Category: Covers

Pillowside Mirror

Covers

The author says:

“Pillowside Mirror” is a historical fiction novella that young adults may be interested in. It is about a woman living in the 1920s who learns to confront the toxic office workplace that she enters every day – after a nightmare.

Nathan says:

Wow.

Not in a good way.

From the file name — “Book-Cover-Best-Idea.png” — I assume that you’re only intending this as a concept sketch, not the finished artwork, which is a good thing. But It’s still not good. The combination of images — a face in a pool or puddle; stacked pebbles; a lamp that is, I dunno, spreading seeds or something?…  None of it, individually or as a whole, conveys anything about the book, and certainly has no relation to the description you sent.

The purpose of your cover is to attract the attention and interest of a reader who would want to read your book. Can you honestly say that any part of your cover would catch the attention of someone who wants to read about workplace sexual politics in the 1920s?

Thanks to the art deco movement, the period of the 1920s has some very clear and recognizable visual motifs. Use them.

The Blissful Plague

Covers

The author says:

Sara Glen just received wonderful news from her at home DNA testing kit. At least that is what the company personally called to tell her. An emerging disease is robbing children of their memories leaving them shadows of their former selves. She has the key to curing the horrible disease before it becomes a plague but doing so will end her life.

Nathan says:

The synopsis sounds like a medical thriller; the cover seems more like SF-flavored lit fic.  I don’t know which one to believe.

On a pure design note, the type is completely unreadable against that background in thumbnail, and doesn’t really please the eye in full size; you have plenty of contrast in the hues used, but the value (light and dark) is so close that the eye rebels.

Other comments?

Candy Shopping at the End of the World [resubmit]

Covers

The author says:

I plan on hiring someone for a re-design, but I thought it was worth getting feedback on this draft.

The world is falling apart due to climate catastrophe, violent insurrections, and government corruption. Suburban father Howard Hall decides to take matters into his own hands against one of the men he views as responsible for the societal decay; the candy mogul Li Wen. After modifying his RV into a vehicle of war, he leads his family on a siege of the Wen Estate. However, the battle proves to be more complicated than expected when a group of teenage punks show up to terrorize both the Hall family and Wen’s personal army.

This short novel is a satirical action thriller set in the very near future of the United States. The target audience is adult fans of humorous speculative fiction and would likely appeal to fans of authors like Thomas Pynchon, Norman Spinrad, William S. Burroughs, Nick Mamatas, and Carlton Mellick III.

[original submission and comments here]

Nathan says:

It’s an improvement, but not much of one; the title overlapping on the skull pulls focus away from it, and the candy still isn’t recognizable as such thanks to the color filters.  I think hiring someone is a good idea.

In the Name of Love

Covers

The author says:

Story details Italians migrating to America, then one of them becomes a citizen and is drafted into the navy during The Vietnam War. It’s a true story. It’s a historical love story about my parents meeting thanks to the migration, and also having to be apart because of the war.

Nathan says:

A cover has two main functions: Tell you what the name of the book is, and indicate what it’s about — and both of those have to be done at a glance.

The upper image above was the largest I was sent, but I think that exemplifies the weakness of this cover best: YOU CAN’T READ ANYTHING. There’s plenty of text, but it’s undifferentiated (really, is “Inspired by True Events” just as important as the title?), and the background keeps me from reading any of it easily.

If I discern the battleship on my first glance, then I may understand that there’s war involved, probably 20th century. But I don’t get “love story,” I don’t get “immigrants,” I don’t get the specific period (the Vietnam era is worlds apart from either of the World Wars, for example).

You have just an instant to hook potential readers before their eyes drift along to the next cover in line. If you can only convey ONE important thing about the subject matter in the single second (generously) of attention that your cover will get, what’s that one thing?

  • Is it the Vietnam war milieu? Use the typeface and images to convey the period and setting.
  • Is it the immigration drama? Use images of Italy and America in contrast.
  • Is it the love story? Use the typeface and color scheme (sunset colors, for example).
  • Is it the fact that it’s a true story? Use documentary-style typefaces like Trajan and faded photographs.

And just a note: You don’t want a colon in your byline. In fact, unless the title of the book is also a proper name, you don’t even need “by.” readers understand that, if there’s one name on the cover, it’s the author’s.

Other comments?

Candy Shopping at the End of the World

Covers

The author says:

The world is falling apart due to climate catastrophe, violent insurrections, and government corruption. Suburban father Howard Hall decides to take matters into his own hands against one of the men he views as responsible for the societal decay; the candy mogul Li Wen. After modifying his RV into a vehicle of war, he leads his family on a siege of the Wen Estate. However, the battle proves to be more complicated than expected when a group of teenage punks show up to terrorize both the Hall family and Wen’s personal army.

This short novel is a satirical action thriller set in the very near future of the United States. The target audience is adult fans of humorous speculative fiction and would likely appeal to fans of authors like Thomas Pynchon, Norman Spinrad, William S. Burroughs, Nick Mamatas, and Carlton Mellick III.

Nathan says:

I think the main problems with this cover become apparent in thumbnail: Nothing stands out. Even at full size, the objects to the left of the skeleton are unidentifiable. (From the description, I might guess that they’re candy, but…) And the title and byline look like they’re trying to be as unobtrusive as possible.

This is a cover which might benefit from a ground-up re-think. After all, you’ve got a nifty juxtaposition of post-apoc and candy; it should be easy to create an eye-catching cover from those elements.

Nevertheless, here’s a five-minute redo to show how even the existing elements could be improved:

No, I do NOT recommend the typeface I used. Five minutes, you know. (And even here, I’m wishing for some clear candy elements.)

Other comments?