MRS. JOB NEEDS HELP
I’ve talked before about the five reasons why Mrs. Job doesn’t sell. (See my website http://forgivenessoptions.com/content/9/mrs-job )
Now I plan to do something about it. And here’s where I need help. Please give me your opinion, either here or on my website or by e-mail. What I’m looking for is a way to make it reach out to more people, so whether you’ve read it or not (and I won’t ask … ) I want to hear from you. Here’s what I plan to do on the cover to make it clearer and more appealing.
(1) I made the mistake of leaving the Ph.D. after my name so people think it’s a heavy academic tome – or maybe a self-help book. It’s not. It’s a love story. SOLUTION: I’ll remove the Ph.D from after my name.
(2) People think it’s a religious treatise because it’s about biblical Job. It’s not a treatise. Yes, it is true to the events that happened to him in the biblical story, but it’s fiction built around those events.
(3) Some people think it’s a “liberal” tome, calling into question some biblical beliefs. It’s not. See (2) above
POTENTIAL SOLUTONS: I’ll change the name to counteract the assumptions in (2) and (3) above. I’ve had a few ideas. My first was to change it to “Mrs. Job: A Love Story.” A member of my writer’s group suggested “Mrs. Job’s Journey,” even as they expressed the opinion that it should have a colon and something after it. My daughter said I shouldn’t put either of those out there so people could come up with their own original ideas, but I decided to give you a sense of the kind of thing I’m looking for. PLEASE HELP WITH OPINIONS or SUGGESTIONS, I’ll repay you with gratitude and appreciation.
(4) Many apparently think it’s about working people, or maybe the wife of Steve Jobs, because they don’t pronounce “Job” right. SOLUTION: I don’t know. Maybe changing the title will help overcome that, or maybe a line above the “o,” alerting people that it’s a long “o.” SUGGESTIONS?
(5) There are those who don’t buy it because they already have, and liked it so much they’ve been lending it to their friends. And that’s why their friends don’t buy it. NO SOLUTIONS NEEDED. I think that’s a fine reason.
I INTEND ALSO TO CHANGE THE COVER. I know at least two people who love the cover, one of whom says it won’t, however, sell the book, even though she loves it. I think first off a lighter background will help, and I have a few ideas I’ve been running past a graphic artist. I’ll put those out there when they get closer to some kind of finalization. In the meantime, I’m eager for suggestions.
If you want to take a look at the cover as it is now, click on the link in the first paragraph.
