How to Make My Cover Art Fit Amazons Thing

Creating a box set up bundle for your cocky-published book is a smart movement.

Practice you know what Harry Potter, Lincoln Rhyme, Nancy Drew and Jack Reacher all have in common?

They are all part of a hugely popular volume serial. In fact, many successful authors (both fiction and nonfiction) publish multiple books in the same serial to keep fans engaged and continue to build their platform.

Related: How to Write a Novel

For authors in the cocky-publishing space, writing a series and creating box sets are an effective strategy for increasing book sales consistently and cross-promoting other books.

Here'due south how to create a box gear up parcel for your serial:

1. Fix your Amazon volume serial folio
2. Become volume comprehend designs for your serial
3. Create a box prepare for your book series
4. Format your box set
5. Go a box ready encompass design
6. Publish your eBook on Kindle
7. Publish your impress volume box set on Amazon
8. Create a funnel for your box set
9. Toll your box set up
10. Add a packet with audiobooks
11. Cantankerous promote books in your series

What is a volume series box set?

A book serial box set is a drove of books that belong to the same series. A book series needs to take at least 2 books in the same genre.

A box set or bundle is a minimum of two books in the same series, that are sold or "bundled" together for the reader.

You tin have a volume series and box ready for both eBooks and print books. Usually, print books will take a box set case which makes information technology more than attractive to the reader.

Related: How to Write a Book

Why write a series?

A book series keeps readers returning for more. It shows your fanbase that y'all're a serious author that continues to deliver value-packed content with each volume release. Depending on your writing schedule, you could be launching a book every 30-60 days, or one book a twelvemonth.

If you're an author—fiction or nonfiction—you lot could create a series of books and set this up in Kindle Straight Publishing to farther your career equally a author.

#1 – Set up your book series page

Once you have two books in the aforementioned genre written and ready to be published, you can set upwards your book series page on Amazon, which we'll walk you through in this section.

Merely first, let's explain why it's benign to fix your book serial folio…

Benefits to Having a Series Page on Amazon

At that place are many good reasons to set a series page on Amazon. By having multiple books in a series, yous show up in more than search engines, appear across more categories, and to a higher place all else, Amazon favors authors with many books gear up to attract thousands of raving fans.

The benefits of creating a series folio for your titles are:

i. All books in the serial are linked together. Having multiple books allows you to discount one championship deeply, or even offering it for costless to drive more traffic to your other titles and the series funnel.

two. College Converting Traffic Funnel: You tin drive traffic to your volume series page instead of individual books. Linking to your series folio will consequence in higher conversion rates than linking to your individual book production page.

3. Provides better options for ane-click purchases. A serial folio lets readers view all books in the serial on a single page. Yous can see the titles in the series already purchased. Amazon allows you one-click shopping to grab the rest of the titles you lot don't take nevertheless. Every bit you can come across in the screenshot below, I own 4/8 books. By clicking the "Buy Now with 1-Click" button, I can grab the remaining 4 books in the serial.

4. Reduce "Click" Distractions. Series pages are costless of ads and other distractions keeping client attention on your books only.

5. Discount Volume Strategy. lowering your price and focusing your marketing on ane serial book, you lot have advantage of sales momentum, driving up category rankings and showing up organically in more places on Amazon.

Related: Volume Marketing Guide

Amazon Series Page Requirements

Creating a series page on Amazon requires several steps in the process:

But first, ask yourself: Exercise I need a series for my books? What are the advantages of a serial page? Can this help with book sales and building a bigger and meliorate platform equally an author?

You don't take to create a series for your books but, information technology makes sense if yous are writing several books around the same subject.

For nonfiction, this could be a series of books on habit development, sales and business, or, how to write faster, write smarter as seen by this series published by Chris Fox:

For a fiction author, y'all could exist writing a series that centers around Urban Fantasy or military thrillers, such as Tom Clancys' Jack Ryan books.

If it is a series yous are creating, hither are the requirements—as outlined by KDP—for setting up your series folio. You can check out this page titled Serial Collection on Amazon for farther reference

Requirements for creating a book series page:

1. Must accept a minimum of 2 books bachelor and set for buy
2. Books must be in same series
3. Books must be by the same author
4. Must be published through KDP
5. Must accept the right name in the Series proper noun field (serial names must match)
6. Must have the exact serial proper name and series number (for ordered series) in one of the post-obit places: Book cover, Interior (Look Inside), Book description (metadata), Editorial reviews, official website, or Goodreads
7. Must exist available to buy.
8. Prequels, short stories, and novellas won't be added to Series Collections. At this time, Amazon just supports ordered Serial Bundles (all books in the series must exist clearly related through their titles and content).
9. Pre-order titles are not supported by ane-click bulk buys. Readers must buy books on an private ground. Readers tin can even so buy all the books in your serial from the series page on an individual footing. Customers volition be able to buy your books as a complete series bundle using one 1-click purchase button when all books are available to purchase.

Limitations for a Volume Bundle Series on Amazon

There are limitations to creating the series page. Amazon is continually optimizing this characteristic and so over time, these limitations will get less.

The restrictions when setting up your series page are:

1. Series Description: You can't write an original book description for the series. Amazon will pull your clarification from the first book in the series and this is what will appear at the meridian of the series folio. You could write the book description to better fit the series but for now this is the just pick.

ii. Kindle (eBook) series but is available. For at present, the series page exists for Kindle only, and not paperback. You can create a paperback with the series books, only not a serial page.

3. Limited stores available for the series page. Equally of now, series pages are available: Amazon.com. Amazon.co.great britain, Amazon.de, and Amazon.co.jp.

How to Set Up a Serial Page

Now, if you have two books gear up to go, let's take a look at setting your books upwardly in a serial. It's an piece of cake process and should just take you a few minutes in KDP.

You will have to make other alterations to your book cover, volume description, or website to brand sure everything is streamlined.

Step i: Login to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

You lot should already have an account prepare upwards if you've published a book through KDP. Bold you lot have two books fix to link upwards every bit a serial, log in and go to work.

Step 2: In KDP, enter the series proper noun for your books. This is inserted in the "Series Information" box. Make sure the serial name is the same for all books that are included in the series. If non, your series will be rejected past KDP and you'll take to prepare it before moving alee.

Step 3: You must add together the series name to the volume description. Y'all will need to edit each individual book description to link them together as part of a series. To do this, we recommend using the free Book Description Generator Tool at Kindlepreneur.com.

You lot should include a write-up at the bottom of all your volume descriptions for each title in the series that reads like this:

Include the book championship, book number and the series title it belongs to.

Step 4: Additional mention of the book series: As an pick, yous tin can further promote the series by mentioning information technology on the book cover (front and/or back), inside the volume, copyright page, Goodreads, and/or your website.

Step 5: Publish the book again. For this pace, when ready, you lot click the Publish Now button on the third page and all new updates should accept place within 24 hours. Once the book is live with the changes, you can…

Step vi: Inquire Amazon to create the Series Bundle. Achieve out to Amazon afterwards the books are live with the serial changes. This is a unproblematic process. In KDP you lot:

• Click the "Contact united states" push button located at the lesser of the page. You can too click on "aid" at the top correct of the page
• Under "How can we assistance?" in the dropdown menu, click on the tab for "Amazon Product Page," and inside that you'll find the link for "Kindle Serial Bundles." Click that and you lot take two options: email us or phone.

• For electronic mail, write a short blurb to Amazon and include your volume titles, links to books (or ASIN), and the name of your book series.

Step seven: Look for confirmation: In a couple of days (or it could be in every bit niggling as vi hours), Amazon will ostend if your volume serial page has been created or not. Y'all might be required to add some additional information elsewhere. Just usually, placing the series title in the description is enough.

Congratulations! If everything goes according to plan, you take at present created a book series folio.

Your series will announced on the same page as each individual book. Information technology looks similar this:

When y'all click on the package, information technology directs you to the series page that looks like this:

Now you know how to gear up a Kindle series bundle. Include links to your series bundle wherever you can: social media, in your books, on landing page and your website. Provide readers with easy admission to observe y'all.

If y'all write and publish 3 books in your series, y'all can create and launch a box set. We'll embrace this later in the article!

#2 – Get book embrace designs for your series

The primary reason for setting up a series folio is to build your author branding through your volume series. Yous want to ensure that the cover fine art is consequent throughout the series.

Let's take an example: The Miracle Morning time Series by Hal Elrod

By looking at the books, you tin can tell they are function of the same series. Many of the books are co-authored with Hal, merely the cover format and title font remains consistent throughout.

You want to streamline your series of book covers so each title represents both your author branding and genre you lot specialize in. This is true if yous are a fiction or nonfiction author.

If you are at the beginning of writing your nonfiction series, consider how y'all can structure information technology so that all the books to exist published in the funnel follow a natural order. Go on the colors and fonts consistent. Apply a model template if you have one. You tin can talk over this with your cover designer every bit to the best management to go.

For creating a series of covers, you can check out 100 Covers as seen below.

At present, let's take a look at how to set upward and create a boxset, also as a boxset series folio if you have multiple boxsets in the same serial. You're going to honey this!

#three – Create a box ready for a book series

If you've always seen a box set up of books earlier, you lot know that information technology is a number of books arranged together and offered to readers at a lower cost than ownership each book individually.

A box fix works nifty equally a mode to increment your email listing and give fans a taste of your all-time piece of work all wrapped together in one convenient format.

Box sets add value for your fans and there are many marketing opportunities to present your box gear up to fans and then they can snatch up your best books in one packet.

Types of Box Sets

Generally, there are two types of box sets that y'all could exist interested in.

1. Single-author box set. This is a set with your titles bundled together in the same series. The single-author set is priced lower than the individual books purchased separately. The aim is to provide the package at a value-purchase.
2. Multiple-author box set up. Yous could have the opportunity to join other authors in a box gear up parcel. Each writer contributes i book to the box fix and this is sold at a discounted price. The royalties are distributed amongst authors in the box set.

There are other variations of box sets published just, these are the two most mutual types.

Reasons to Create a Box Set

1. Binge consumption: A box-ready satisfies rampage readers and they too terminate upwardly remembering you because they've spent so much fourth dimension with your words.

two. Value Bundle: Corking value for customers, as they become multiple books at a lower price, which is why box sets are so popular.

3. Box sets are easier to merchandise than single books because of discounting, and also a higher retail price ways more income for the author and retailer. Yous can sell them on Kobo, iBooks and other stores that don't accept a $9.99 cap on prices.

iv. Better render on paid advertizement like BookBub Ads, Amazon Advertisement or Facebook Ads. Yous get a college income than from a single book and then you demand fewer conversions.

5. Higher income per customer per transaction. You can price a boxed set up at $9.99 (Amazon) or $14.99—18.99 on other sites (Kobo, etc..) and earn higher royalties than single book purchases.

half-dozen. Adds additional income streams x5 (Kindle, paperback, audiobook, HC, large impress books). Production price is low so good ROI (Render on Investment)

You can create an eBook (Kindle) boxset and/or a single paperback that combines all your titles together. Allow'southward take a look at setting up these formats for your boxset.

Creating Your Kindle (eBook) Box Set:

There are several steps to creating a box set, which we cover more in the following sections. These steps include:

1. Box Prepare Formatting
2. Box Set Encompass design
3. Setting up your box Set in KDP

#iv – Format your box gear up

When you build your boxset, you will need to take all the books that are to exist included in the fix and combine these together into one file. Depending on the size of the box set, this could be three books (Life-Irresolute Habits Series) or ten books (Universe in Flames Serial).

For DIY authors, use Vellum to compile the books together (eBook and paperback) into i file. Information technology's easy to drag and drop volume files in and so compile into one file. You tin can also use the Book Design Templates.

The TOC (Tabular array of Contents) for all books should appear at the front of your boxset. The books are separated as unlike files within the box set but the TOC for each book appears at the forepart.

If book formatting isn't your thing, we would recommend hiring someone to compile everything together so you tin spend more time on the writing and marketing side of things.

Recommendations for formatting are:
FormattedBooks.com

How to format your box set up

You can construct your files using your preferred book formatting tool (I use Word for everything – yeah, even very complex paperback files) – Discussion, Vellum, or whatever other tool you prefer.  What changes a bit compared to a standard single book is the lodge of what yous put in there.

Here is a unproblematic clarification of how you go from three books to a unmarried file for your boxed set. (I am describing as if you are in Give-and-take – yous'll accept to interpret to suit whatever other tool you may use.)

1. Open up all 3 individual book files
2. Make a copy of the book one file, naming the copy whatever you are going to call the fix.
3. Add a title page before the existing championship page of book 1, and add together the championship of the gear up on there
4. Add together a couple of blank pages between the end of book 1 and your back thing (Teaser of another book, About the Author, other books by, join e-mail list call to action etc)
5. On the first blank page, copy the championship page for book 2
6. And then, at the next blank page, copy in the entirety of the story from book ii.
7. Echo those final 2 steps for book iii.
8. You can, if you wish, also put a pocket-sized version of the cover of each book on the title page for each story.
9. Supercede any the teaser was that is in that location because information technology was the original teaser in volume one with the teaser chapter from book four (or from another of your books, if that series doesn't have a book 4)
10. Brand certain that your 'About the Author' info is up to date.
11. Make sure that your 'other books by' info is upwards to engagement etc.
12. Go through the file and make the names of each volume on the title pages heading 1 style, and make each chapter heading a heading 2 style.
13. Go to the front matter and replace the existing Table of Contents with a new one, which will now have all 3 books info in information technology.
14. If y'all allocate ISBN'southward to your digital books, replace the ISBN of the commencement book (which is at that place considering yous copied that file) with the new ISBN for the collection
15. Check the entire file for any small errors, make certain that your heading levels are consistent, etc, then you have a set up to upload or catechumen file

#5 – Get a box set cover design

As with single book covers, you want to consider creating a encompass for your box set. This could be an original cover for the box set only, or, a cover from one of the books inside the box ready.

Hire a graphic designer/cover designer to make a box-set cover. Become a 3D and a flat version, since iBooks only accepts the flat version and Kobo recommends the flat version for better sales, then information technology'south adept to accept both.

Several designers we recommend are 100 covers and ebook launch.

Tips for your Box Set Encompass Pattern

1. If you are doing a paperback besides (recommended), you'll need to do a couple of things:
2. Make certain that you do non use the words 'boxed prepare' – call it a drove, omnibus edition, album or similar.
3. You'll need both a paperback wrap effectually cover and a 3D mock-upwards prototype of the ready for employ on Kindle / other digital.
4. What is on your encompass must match what is on that new championship page at the showtime of your interior file. (ie, title, subtitle, series name, author name, whatsoever other text)
5. All writer names must be on the comprehend if it'south a multi author collection.
6. The comprehend must bespeak that it's a collection – I usually put a subtitle like '5 wonderful 30 stories' where XXX is the subgenre.
7. The epitome on the front of your book/3D mock-up should not be the aforementioned as the images on whatsoever of the private books, merely should be middle catching and genre advisable.
8. You may choose to have small instances of the covers of the included books either on the forepart of the set'south encompass (as in the image of the Derbyshire Gear up Omnibus Edition Vol 1 that you see with this article) or on the spines of the boxed set 3D mock-up (every bit in the epitome of the Dear, a Second Take a chance prepare that you run into with this article).
9. You can get sets of pre-created mock-up templates for Photoshop for very reasonable prices – just add your image and text to the file in the right places. If you lot don't do Photoshop, get someone to do information technology for you who produces mock-ups that really look realistic.
10. When you upload, make sure that you are uploading the correct comprehend images to the right places!

#6 – Publish your eBook series box set on Kindle

Now information technology's time to kickoff the actual publishing process on Amazon's KDP. While it's not a difficult process, it does require several different steps, which we'll walk yous through below.

Hither we go!

Footstep #1: Create Your Kindle Box Set

Creating your Kindle box set is very similar to how you ready a single title on the KDP platform.

Here are our suggestions for creating and setting up your box set:

• Recommended minimum iii books in a series (with a series title: Mortality Jump—The Consummate Boxed Prepare).
• Write an introduction to your box set series (optional).
• Formatting: Import all manuscripts into Vellum and create your box set (optional). You can outsource this to the pros. We recommend: Formatted Books
• Hire a professional person embrace designer to create 3D prototype + Flat image + audiobook encompass (2400×2400).
• Launch your eBook box ready (similar strategy as regular books).
• Enroll in KDP Select (Recommended if not going broad)
• Promotion: Amazon Advertising, BookBub
• Set up your toll for the box set nether $10.00 on KDP (ebook only).

Step #2: Set Your Kindle Box ready in Amazon KDP

The steps here are nearly identical to setting upwardly an individual championship.

1. Log into your KDP Bookshelf
2. Enter the box fix championship, subtitle, series championship, series number (Boxset/Book 1, 2, or 3)
3. Enter your author name. Notation Reminder: In lodge for this to be a series, all books must belong to the aforementioned author.
4. Write a book description. Enter information technology in the book clarification box.
5. Research keywords (seven) and enter in the Keyword boxes.
6. Categories: Choose ii categories. Use Publisher Rocket to determine additional categories.
7. ISBN: You tin can buy ISBNs at Bowker.com for US based authors.
8. Upload your formatted manuscript. Bank check for KDPs recommended formats that include MOBI, Word, or ePub.
9. Upload your box set cover in jpg format. This could exist a 3D version of the cover with a side shot of all books in the series.

1. Cheque the formatting: Employ KDPs congenital-in online previewer to check the formatting
2. Set your cost. If you are launching your box fix, consider a 0.99 cent book launch for the ebook. Heighten your toll accordingly subsequently launch capping it at $9.99.
3. Additional marketing: Run Bookbub ads and Amazon Advertising to further promote your boxset.
4. Launch Team: Create a launch team to help you lot launch your book. You could contact past reviewers that reviewed at least one of the titles in your box set.

#7 – Publish your paperback volume box ready

Now that yous've published your eBook version of your book series box ready package, it's fourth dimension to do the same thing for your concrete impress books!

Pace #1: Create Your Kindle Box Set

Just every bit y'all tin can set upwardly an ebook box fix, you have the choice to create a single paperback with all your books inclusive. Setting this up is relatively easy, but there are a few rules set out by KDP to be aware of.

IMPORTANT: The requirement to set up your box prepare is to remove any mention of the term "boxset" and "box set" from:

• volume content
• volume description
• front and back encompass

Amazon does non allow the book to be called a "boxset" or "box set" when it comes to the paperback. Y'all can phone call it a series.

For example:

• Life-Changing Habits Series: Your Personal Blueprint For Success And Happiness (Books 1-iii)
• The John Milton Serial: Books one-3: The John Milton Series

Retrieve that, all the books in a series page must have the same author for each book. This same rule applies to the box sets.

Pricing: You tin toll this appropriately, based on KDPs minimum impress cost list. Paperback prices for a "paperback series" at an average of 500 pages could be from $18.99 and upwardly.

To set upward your "series" paperback, follow the same steps every bit you would for creating a paperback for an individual title in the KDP bookshelf. The deviation hither is, your series title for the paperback "boxset" must include the proper name of the series in the serial box, every bit I mentioned before when setting up your series page.

#8 – Create a box set up serial funnel

In add-on to a serial folio for private series titles, you tin create a Kindle Series Folio for box sets within the same series.

Check out Blake Imprint's box ready series funnel:

This strategy is popular with many fiction authors that take multiple books out (nine—fifteen) and are using the box sets to create another book funnel.

Similar to the serial page nosotros can create with our individual titles, you can apply the aforementioned strategy to multiple boxsets.

Mark Dawson'southward box gear up series page is here:

You ready this up the same every bit the series funnel for the books. To review the requirements, let's have a await:

1. 2 box sets minimum to set upwards a series folio
2. All books authored past the same author
3. All books are for sale (no perma-complimentary)

This is Joanna Penn'due south Boxset Series folio:

Set upwards your boxsets in KDP, include the series title and volume/book number, and contact them within the bookshelf to asking the set upward.

#9 – Toll your box set up

If you want to make income for the longer term, and so you lot'll want to cost at a discount to ownership the books separately simply notwithstanding at a high plenty price to brand it worthwhile for you.

Joanna Penn's box set for Arkane Thrillers (Kindle eBook) is priced depression on Amazon, to get leads we can assume, and her audiobook box set and paperback are about average cost.

Marker Dawson's John Milton's boxset is priced at 9.99 for 3 books. The paperback is priced at $25.99 for the same 3 books. Overall this is cheaper than ownership the books individually but still provides a higher return on royalty for a unmarried purchase.

For nonfiction authors, you tin cheque out the Lifestyle Mastery Series:

Pricing Strategy:

You tin run occasional promotions on your box sets to concenter more readers and increase KU (Kindle Unlimited) reads on the box set. Drop your price to 0.99 for five-7 days and run promotions on your book. This boosts book rankings and increases visibility. If the boxset is attached to more boxsets (and books) in the series, it drives traffic to your other works.

#x – Create a package with audiobooks

So far, nosotros have looked at how to create, format and fix up a series with your ebooks and paperback titles. Only, can you lot practice the same matter with audiobooks?

At that place are some limitations but, yes, you can create a bundle with your audiobooks. Merely like the Kindle and paperback bundle, your audiobooks can exist bundled together, too.

Hither are the steps to creating an audiobook for your boxset. This is, of course, assuming that y'all have audiobooks for all the books inclusive in the packet. If you don't, it is recommended that you create the audiobooks for all books in the bundle first.

Now, here are the steps for setting that up:

1. Using the cover design for your box gear up, format your audiobook cover with dimensions 2400×2400. This is the standard size for audiobook covers.
2. Using the introduction y'all created for your box prepare, tape this material for the audiobook.
3. Packet your audiobooks together into one format. Upload to Audible/ACX/Findawayvoices.
4. Launch as a single product.
5. Pricing recommendation: $20-$25.

That's it. You now have an audiobook built from your box set up.

#xi – Cross promote books in your series

You want to promote your titles within the series by maximizing every opportunity to exercise and so. When you lot launch a new volume in the series, this is a keen run a risk to innovate your current fan base of operations and new readers just discovering you, to browse the rest of your catalogue.

How to cross promote?

Employ your books to promote books. At the dorsum of volume #1, include a chapter of volume #2. At the back of volume #two, include a chapter of book #iii. If you have a new book coming out, insert the cover in the forepart (and/or back) of your current books in the serial and invite readers to preorder your upcoming release.

In my Fail Big series, I apply the 1st volume in the Neglect Big serial to promote the second book. When at that place is a 3rd book, I volition utilize the 2nd book to promote that.

Reduced Disbelieve Strategy

Once every one-2 months, drop the cost of one of the books in your series to 0.99, the lowest toll allowed past Amazon. Run promo ads to your book to increase volume sales and heighten your rankings in the Amazon store. This brings traffic to your author page and allows new readers to notice your other books.

Your Action Checklist

Now that we have covered everything you need to know almost setting upward a series page and corresponding box set, here is your become-to action checklist. Equally yous start to create your books, encompass design, write a book clarification, and plan out your book funnel, e'er recall of how to streamline your author brand and content with your serial.

Create your series folio checklist:

1. Must have a minimum of two books bachelor
2. Assign a serial championship to your books/series
3. Insert your series title into all volume descriptions
4. Insert serial title information in KDP
5. Publish again to update changes
6. Contact KDP and request to link up books and create a series page
7. Set paperback from all volume files (optional)
8. Create a box fix cover.
9. Remove any mention of "boxset" from paperback version embrace and content.
10. Format Files using Vellum or outsource formatting
11. Upload files to KDP and publish
12. Bundle audiobook files together. (Optional)
13. Upload "series" audiobook to KDP and publish
14. Launch your box set up.
15. Create a serial "boxset" page for multiple boxsets (optional)

Have you created a volume serial page and/or box gear up packet on Amazon? If so, how did your experience with this go?

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Scott Allan is a bestselling writer who has a passion for teaching, building life skills, and inspiring others to have charge of their lives. Scott's mission is to give people the strategies needed to pattern the life they desire through choice.

yangwharb1979.blogspot.com

Source: https://selfpublishing.com/book-series-box-set/

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