lol)

But, based on feedback from all of you, and from my expert mentors, I picked the cover with the guy on the cover. A cover is…the first pitch to the reader. It is supposed to give the reader an indication of what is inside.

My covers weren’t doing that (even though I think they were pretty).

If the cover will get a reader to click, then the next pitch is the blurb. If the blurb gets a reader to take a look inside…well, at that point the words have to engage them as a reader.

Because I’m a reader, I know that not everyone who clicks will feel chemistry with how I use words and I’m fine with that. But what I want to do, wearing my business hat, is find those readers who WILL feel chemistry with my words and brand of storytelling.

So here’s the second level of my rebranding, i.e., my new blurb:

The key will unlock more than an unknown civilization; it will define who one woman will become….

Sara Donovan, an elite member of Project Enterprise, signs up for a mission that will take her far beyond the safety of her galaxy and into one torn apart by warfare. Shot down, she finds herself on an inhospitable planet with an alien resistance fighter who has a few secrets of his own.

Kiernan Fyn is a member of a resistance group called the Ojemba. Kiernan has enough of his own troubles without adding a mysterious alien female searching for answers to the list. He is given little choice when Sara is targeted by three separate forces believing she has the key to a long lost civilization – a key they are determined to possess.

Together, Sara and Kiernan must avoid capture, and deal with their growing attraction for each other, while they search for a mysterious, hidden city on a planet that brings Sara closer to understanding her baffling abilities and her mother’s past.

Don’t miss out on the excitement in this Independent Book Bronze Medal and Dream Realm Awards Winner! Join Sara and Kieran today as they discover where the key is hidden and stop those that would use the secrets left behind by a lost civilization for their own agenda.

So, if you’ve read this far, then here is your chance to move on OR you can click a link and download a sample. (I’ll never know, unless you tell me. lol)

And you know I love comments, so how about sharing with me what does intrigue you when you’re out book buying? What elements of a cover get you to click/pick up? What is it about a blurb that entices you to look further? What stories do you click “buy” for?

I love comments so much that I pick a favorite to receive my monthly AnaBanana gift basket ($25 value).  (And don’t forget that once a quarter I’ll be tossing in something fun from the Perilously Fun Shop!) Recipient is announced the first blog post of the new month.

Perilously yours,

Pauline