Reading time: 3 meaty minutes

Welcome to the Weekly Book Business Brief—your weekly shot of strategy, tools, and real talk for authors building a book-based business.

A few things going on behind the scenes around here…

My Show launch has been pushed to early September. I'll talk more about why in a future Brief. (And I can't wait to share about it!)

Thanks for all of the health suggestions. I'm officially "mended" and back on the productivity train--beep beep! Seriously, though, I'm looking forward to celebrating the 4th with family, friends, fireworks, and food.

What about you? Are you celebrating or doing something else interesting this holiday weekend?

📚 What the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and Your Book Cover Have in Common

After my fall, and during the highly inconvenient illness that lasted way too long (and kept me out of the gym), I did what any logical person would do: I binge-watched series television. (Don't worry, I also read some great books!) I rolled through Necessary Roughness, Fairly Legally, and landed on the third season of America's Sweethearts on Netflix (as one would do).

Now, before you judge my viewing choices, I've got a solid piece of wisdom for you.

In one of the episodes, the ladies were discussing that they needed to strike a balance in how they look: they needed to fit in and they needed to stand out.

Precisely how I describe how a book cover should look:

-->It needs to fit in on the shelf where it belongs (in the bookstore, library, and on retail platforms).

-->It also needs to stand out--so that readers will see it, give it a good look, buy it, and read it.

Before engaging a designer to work on your cover (because, if you're not a book cover designer, you're gonna need a great one), visit your local bookstore and find the shelf where your book will live.

Side note: Your book might indeed be the most unique tome ever, but there is no shelf for "books that are unlike all the other books." Hint: It's got to live somewhere.

I digress. On that shelf, note the color schemes, font, and feel of the books that have been there at least six months (preferably a year or more). Now, what do you like? What don't you like?

When your book first launches, it's going to be an "Instant Amazon Bestseller" (which ultimately means nothing, if it doesn't do it's job of new clients or revenue, just sayin'), which means it will be sitting on a sales page/shelf next to comparable titles.

You're going to want to be bursting with pride because it looks that good.

A magnificent book cover that makes someone want to read it is worth it's weight in gold. (You know, the gold you pay a great designer.)

If you want more insight into the other elements that go into a best earning book, and the contact info for my personal book cover designer, check out Publishing Ph.D. (and use code subscriber to save 30%).

🇺🇸 Happy 250th, America! 🇺🇸

It is hard to believe we're halfway through the year and attending the annual fêtes that occur on the 3rd and 4th.

What occurred to me is that I'd never considered if any of my books would be on anyone's TBR (to be read) pile when the 500th celebration comes around.

When I write my books, I attempt to make them full of "evergreen" content, meaning: the read will be helpful today, tomorrow, next week, and ten years from now.

I'm not thinking anything I write might be encouraging someone hundreds of years from now, but it's an interesting thought, isn't it?

I'll work my way through a watermelon a day this week and continue to ponder the thought.

I do have to say that 90% of my annual reads (the books I return to again and again) are more than twenty years old, so there's that.

I hope you have a wonderful week, wherever you are in the world, and I'll see you next Tuesday!

Honorée Corder. Author. Executive Book Producer. ​​​​​​​

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P.S. Forward this email to an aspiring author you know who needs expert insight, humor, and to avoid avoidable mistakes. They'll want to download my free Roadmap, too!