The author says:

Sci-fi/Space Opera action/adventure story. Targeting older children/pre-teens. Newly qualified Captain Aurora Starlight sets out on a time and space-bending adventure to save a uncontacted race of aliens from annihilation.

This is final and published cover, but returning back to the writing world after a long break and considering a redo.

Nathan says:

Consider that redo! This cover may win some nostalgia points among readers who are old enough to remember the simplified covers of SF for young readers in the ’60s and ’70s, but that’s not really your target audience, is it?

I just looked at the top-selling science fiction books for readers age 9-12 on Amazon. (Click to see it larger.)

What I see is colorful, dynamic artwork, mostly with figures in action. (Red Sun is an outlier — in other words, that’s statistically not the example you want to follow.)

The good news is, this is exactly the kind of thing that A.I. is good for. Play around with it; see if you can come up with an illustration that evokes the kind of reaction you want in your readers.

Good luck!

The author says:

In the vast depths of the oceans, Hinemoana, the Māori Goddess of the sea, watches over all marine life, narrating the poignant tale of Melody, a dolphin born in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Melody’s life, marked by tragedy and music, turns dark after the loss of her mother and her baby to human hands. Haunted by a freezing spectre of hatred, she struggles to find peace and a voice to communicate with mankind.

Onshore, the artist Manaia faces her own battles, mirroring Melody’s pain and loss. As Melody seeks solace through astral journeys and divine promises, her path intertwines with Manaia’s, leading to an extraordinary alliance with Manaia’s husband, Rōreka. Through acts of sacrifice, love, and interspecies communication, Melody finds hope and healing.

A journey of sorrow, redemption, and the powerful bond between humans and dolphins unfolds, revealing the potential for unity and understanding between worlds.

Nathan says:

Conceptually, if the “hook” of the novel is the interaction and relationship between human and dolphin, make that visible on the cover (by which I mean, use a human).

Technically, I have two comments about the current cover:

• I understand that the ocean depths are dark. However, giving more bright spots for contrast will help this cover be visible.
• There’s a lot of unused space. Nothing would be lost if you trimmed the live area roughly like this:

(It may seem that I have a problem with open space. Not so; I have a problem with open space that doesn’t add anything to the whole.)

Other comments?

The author says:

Riven Calyx details the rise of a knight haunted by the children he was forced to kill. He is commissioned by the equally haunted king to find a wizard to remove a curse affecting them both and the area just conquered. It should appeal to young adults and all fantasy fans.

Nathan says:

While there’s nothing technically wrong with anything on this cover… it’s not terribly dynamic or exciting, is it? For a book with “haunted” and “forced to kill” and “curse” and “conquered” in the description, the cover just seems like two people on a springtime picnic, enjoying the ruins.

A more dynamic scene is definitely the best course, but even playing with the color scheme of your current artwork boosts it:

(This is only an “open Photoshop and grab a filter for an example” version. It is not the best possible example.)

The other advice I have, if you’re still planning on using the current artwork, is to decrease the dead space. Remember, 99% of readers will first encounter your cover as a thumbnail; thus, make the important elements — including the type — understandable at that size.

If you move the byline up, you can crop even more and still lose nothing important.

Other comments?