Marketing Experiment

Rhymes Through Time

books2read.com/Rhymes-Through-Time

I was getting frustrated trying to figure out how to market poetry books.  I had two out, Voices In My Head and They Won't Shut Up but sales were flat-lined. Those that had the first two wanted me to publish again, but I really could not find a legitimate reason to pour more money down this seemingly bottomless pit. 

Cost was not my only deterrent. I had the poems, I had more than enough of them to publish another book.  The problem was I could not find a cover that would connect to the first two books.  I figured I would wait it out and see if a solution would come to me.

Suddenly an idea light-bulb had appeared inside my head!  Amazon had Kindle Unlimited!  I could have a small book with samples of the first two and some new stuff and offer it there!  I would be letting people see what I do and advertising all three books at the same time!

A dear friend, Wren Liddle, created a beautiful cover for me and I set about deciding how to do the interior.  Since it was a sample book, I decided not to sort the poems into sections like I had the first two. Instead, I decided it would be completely random. I selected poems from each book and from those unused on my computer by pulling their titles out of a hat.  Then I placed all the selected titles in the hat and picked the order they would appear.

I published Rhymes Through Time only as an e-book and submitted it to Kindle Unlimited.  Unfortunately, by the time I decided to play with KU, the rules had changed and not in a way that benefited a poetry book.  I removed it from the service but left it available as an e-book.  I assumed that since it had poems already available in print no one would care to have it in paperback. It was several years later that I was talked into having a print version created.  With a back cover poem already written, and the help of my friend Erika Szabo, https://www.goldenboxbooks.com, I quickly had my third book in print.

It has been a while but, Rhymes Through Time is again being used as an experiment.  At the suggestion of Erika, I submitted it to be formatted as an audio book.  It is being narrated by Linda A. Hynson and will soon be available on ACX!  In fact, I just listened to the first 15 minutes and accepted it!  To hear my poems read by such a talented woman is a surreal experience.  I am beyond excited!  Erika again came to my rescue when she informed me a new cover would be needed for the audio book as it had to be designed as a square.  This is the gorgeous cover she created for me!

 

I  am looking forward to hearing the completed book!  Will more audio books be coming?  I am not sure.
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