Shameless Cover Reveal

Self promotion goes against every fiber of my being. From an early age I was taught to not brag, to not raise myself above others. I’ll gladly tell you about how everyone else is great, but if you turn the spotlight on me, I want to hide.

shyPug

But in today’s publishing world, that’s not an option. Writers must talk about themselves, drum up excitement for a release, and ask people to buy their book. It’s awkward and uncomfortable, but we have to do it anyway.

Don’t get me wrong-I think my book is funny and sweet and definitely worth the time it takes to read. And I want you to spend your money on it (or get from the library, that’s cool too). I really, really do.

But constantly telling people how great my book is a struggle. I lack the confidence required.

awesomeBarneyIf only I was a little more like Barney Stinson.

So, dear reader, how am I going to make this work. Simple. Two steps.

1. Just do it. I have to tell you about my book and there’s only one way to do that–actually tell you about my book.

2. Set some ground rules. To avoid becoming That Writer, I plan to establish some boundaries. Colleen decided she’s not going to talk about her awesome foreign rights sales (holy crap – six countries!!!!!!). Maybe you’ll limit yourself to one book mention a day. I’ve decided if I’m going to tweet or post about my book, then I need to promote someone else, too. That seems like a fair balance.

And as this is Self Promotion week here on The Ball, I’m thrilled to share the cover for THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE. I absolutely love everything about it. The restaurant chalkboard, the stack of newspapers below the coconut cake, the fantastic font! It’s simple, elegant, yet reflective of the book. The cover designers at Gallery did an amazing job!

Cover

What do you think? Do you have any favorite books covers? Share in the comments!

P.S. You can also add my book as To-Read on Goodreads or pre-order from your favorite book purveyor. The book description and cover will be up soon, too.

And don’t forget to comment on our guest post from Linda Gray Sexton to win a copy of her book BESPOTTED. (See what I did there?)

Author: Amy Reichert

Amy E. Reichert is the author of THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE (Simon & Schuster/Gallery, July 21 2015), about food, love, and second chances, and where serendipity comes in the form of a delicious coconut cake. Find out more at amyereichert.com.

45 Replies to “Shameless Cover Reveal”

  2. YUMMY, and congratulations!!! You must be Catholic – we were taught it was a “sin” to brag, and you are right, in today’s publishing world, if YOU don’t self-promote, it won’t work. Hard to do, but so necessary now. How exciting for you, and I can’t wait to eat, oops, I mean read your book! 😉

  3. OMG LOVE. Yum. That cover is PERFECT.

    Self-promotion is definitely a tricky balance, but I try to remind myself of 2 things: 1) the other people it affects when your book does/doesn’t sell, and that it isn’t just for you, but it’s for them too, and 2) much more recent inspiration, but Courtney Summers was recently tweeting about that we should be less apologetic for promoting ourselves; the people putting themselves in our bookish vicinity *want* to know what’s going on, to support us, to see our covers, to know our pub dates, etc.; it’s a huge part of why we’re all here, not just chatting on Twitter but liking each other’s Facebook pages, checking each other’s blogs – we genuinely want to know! As long as you never stop being a person, of course 😉

    1. Thanks, Dahlia!! And I love thinking of it as who else is affected. What a wonderful perspective, because it does affect so many other people. And Courtney is obviously brilliant. I do love hearing about other people’s news, so they probably want to hear mine! xo

  4. I love the cover! I feel the same way about self promo and also tackle it the same way you do. Look for some promos about other books from me on Twitter this week! Coincidence of Coconut Cake is on my to read list in Goodreads and was sent to my family as an idea for a great gift for preorder 🙂

    1. Thanks, Sky! Self-promo is tricky, and I’ll keep an eye on your feed so I can help spread the word! Yay for preorders! Your book is in my LOOOOONNNNGG list of to-reads. The good news is, I’ve taken to reading ebooks at night so I don’t need a light – therefore I get to those sooner than the real books. 😉

  5. LOVE IT! Congrats Amy! I can’t wait to see it in the bookstores! You know we will have to buy two because Val & I can’t wait for the other to finish before reading.

    1. Thanks, Jama! And yes it will. It comes out July 21 – just in time! I’m insanely excited that I’ll be with my MWW friends during my launch week.

    1. Thank you, Mary! Gallery did an amazing job. It wasn’t anything like I had imagined, but I knew it was perfect the second I saw it.

  11. I can’t wait to eat it…I mean read it! The cover is so gorgeous. So many people have told me they bought my book because of the cover, so it’s made me a huge believer in the power of a good cover. And I’m absolutely in love with yours. Best promotion ever!

    Shelly

  15. Thank you, Heather! Gallery really nailed it! I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t read it yet. It’s in there somewhere-. *points to giant stack of books* but we were inspired by its lovely title.

  17. Amy! We are so proud of you and I’ll be the first to say your coconut cake tastes as amazing as that picture looks!!! Congrats over and over again!

  21. Fabulous! Definitely brag-worthy! I just had to fill out a giant self-reflection for my Educator Effectiveness goal. I find it very difficult to “grade” myself. I always feel I have room to improve so I never give myself very high marks. I don’t want to come off like I don’t do my job though, either. Your post rings true for many of us. I’m so excited to read your book! Congratulations!

  22. You’re right: AWESOME cover! (And great title.) So excited for you! And I know how hard it is to shamelessly self-promote, but I promise you, people are genuinely interested. Shall I pre-order it now or will you be at MWW so I can buy it and have you sign it in person? 🙂

    1. Thanks, Kelly! I will be at MWW, so it’s up to you if you want to preorder or wait until then. We can sign each other’s books (I’m assuming yours will be there, too?). 🙂

  23. Think I’ll have to make a big, ole coconut cake on July 20th, so I’ll have it to eat as I’m reading your terrific new book the next day! Congratulations! The cover is absolutely amazing, and I’m sure the story inside is going to be equally great! Can’t wait for that “final” read! Be proud and loud!

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