Cover copy help part 2 ... sorta ... kinda ...

[Jemir Johnson]

Hello, Everyone. First hope any and all reading are having a great week or on the path to it. Second: this post is patterend a bit after one that Jude Hardin did and Eric Christopherson knocked out of the park by providing help with the back cover copy provided. My own four story collection - called Blind Corners - featuring a black, female, private eye named Jay Nova (her ethnicity isn't really  harped on as it will either be apparent through the final cover if not the stories themselves so there's no mention of it in the copy to follow) is being put together and slated to come out late this year. In the interest of trying to provide the best product I can I humbly ask anyone so inclined to look over what I have for the back copy so far to see how it can be approved on to be nore appealing while keeping the essence of the message. Again, wishing everyone a great week, success in all pursuits, and thanks to all for taking time to read this. Take care. :-)

Blind Corners

What you do in the dark is your business.

Keeping it buried is hers.

Jay Nova is a private eye with a secret.

She can read minds. What she can’t do is control when it triggers, what it reveals or the pain it causes.

Especially the pain.

Still, with a ready gun and sure hand she walks to danger “fixing” problems the desperate won’t go to authorities with.

However clean slates and shattered facts carry a price those crossed want paid in blood.

Hers.

Blind Corners: a collection of hard hitting tales where murder and lies are part of the game and happy endings can happen … but don’t.

Street Sweeper – Foul play, violence, everyone against you. These are things to avoid. For Jay it’s just another day at the office. But when a client’s search for his missing daughter hits the streets another day at the office turns deadly.  

Cross Pattern – The head of a vicious gang wants Jay to find a kidnapped boy in a matter of hours. The race is sparked to save an innocent on hostile ground where intrusion isn’t tolerated and questions are answered with bullets.

Down The Line – For years a seductive woman and her friends played dangerous games. The kind that cost the powerful more than money. Now killers are on a mission to bury them. When someone hires Jay to get to the bottom of it … slaughter follows.

Pressure Points – Anthony Gittano is a don the ruthless fear and heartless respect. A crime lord that can have judges and politicians killed. When Jay agrees to help a young man in a fix Gittano put him in she’s trapped in a corner with only one way out.

[Jed Power]

Great copy, Jemir. My suggestion is the length is too long. I'd cut heavily & have the product description jump out in half the words.
Good luck,
Jed

[Jemir Johnson]

Thank you for the suggestion, taking the time to look through this and the encouragment Jed. It's all appreciated. In your opinion would the below fit the mold better or would you suggest tweaking it some more? Thanks again. Wishing you all you consider success in your pursuits and a great Sunday for you and yours.

 

Blind Corners

What you do in the dark is your business.

Keeping it buried is hers.

Jay Nova is a private eye with a secret.

She can read minds. What she can’t do is control when it triggers, what it reveals or the pain it causes.

Especially the pain.

Still, with a ready gun and sure hand she walks to danger “fixing” problems the desperate won’t go to authorities with.

However clean slates and shattered facts carry a price those crossed want paid in blood.

Hers

[Jed Power]

Hi Jemir,
I like it much better. Just my opinion. I wouldn't describe the stories individually. As long as somewhere on the covers it points out the work is a story collection, I think you'll be all right.
Good luck,
Jed

[Eric Christopherson]

Hi, Jemir, I'm not a short story enthusiast, but my instinct would be in line with Jed's suggestion not to describe the stories individually, but collectively, atmospherically and so on. It strikes me as too much info to take in quickly, describing each story individually, and one story might militate against a purchase for one reader or another. Just my impression. But I'm curious as to how it's actually done. Are there short story collections in the crime genre in which each of the stories are indeed described in brief on the book's product page (or cover flap)? Because I think I'd go with following a successful model ...

[Jemir Johnson]

Sorry for the bump and for just getting to this. That said, thanks for stopping by and your input, Eric. I've decided to go with the suggestion(s) made by you and Jed to shorten up (it'll look much like it does under my first reply to Jed minus a tweak here or there) and put the individual descriptions on a page (one of the Pre-first story/"front matter" pages) inside the book. As for for one of the questions asked I remember one hard boiled type of collection having descriptions of each entry inside the cover flap. However, that featured established authors such as Stephen King, Greg Rucka (the two names I can remember off hand) etc. I presume attaching them to stories written was more the aim (being that they have their own followings) than selling the stories themselves. But what you guys are suggesting is a much better fit (for me). Thanks again Jed and Eric for your encouraging words and input. Wishing you both much success and a great week for you and yours. Take care.