I Need Some Feedback

[MrSteve]

Hi.

I have written a book, and am trying to market it on LuLu.com. I have what they call a "store front" web page, and a "google page" as well (which isn't quite finished).

http://stores.lulu.com/kentstevensbookshelf

Aside from the obvious and shameless self-promotion that I'm doing here, I would like to get reactions from people who are not immediate family members. What I would like feedback on is:

1.) Does the simplicity of the web page give you a bad impression?

2.) Does the book blurb sound amateurish?

3.) Does the $6.50 price-tag sound too high for a PDF by an unknown, non-lettered author?

4.) As a Christian, does the book sound interesting from the description?

Any feedback on one or all of these would be appreciated. Please be brutal.
Merci d'avance.

-- Mr. Steve

[jacks girl]

Does the simplicity of the web page give you a bad impression? No i think it looks good.

2.) Does the book blurb sound amateurish? I think it could be better but I'm not an expert. I will read it again when i'm not so rushed and my opinion here might change.

3.) Does the $6.50 price-tag sound too high for a PDF by an unknown, non-lettered author? May be and i say this only because of the way books have been cheapened by places like the dollar store where you can buy a book for a dollar. I think I would start out with 5 if I had a book on down load. nice round figure. But i have no idea what kind of cost you are trying to re coop.

4.) As a Christian, does the book sound interesting from the description?
Someone else will have to answer this. it's not my kind of book. I mostly read romance and mystery. Sorry can't help here.

I will say I like the look of the site and the picture on the book cover, is there a link or something to zoom in on the book cover. to make it look bigger. if that is an option someone might want to use it. just a tiny suggestion from a person who always looks at the cover first.


jacks

[Tarin]

1.) Does the simplicity of the web page give you a bad impression?

If I had already heard about the book and was actively interested in purchasing it, the site wouldn't stop me. But if I was just browsing, I doubt the overall simplicity of the site would convince me to buy the book. Don't get me wrong, the site has a nice clean look that I definitely appreciate. But the overall lack of information (who's the author, what else has he produced, does he have any links, does he have any reader reviews) would lead me to believe that the author is probably an amateur. Might I suggest researching some author web-sites to get an idea of the various "extras" they include on their sties? At the very least, such extras might encourage site viewers to stick around for a little bit longer.

2.) Does the book blurb sound amateurish?

Sounds good.

3.) Does the $6.50 price-tag sound too high for a PDF by an unknown, non-lettered author?

No, $6.50 strikes me as very reasonable - although, if I were going to purchase it, I would like to know how many pages the book contains.

4.) As a Christian, does the book sound interesting from the description?

It's not something that I, personally, would be interested it, but you've raised some interesting questions that would hopefully pique people's interest.

Good luck. :)

[MrSteve]

Thank you both for your comments. You've got some good suggestions.

And the reason you suspect it might be by an ameteur . . . well, that's because it is. I have published nothing before, so I'm going to have to dig to present relevant information. I have no ThD, or whatever. A review from someone notable would be nice, though. That's a good suggestion.

As for the cost . . . I paid the fee to get it legitimately copyrighted. And I spent about 5 years actively writing and researching it.

Again, thanks for your help.

Mr. Steve.
(a.k.a. Kent Stevens)

[cpickett]

Hi,

1. Simple is good, but I also agree with the others that you need to fill in the details. Also, for me the sidebar loaded vertically, not sure if it's a glitch or what. Also, I'm not sure how else to expand on Lulu, but I would not make that my primary selling platform anyway.

You are on the right track in that you'll have a standard page as well. That hugely important because, yes it looks more professional and you control it vs. Lulu controlling it.

I'd also suggest adding a blog to your site, or just getting started with the free ones at either Blogger.com (which I find easier) or Wordpress.

You don't necessarily have to have letters behind your name to give people good information. What you do have to show us though, is that you know what you're talking about and things like blogs and writing articles, help you do that.

2. I think the blurb is pretty good. It kept me reading.

3. Price tags on ebooks are all over the place. It might help to know how many pages, but you still have to convince the buyer that the information is worth the price you put on it. There are special reports of a dozen pages selling for that price, and ebooks of a 30-50 pages selling for three times more than that, depending on the subject.

Try to do a comparison of similar ebooks (Booklocker.com offers a lot of ebooks, might help) and then pick a price and test sales. I personally would not go any lower. I agree dollar stores and Amazon discounts have ruined some book pricing to an extent, but that's why it's up to you to convince people what the info is worth.

4. I read non-fiction, but not scriptural commentary/interpretation generally. I suggest you ask Bible class teachers, pastors etc. who are probably more into scholarly writing for opinion and then testimonials if they support the book. Putting a few of those on your standard webpage will go a long way in showing people you know what you're talking about, and that the book will deliver what is advertised.

Lastly, it's a very positive thing that you're open to criticism. Many people protect their work so much that they reject even the most helpful comments. I hope you continue to learn and grow.

[WritingChaos]

Lulu.com - File Not Found, THe page you have requested cannot be found.

That's a problem.

[RADKHAN]

Hi Mr. Steve,

I cannot answer your questions, as the link to the page was not found.

Rad

[GentleJourneyAu]

Same problem here, Mr. Steve. I clicked on the link and got a Lulu page that said file not found. Then I tried copying and pasting and got the same thing. Elaine

[MrSteve]

Thanks to WritingChaos, GentleJourney, and RadKhan, for alerting me to the broken link. That's what I get for fiddling with things after they're working.

[DrRita]

Mr. Steve. The colors are pretty. The picture of your book cover is nice. But you need to bolster this thing. Send me a pm and I'll give you a quote for a book trailer (I too am shamelessly advertising my new company . . .) If you want to see the two examples go to www.myspace.com/drrita and check out the one for "Sailing the Shoals" and "Qismat."

[MrSteve]

Dr Rita. Thanks. Your site looks interesting, but I'm not sure I want to go that route on advertising. I was just thinking of getting it listed on Amazon, and leaving it at that. If I ever sell about 40 copies, I'll break even.

The kind of advertising I'd rather go for is a mention in Christian publications, or the equivalent of a trade journal for pastors (if such a thing exists). Right now I'm trying to get learned people in the profession to give me a review I can quote on the back cover (when I get the paperback ready) and on the site.

[GentleJourneyAu]

Mr. Steve. If it is self-published, Amazon may not take it. They are trying to promote their own publishing company these days. Barnes and Noble will. Even if you get it on Amazon, you still have to do a lot of promotion to get anyone to see it. Good luck. Elaine