And the ending was no surprise. 

Magna Finesse was not selected by Kindle Scout, but as stated in my earlier post, the odds were never very good. If you nominated it on the Kindle Scout website, or if you just checked it out, thank you. I appreciate your support. And, I hope that you will be interested to know that the book will be available in both eBook and paperback format starting on December 29. Please check it out!

The Kindle Scout experience was interesting, if over-long. It felt like an eternity while I waited for the thirty days of the campaign to end (plus the waiting afterward). I just wanted it to end so I could move on to something else. But, I did learn a few things from the experience.

What I learned

• I learned that changing the book from being a sequel to Bean Counter (as I had written it) to a stand-alone novel was a bad idea, and apparently made no difference to the Kindle Scout people.
• I learned that I’m not good at naming my books. The title “Magna Finesse” does not exactly scream “lighthearted mystery” or any kind of mystery. Or any particular genre, for that matter. The title, with my tag line (“Like regular finesse, only more painful”) seemed to confuse people more than help them to know what the book was about. I thought (and still do) that it was funny, but it wasn’t helpful.
• I learned that I am even worse at picking an appropriate cover for my works than I am at picking titles. While the cartoon fist popping out at the reader might have meant something to me, it sure didn’t to potential readers, who apparently saw what looked like a super-hero illustration and moved on. As some might say, “Sad.”

So what have I done with this newfound knowledge?

Well, first of all, I am changing the book back to the way it was originally written – as a sequel to Bean Counter. I can’t imagine that it will make much difference to anyone else, but to me, the main character was always Nick.

I am not renaming the book. I really like the title, and if that doesn’t work as well as something else, I’ll pay the price. I can’t think of a title that would be more fitting.

I have, however, changed the cover, and it is now an echo of the cover of Bean Counter, which I hope helps to indicate that the stories are related.

For those who missed the original cover, here it is, next to the new one, for comparison:

   

Thank you, again.

So, thank you again for your support, and please check out Magna Finesse on Amazon when it becomes available. As usual, the eBook will be priced at $0.99 for the first week before going to its regular price of $3.99.