Besides, you didn’t write a book. You wrote a story. A book is bound pages or a file transfer. A story is a world of wonder and excitement and crafted ascension of tension and relief. It’s that part where the hero failed, the lovers were forced to part, and that part where the antagonist gets what they had coming.

It’s amazing places so vivid we feel like we were there even if they never existed. It’s scenes that play over and over in our minds as if they really happened to us. It’s characters that find a home in our imaginations and hearts. A story is so much more than a book.

But, still, we promote them like a book: “A great read” “A heart warming romance” “A spicy thriller.” We tell people it’s a science fiction book. We tell them it’s a fantasy, or a romance, or a historical thriller and we end up telling them, not why they will love it, but, where to put it on their bookshelf.

We need to stop selling books. We need to start selling the stories inside.

See some examples of how we’re selling stories. Not books.

I was a copywriter for many years. As the guy that writes the headlines, there was always one thing you hated to hear a client or teammate say. “Nobody reads the copy.” You hear it a lot. Almost everyday. It hurts to hear your hard work dismissed as an evil necessity that’s only there if the beautiful layout grabs the readers attention.

Like many things, it hurt because it was true. We tried to deny it but deep down we knew that rarely would a headline be the reason a person stopped to read the ad.

It’s not our fault. Compared to images, words are uninviting, boring and ugly little marks messing up a nice clean surface. Of course the art is going to get peoples attention. Of course a great design is going to get them to look at it. And, according to an old adage, the art director’s picture is worth a 1,000 of our ugly little words.

I hear you and, yes, people love words. And they love to read. And they’ll sit for hours in front of our words reading them once they are engaged. But will they even see your Facebook status to read it? Or will it get lost in a stream full of baby pictures and cats doing cute or crazy things?

It’s a hard fact for copywriters to admit but nobody reads the copy. And for us authors that also means that, even if people want to read our books, nobody reads our tweets. Nobody reads our promotional Facebook status. Yes, even when we put the words in an oh so clever order. When we are fortunate enough that someone reads them, they are far less likely to share them than they will a picture. And not even a little far. We’re talking really far less likely to share.

To advertise and promote your book you need engaging art and graphics. You need to give your fans and readers something to share that their friends will share. And it can’t just be words. Unfortunately, nobody reads the copy.

Monkey Paw specializes in creating “beyond the cover” ad campaigns and graphics packages based on the elements that make your book unique. Contact us for more information.