The author says:

A picture book about a cute little mouse who is a fanatical gardener. It covers the topics of nature, friendship, and determination. It is aimed at 0-6-year-olds. It is very sweet and of course, has a happy ending.

Nathan says:

I think this is adequate as it stands, so let’s see if we can make it more:

• While the title type is okay, it would be confusing to beginning readers.  If you could find an iteration or substitute in which the letters didn’t randomly change size, that would be perfect.
• You don’t need to tell me that it’s “beautifully illustrated” — a sample illustration is there on the cover, so I can decide on my own whether it’s beautiful or not.
• If you must tell us what the story’s about, put it under the title, not the byline. “Rosie’s Flowers: A Story About Friendship and Nature.”
• Then you can just leave the byline as “Steven Tod,” or “Written and Illustrated by Steven Tod,” or “Words and Pictures by Steven Tod,” or…

Other comments?

The author says:

This novel is Christian WW2 fiction, set before and throughout the war in the US, Europe, and Russia. A young German-American returns to his homeland and ends up serving as a medic in the German army throughout the war. It’s a story of friendship, faith, family and forgiveness, geared primarily towards the Christian reader. Written with adults in mind but appropriate for younger readers as well.

Nathan says:

Unfortunately, very little of that can be seen in the cover, especially in thumbnail — it just becomes a murky mess with an unreadable cover.  Even at larger sizes, all of the important elements of the image (the soldier with a pasted-on backpack, the house, the planes, even the title) are swallowed up by the dim background which has enough texture to it that those elements can’t stand out.

My advice:

The sunrise to the right gives the connotation of hope, which is a big part of the appeal of Christian fiction. It also gives a good contrast to the title.  You could maybe fit a couple of airplanes above the title. (Leave out the watermark — I can’t puzzle it out, and all it does is distract further on a cover that needs no additional distraction.)

Other comments?

The author says:

Genre: Children

Reading Age: 7+ (or bedtime reading by parents/grandparents etc)

A young girl puts a bottle with a letter containing her favorite word and asking others to add their favorite word. Where will the bottle travel, what other words will be added and will the bottle return to the girls island?

The choice of photo has been decided but font size/location etc is maybe too small in thumbnail images?

Nathan says:

The first thing I’d do is trim the artwork to avoid dead space and make the important parts clearer.

And then choose a title font that isn’t so obviously Dr. Seuss-y.

Other comments?

The author says:

Thanks to all who commented on the first pass of First Kyss. I appreciate it so much! I don’t have a designer, so it’s just me on Canva. I took in all the suggestions and tweaked and tweaked—brightness, saturation, fonts, font colors and size, kerning, tracking, image size and that damn medallion—which I think looks so much better even if it’s not perfect! Any other thoughts?

First Kyss is a paranormal romance featuring wolf shifters, magic, and Norse mythology. It is set in modern day Missoula, Montana with trips across the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard. My target audience are readers who love paranormal romance, particularly wolf shifter romance. It would appeal to readers of Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series and Maria Vale’s The Legend Of All Wolves series.

[original submission and comments here]

Nathan says:

It does look much better. My only two solid recommendations:

• On the male figure, darken the shadows everywhere except around the medallion.
• I actually like the title font less this time around — it may be easier to read, but it’s less aesthetically pleasing.

Other comments?