Science or Magic image for Herbert West Series

Another Look at The Friendship of Mortals

After reading a post on Story Empire about Amazon A+ content, I decided to create some images for that purpose. At the very least, I thought, it was a good reason to mess around with Canva. They have added a lot of elements recently, including free ones, so there’s more scope for different effects than when I first started using this graphic design tool.

This is the image I put together to represent The Friendship of Mortals, my first novel and Book 1 of the Herbert West Series.

The Friendship of Mortals A plus image

Those of you who have read the book may know why I included some of these pictorial components. Those of you who haven’t read it may be sufficiently intrigued to do so!

Amazon: US UK CA or mybook.to/FofM
Smashwords Barnes & Noble Kobo Apple Books

This and my other A+ efforts may be seen on the Amazon.com pages for the books in the HW Series. Have they generated a deluge of sales? Not really, but I had a bit of fun creating them.

Has anyone else created A+ content on Amazon? What do you think of this feature?

50 comments

  3. Thanks for pointing this out. It looks interesting and might be fun, especially since I spent all week re-doing my covers, as well as the size of the paperback books. Another artsy project…

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        1. It’s an ‘after the fact’ kind of thing because the Reader already has to be looking at a specific book before A+ comes into play, but imho, it’s much more effective than the simple ‘blurb’ we all use. I think it may have legs, long term if nothing else. 🙂

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  5. The image you picked is perfect. As for A+ content on the reader’s side, I scroll past all of that. Maybe it helps other people decide to buy a book, but I’m looking for familiar reviewers whom I trust and also negative reviews. If the negative reviews complain about stuff I like, then it’s practically sold.:-)

    I do think if everyone creates A+ content, even if readers like me scroll past it, then books that don’t have A+ content may look unprofessional. So there is that.

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    1. Thanks, Priscilla! The A+ stuff comes before the reviews.
      I tend to scroll past anything that looks like ads, so I tried for striking images (don’t know if I succeeded) and a bit of text. There are all kinds of options. Amazon’s samples on the A+ setup page all feature dogs, as I recall.
      Good point about looking professional!

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  8. I must try and ‘footle’ about with A+ Another good reason to have fun with Cavna
    That top image is just perfect for ‘Friendship of Mortals’ too Audrey, a good mix of the comradeship and bonding, with the atmosphere on Otherworldliness.

    PS: Thank so much for the review. And yep I should have put more commas in.🙂

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    1. Thanks, Roger. That’s exactly what I thought–a good reason to create some images that aren’t as crucial as a book cover. I used the “desktop wallpaper” option in Canva, but of course one can specify a precise size. Amazon specifies a minimum size, which I can’t remember offhand. It’s worthwhile reading over their specs for A+ before you start.
      Glad you like the review. Commas, yes–they’re slippery little creatures!

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      1. I was so pleased with the review, to read my intentions actually came through. It does not get any better than that. (And I am now Comma-Aware)
        ‘Desktop-Wallpaper’ I’ll be bear the option in mind, my usual go-to is ‘book cover’
        Thanks again Audrey

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  10. One of the things I enjoy most about artist books is that one person creates as many of the elements of a book as is possible . When that happens I feel I’m getting the “whole” thing – that the creator’s idea wasn’t interrupted by someone else who had to put their stamp on it or stick their boot in possibly detracting from the creative work.
    When I say “artist books” I mean it’s a creative literary/visual art effort that uses the book format. For example a poet “performs live” in the book format – including creating the book cover.

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    1. Hmm–I see your point there. Some of my novels are analogous. I wrote them, edited them (with some input from others), formatted them, and designed the covers.

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  11. I like that image, Audrey. How cool. I forgot all about A+ content. I always mean to follow through on these great ideas, and then I forget. A great excuse to play around on Canva too. Good for you for taking the initiative and creating some art for your books. I’m heading over to see more.

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    2. Thanks, Diana! I admit I forget about a lot of ideas as well. I bookmark the post and never look at it again. (blush) But this one seemed pretty low-risk and a reason to put together some images with Canva.

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  14. Just checked the books out, Audrey and I’m really impressed with that extra content. The images look fantastic and the excerpts? underneath are really intriguing. I had no idea that new feature could be used like that. Thank you! You’ve inspired me. 🙂

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    1. Good to hear, Meeka! I chose the one of the simplest options. There are quite a few, some with multiple images and text in different spots. There’s no harm in trying it, from my experience. And you can edit or delete and replace the A+ stuff.

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