The author says:

The Powers Cataclysmic

It’s over fifty thousand years into the future. Science, technology, and magic have evolved. Just about everyone can fly by sheer power. Humanity and other sapient races evolved into an infinite dimensional existence within a renewed universe. People use every part of their body, especially their hair and glowing clothing to store and project their powers.

On a reconstructed Earth, a somewhat paranoid man named Thrastara Navarra was a year out of college, and unlike the others, he has yet to realize his adulthood set of powers. Despite infinite life spans by yesteryears standards, there has been an increase in deaths among the people. Dr. Johnas Moorekase knows Thrastara and others like him called Eschaton Potentials are being targeted for their dangerous latent powers, for Lord Neraios is searching for a new vessel to merge with, which could bring about the final Apocalypse. When Johnas meets Thrastara, he rejects Johnas’s offer of help, for Johnas belongs to a group of maligned, heavily clad and long bearded Exorcists and Thrastara doesnt trust them and their god Azzana. It wasn’t until Thrastara loses people he cared about and a family secret when he takes Johnas’s offer for help seriously, for someone he should fear has been in pursuit of the Eschaton Potentials. Arrak and the demonic hordes might be Thrastara’s immediate threat, but his greatest threat lies with the demons from within and from within the realms beyond all dimensions, time, and space. After running out of options, Thrastara has no other choice than to join some of his friends and family, and follow Johnas and his allies to the truth. Will Thrastara finally awaken into true reality?

Please note the genre is Fantasy. The sub genre is science fantasy and superheroes, with an action anime style influence. I’m trying to create superheroes that are relatable and “human” at heart, yet are also exist on a super-cosmic scale. Even the average citizen in the book is powerful. However, people can’t will their problems away because everyone fears each other and everyone neutralizes one another (except the beings beyond dimensions, for the most part, which is the next stage people strive for). People still have to use strategy, politics, diplomacy, and form alliances to win. The battles are usually part of the payoffs. There are also powers that be that set limits what certain people can do at certain times.

Yeah, I wanted to try something ambitious, and I’ve been working on this for years. Please note this book is in the developmental stages, so much can change. For the cover, the most effort was applied by an artist to the illustration. The reason I went for such a character is to convey how the future might be different (hair evolved to become prehensile, which explains Thrastara’s hair on the cover). 150K words I plan on self-publishing. Sorry for the long explanation. I am the author of the book. Books that might be similar are the Amber Chronicles, the Neuromancer, the Wheel of Time, Star Wars, superhero novels.

Nathan says:

[Note: The contact form I use is one of the only ones which allows users to upload an attachment, i.e., an image. The trade-off is that it doesn’t retain paragraph breaks, so I end up making my best guess when I post.]

First up: Yes, your elevator pitch is waaay too long.  You need to focus on what kind of novel it is and why a fan of the genre would want to read it.  It’s the same thing you need to do with the cover, but with words instead of design.

Second: All of the problems with the cover are accentuated in the thumbnail: Not only is all the text unreadable, but the figure becomes an indistinct blot of colors.  Even at 500 pixels wide, all of the text is hard to read, and while the figure is clearer, all that the reader can understand from looking is “anime influence, maybe fantasy” — there’s nothing inherently interesting about someone just standing there (floating there).  Look to your anime inspirations: How can the cover be dynamic?  How can it show conflict?  What can be visible and attractive at thumbnail size?

I hate to send you/your illustrator back to the drawing board, as the illustration was obviously time-consuming, but you need to (a) figure out your elevator pitch and decide on what elements of the story and setting would be the most attractive to your target audience, and then (b) decide how to portray those attractive elements by illustration and design.

Other comments?

The author says:

Can the gates of perception be bypassed?

The year is 1911. A rash love affair with a member of the Irish Mafia catapults Luna Mulkerrins into scandal, murder, scorn and decadent friendships in Ragtime Manhattan. Escaping from the blaze of publicity, a new Luna emerges: Blythe of the Seven Gates. Her meteoric rise as a magician leads to fame, vaudeville, silent movies and the notoriety of a damaging court case. Can Luna reclaim her reputation and reinvent herself as an independent woman of the time?

“This book is as enchanting as the magic tricks within. Heartbreaking, thrilling and powerful, it’s a journey you won’t want to miss.” — Jo Niederhoff, Seattle Book review

[original submission and comments here]

Nathan says:

I see you took a lot of the comments to heart. That’s always gratifying.

If it were me, I would:

• Make the sky lighter behind the skyline at the top, possibly with a slight sunrise/sunset glow of color.
• Enlarge the female figure downward; there’s no reason that the tagline at the bottom can’t overlap her knee.
• Audition other fonts for the tagline — something about it doesn’t sit quite right with me. Possibly just make it the same font as the byline and credits, or switch both of them to something new.

Well done!

Other comments?

The author says:

Puzzling Escapes: Space Station is a puzzle book with narration to give it the feel of working through an escape room. The primary audience I’m targeting is people who enjoy puzzle books. Since it will only be available in print, I included the full print spread. This is a mock-up, so the image still includes a watermark.

Nathan says:

The cover conveys “space station” well, but not “puzzle” or “escape” — the “Puzzling Escapes” tag at the top is easily overlooked (especially in thumbnail) for the crucial few seconds in which the reader would assess the cover and decide if it’s for him or her.  I don’t know how best to convey it visually; my only idea is to put a silhouette or a head from the back in the foreground to convey the idea of the reader’s involvement, but I’m not convinced even that would do it. Maybe the best way is to reverse the sizes of “Puzzling Escapes” and “Space Station.”

Further notes:

• Unless Charles’ advanced degree is indicative of his expertise in designing puzzles (and it doesn’t look like it is), ditch the “Ph.D.” on the front.
• Either have photos for both co-authors or neither.
• Your own cover bio tells us a bunch of details irrelevant to your own ability to design puzzles.  Save the kids and cats for an interior back-page bio; if you have nothing in your resume that helps sell this book specifically, it doesn’t belong on the cover.

Other comments?

The author says:

A look at living with an incredible child. Imaginative, creative, and beyond belief. A blog turned into a narrative of real life.

Nathan says:

I suppose it’s okay that the cover looks like no subject in particular, as the contents are probably pretty random. But you’ve got two focal images here: The chair, and the man-and-child.  You should pick one or the other, and of the two, I’d go with the chair because the people in the photograph are unfamiliar to the reader (unless, of course, you’re only marketing to friends and family), and the photo isn’t remarkable to carry the cover on its own.

My own inclination, though, would be to use a photo that both conveys adult/child interaction and universalizes that interaction (because, as I said, nobody who sees the book for the first time is going to be familiar with those particular people). I’d look for a soft-focus, sunny photo of adult and child hands doing something together.

(Obligatory note about the cover as is: The title gets lost, both by being wedged to make room for the photo, and by being black text against a blue background.)

Other comments?