Spilled Ink

January 2024

Catch up on all the latest publishing news and what’s new at Journey Institute Press.

Inside the Press

It’s been a busy time of year for JIP. The end of 2023 saw us rushing to get author releases through the busy holiday print cycle and now we’re busy finishing up Q4 Royalty payments to send to our authors.

2024 is already looking to be our biggest publishing year to date with 9 authors already lined up to publish and one or two more coming as well as multiple authors launching new versions of their books in paperback/eBook/Kindle and even audiobooks.

2023 Book Catalog

You can see all of our authors work, including those that were published in 2023 and years prior in our book catalog.

2023 Book Catalog

New program from IngramSpark for US Authors – Share and Sell

The new program from IngramSpark allows authors to sell books for order directly from the printer cutting the distribution costs down and giving more royalties back to authors.

Learn more here: https://www.ingramspark.com/e-commerce

If you are a JIP Author and want links to use to sell your books contact us and we will create them for you.

We launched our first Author Audiobook and have other authors working on audio versions of their books now.

Here is an interesting article about the launch of Spotify into the audiobook world. Some interesting things to note from the article if you don’t have access to the NYT:

Spotify now has the 2nd largest market share ahead of Apple and behind Audible
The audiobook market in the US grew 28% in the 4th quarter of 2023
For certain genres (self-help and celebrity memoirs) audio sales can match or exceed print sales.

Dave Krepcho

NEW AUTHOR SIGNING

We are excited to have signed a new author to the Journey Institute Press family in May: Dave Krepcho.
Dave had an illustrious career of over thirty years in the food bank industry. Beginning in 1992 as the Executive Director of the Miami Food Bank and went on to work for Feeding America in Chicago, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization. He was responsible for developing national programs designed to obtain more food for the 205-member food banks across the United States.

His upcoming book will seek to break the stereotypes and misconceptions that are widely held about hunger and a comprehensive look at the past, present, and future of this problem.

Spilled Ink Archives

The back cover copy you write for your book is among the most important marketing messages you’ll craft. It’s the essence of your book’s most exciting features, distilled into a few hundred words. It typically serves as the foundation for your online book descriptions, as well as any press releases or pitches you make to the media. It will get re-used and re-fashioned for dozens of purposes. Whatever labor you expend on perfecting it will reward you in the long run.

Here are the key principles that publishers and authors alike use to create what should become a masterpiece of your book marketing and an essential piece of your book metadata.

Back Cover Copy for Nonfiction (Non-Narratives)

The most important question you must answer in your back cover copy is: Why and how will the reader benefit from this book? If you know your audience well, then you know the problems they face; your back cover copy should tell how your book addresses these problems head on and helps readers overcome a challenge or succeed.

Two of the most common mistakes that nonfiction authors make in crafting their back cover is:

Focusing too much on a description of the book’s content, rather than how the content will help, inform, or entertain the reader
Focusing too much on the author’s background, rather than how the author’s credentials or experience helps them expertly address the subject matter

Rather than crafting copy that’s a long, solid block of text, you can help ensure the copy is read by including (in this order):

A headline at the top of the cover that succinctly sums up the key benefit or selling point of the book—or consider a convincing quote (blurb) from a recognizable authority who recommends the book
About a 100-200 word summary that expands upon the headline and demonstrates the value of the book
A bullet list of features and benefits the book provides to readers
A final sentence or two to close the message, with a mention of the author’s credentials if not earlier described
(optional) Praise (blurbs) for the book from recognizable authorities
(optional) A brief author bio and author photo at the bottom of the cover

A professional designer can work wonders in arranging this information in a way that helps it get read, especially if you have a range of elements you’re trying to assemble (description, blurbs, bio, photo, awards, and so on).

Back Cover Copy for Fiction (and Nonfiction Narratives)

It’s not uncommon for traditional publishers to put nothing but blurbs or book reviews on a novel’s back cover, especially if it’s by an author who is already well-known. But that’s rarely the best strategy for authors who don’t already have an established audience. Potential readers will want to know what the story is about before committing, and the hook you provide may determine whether they start reading the first page or chapter. (The same is true of memoir and other true-to-life stories.)

The hook for the back cover isn’t so different from the hook you’d put in a query letter to a literary agent. The hook needs to convey:

Who is the main character(s)?
What do they most deeply desire?
What stands in the way?
What is the setting or context for the story?

If you can’t identify what the main character deeply desires, then ask: What challenge do they face? What sets their story in motion?

Ultimately, what you’re trying to get across is an intriguing story premise. For example, My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult tells the story of 13-year-old Anna, who was born as a “savior sister” specifically so she can save her older sister’s life. When Anna turns 13, she is told that she will have to donate one of her kidneys, and she sues her parents for medical emancipation.

That length of description is all you need to sell the story to potential readers. To improve your own story description, read the book marketing copy for dozens (even hundreds) of books in your genre, and pay attention to length, point of view or voice, as well as how much of the story is described. For example, it’s very popular for contemporary romance novel descriptions to be written from the point-of-view of the heroine. Here’s how the book marketing copy for Baller by Vi Keeland starts:

The first time I met Brody Easton was in the men’s locker room.
It was my first interview as a professional sportscaster.
The famed quarterback decided to bare all.
And by all, I don’t mean he told me any of his secrets.
No. The arrogant ass decided to drop his towel, just as I asked the first question. On camera.

In those 60 words, we know who the main character is, a good idea of what she desires (or will desire!), and what her challenge will be. We also know the setting or context.

No matter what category or genre your book falls into, you have to pack a lot of punch into a couple hundred words, sometimes less. Don’t just write one version and consider it done. Write multiple versions, test and gather feedback, and improve it until you feel it’s the best possible sales piece for your book.

Spilled Ink

January 2024

Inside the Press

2023 Book Catalog

Dave Krepcho

NEW AUTHOR SIGNING

Spilled Ink Archives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 23, 2021

Back Cover Copy for Nonfiction (Non-Narratives)

Back Cover Copy for Fiction (and Nonfiction Narratives)