Is this over the top?

[R. C.]

The question sounds silly to my marketing mind... Nonetheless, is this page too busy?

The Granite Bay Murder Club

R.C.

[Bill Hiatt]

To some extent, that's a matter of taste. I think the product description might be a little on the long side, but it is certainly effective writing.

As far as the below-the-fold content is concerned, it's below the fold. I figure no one scrolls down that far unless they're looking for more, so the people who will see it are probably going to be receptive to it.

[Post-Crisis D]

Forgive me if I sound harsh, but are you promoting a movie or a book?

You have headshots of the different characters which looks cool and all, but this is still a book, right?

And how do you want that book to be perceived?  Do you want readers to use their own imaginations to decide what the characters look like based on your descriptions?  Or, is it more important that they look the way they look in their headshots on the sales page?

You might risk alienating readers that read the book and then don't think the character looks like how you showed them on the sales page.  Or, worse, they might flip back and forth between the story and the sales page to see what the character is "supposed" to look like, which can tend to take them out of the story.

It could also appear to readers that you don't have confidence in your writing to convey what the characters look like so you tossed up pictures to show them.  And that may turn off some readers because if you don't have confidence in your work, why should they have any confidence they might enjoy reading it?

I get that you may be trying to coordinate with your book trailer, but the trailer is a different medium.  I kind of feel like using the headshots markets the trailer more so than the book and the sales page should be all about the book because that is what you're selling.

Also, the "Me" headshot is a different style than all the others which is also off-putting.

[writeway]

I like it!

With romance books, I see more than this. And as a POC woman, I LOVE how you show the diversity in your characters. I don't believe in the, "let your readers decide how folks look" because authors used to do that and readers always assume someone is white. The default is white and if you don't give some description of different characters who are diverse, no one will know. I also don't get the argument of "alienating people" with photos of characters when book covers have photos of people all the time. What's the difference between a picture and someone describing a character? If I say my character has curly black hair and ocean-blue eyes, what difference does it make if you see a picture of her or not? I DESCRIBED what she is, anyway. If anyone is alienated because of the way characters look, well then they might just not wanna read books with certain characters. And that's all I'll say about that. I don't see how an author showing their characters is a bad thing. I think it will get you MORE readers.

And readers have often said they prefer to know what the characters look like clearly and up front. I know I do. A character's description is important and makes a character three-dimensional.

I'm looking at it from MY lens. Others might feel differently but as person of color, who values seeing people like me in all types of books, this representation is super important and I like to see people who look like me in books, and I appreciate it. Call me crazy.

As for the design of it, some might say it is too much then some won't. You can't please everyone. Do YOU like it? That's what important. But I definitely think seeing your characters will make more people wanna buy it instead of not.

Good luck with the book!

[R. C.]

Forgive me if I sound harsh, but are you promoting a movie or a book?

You have headshots of the different characters which looks cool and all, but this is still a book, right?

And how do you want that book to be perceived?  Do you want readers to use their own imaginations to decide what the characters look like based on your descriptions?  Or, is it more important that they look the way they look in their headshots on the sales page?

You might risk alienating readers that read the book and then don't think the character looks like how you showed them on the sales page.  Or, worse, they might flip back and forth between the story and the sales page to see what the character is "supposed" to look like, which can tend to take them out of the story.

It could also appear to readers that you don't have confidence in your writing to convey what the characters look like so you tossed up pictures to show them.  And that may turn off some readers because if you don't have confidence in your work, why should they have any confidence they might enjoy reading it?

I get that you may be trying to coordinate with your book trailer, but the trailer is a different medium.  I kind of feel like using the headshots markets the trailer more so than the book and the sales page should be all about the book because that is what you're selling.

Also, the "Me" headshot is a different style than all the others which is also off-putting.

First - "Me" was a placeholder for "Narrator" - which I changed.

To your points - exactly! 

What does that mean?  The book is written in a style that you see in the trailer. Each of the characters is a thread that is unfolded over several decades until they reunite for the surprise ending. Diversity is a thread. Sexuality (not overt) is a thread. Personal growth is a thread. Serial killing is a thread. Geography and cultural shifting of Northern California is a thread.

re: "...don't have confidence in your writing to convey what the characters look like" - Not at all. In fact, I used the descriptives from the pages to create the headshots. Also, an additional purpose of the images is to illustrate diversity in the story. A potential reader will see someone who looks like them and take a risk.  Is that a long shot? Sure. All marketing today is a long shot.

Also, there is a shock at the end that caused one of my beta readers (the Mrs) to say, "You SOB."  I want the last image to evoke the question: What is that?

A goal was to elicit a visual response without being trite or sappy.

R.C.

[The Bass Bagwhan]

I like it, I think it's innovative (for me — Writeway says others are doing it) and has the incidental effect of your writing and your books dominating the page rather than AMS content. The only criticism is that it took me a while to realise the headshots described other books, not the title above. Maybe subtitle the novel titles in for clarity?

[alhawke]

I'd recommend decreasing the A+content to 3 characters instead of 6. It seems to busy with 6 imo. Otherwise, it looks great.

[R. C.]

I like it, I think it's innovative (for me — Writeway says others are doing it) and has the incidental effect of your writing and your books dominating the page rather than AMS content. The only criticism is that it took me a while to realise the headshots described other books, not the title above. Maybe subtitle the novel titles in for clarity?

Intuitive! Each of the characters will have a "origins story" in a follow-on book.

R.C.

[Bill Hiatt]

As always, there are a lot of interesting thoughts here.

I agree that if most of the pictures are going to be photorealistic, the narrator's one should be as well. It raises the question of why that one is different and may draw attention to the fact that AI is being used. (Some people won't care, but it may be a sore spot for others.) All the other images have perfect skin, but otherwise, they look like real people). (That said, I have used Ai images in my own AMS ads--the new format that requires an image for multiple title ads--because I couldn't find a workable stock photo.)

[Vijaya]

I like it, except for the narrator and Bill nailed why.