The author says:

*** Proof of Concept ***

Title: Borderlands 1

Genre Keywords: Fantasy / Greco-Roman Punk / Creation Mythology / Existentialism / Transcendentalism

Narrative Style: 1st Person Present (but NOT specifically YA either)

Book Format: Story broken down into a series of short episodes. Each episode from a different / unique character perspective.

Intention: Establish a strong but flexible branding. Each book has the same basic cover layout. Main title number, Subtitle, Portrait and frame embellishments change each time.

Comments: I am interested in all your comments and suggestions and, to maximize their value to me, please be clear if you are talking about: this book cover as a stand alone piece; this book cover as the first in a brand; the execution of this example of a piece of artwork.

Book Blurb (early draft): The ambitious Cpt. Banak Doneir of the Aether Guard leads his men on patrols into the barren, inhospitable and forever corrupted Borderlands where they hunt down and destroy the encroaching Spawn of Chaos. Back home in the Rationalle there is no respite. He must battle against red tape and beurocracy, avoid the attentions of his powerful, yet mean spirited, family and win over the woman of his dreams. It only takes one slip for the delicate balance of his life to come crashing down. Can he protect his beloved homelands whilst remaining true to himself or must he become the thing he most despises in order to overcome?

Nathan says:

There’s a lot of good stuff to work with here.

Regarding the series branding elements:

• Lose the italics.
• Your choice of a light border on the series title, against a light background, makes the letters effectively thinner and weaker.
• Similarly, the light marbled background outside the oval frame matching the background inside the frame wastes an opportunity for contrast.  Have you tried a dark background outside the frame?
• The ornamentation on the frame really doesn’t fit.  You’ve already got a guy in armor as your main image element; surrounding him with itty-bitty martial ornamentation is overkill.

Regarding the artwork for this cover: The underlying artwork is good, but I assume that you have it in a higher resolution for the real cover, yes?

Other comments?

The author says:

Instead of going for the next book in the Dark Star series, I’ve decided to publish the prequel first. This book revolves around a child being enslaved due to his father’s debts. However, he plots against those people who has wronged his father and uses implements some carefully laid plans to weaken their enemies. According to his plans, he gets freed soon enough. But in a twist of fate, he ends up enlisting in the most elite army of the world, where his talents at formulating strategies are recognized. Due to being such an outstanding tactician, he is sent to coordinate a war to settle a dispute between two Kingdoms. But throughout the carefully laid battle plans, he keeps his eyes set on the one Kingdom that he seeks to destroy to exact his revenge.

Nathan says:

For a refresher, here is the published cover of the first book in the Dark Star series:

(Looks great, by the way.)

So what is there that can alert a fan of Book One that this prequel is right up his alley?  The title typeface is the same, yes, but it’s a pretty flexible one that isn’t immediately identifiable as a “brand” (not like the Harry Potter typeface, for instance). Beyond that, not only does it not communicate clearly that it’s part of this series/franchise, it doesn’t even look particularly like a fantasy.  Honestly, when I saw “map and stiletto,” my first thought was something set during World War II.  Even a mailed glove resting on the map would be helpful. And there’s nothing wrong with putting “A Prequel to the Legend of the Dark Star Series” above or below the title.

Also, the byline ends up practically invisible.

Other comments?

The author says:

An enslaved Seer in a fantasy land must avoid death at the hands of her future in-laws and escape her abusive would-be groom, to the backdrop of civil unrest, wide-scale oppression of her fellow Seers and magickal assassination attempts.

This is a hard copy cover illustration.

The blurb reads: “How far can you push a Seer before she snaps and pushes back? THE TAINTED SHRINE follows Kanika, a subjugated Seer with her life and the fate of her country at stake, who must escape an unwanted relationship with the Crown Prince and take her chances in a treacherous political landscape – though her people may still never forgive her. However, the prince’s position at court is not as stable as Kanika might like. His brother Meto and sister Elsephere plot at every turn to usurp the crown and destroy any trace his affair with a lowly Seer like Kanika ever existed. And all the while, danger lurks on the fringes of their city, waiting to strike and wipe out invaders and defenders alike.”

The genre is medieval epic fantasy with real-world parallels to domestic abuse, colonialism and mob mentality. There is a moderate focus on the fantasy religions and a fair amount of political intrigue, as well as moderate gore and dark themes. Target audience is new adult/adult, primarily women between the ages of 18 and 35, who are interested in medieval fantasy, political intrigue, spirit-based magic systems and feminism. Would appeal to readers of Ursula K. le Guinn, Robin Hobb and George R. R. Martin.

I submitted a completely different previous cover concept for this novel several months ago. I am both the book’s author and the cover illustrator. Thank you for taking another look at my book cover.

[original submission and comments here]

Nathan says:

This version works much better in thumbnail than the last — there’s instant comprehension both of the image subject and the genre.  I do think the type needs to be a little clearer in thumbnail; make it either bolder or larger.

At full size, I think the art needs more refinement.  The figure’s belly is just a flat waxy area, and both her eyes and her boobs are off-kilter.  You could also add some texture to the fabric she’s wearing for contrast.

Other comments?

The author says:

It’s 1959, in the village of Hightown, north of Liverpool. Soon it will be Bonfire Night, and Jim’s making his own fireworks. Crazy Joe Materson says there’s an unexploded bomb in his garden, and Dad’s in league with him to blow up the sand-stealing excavator. When dead Uncle Buddy appears from out of a stain on the wallpaper and takes Jim back to World War 2, that’s bad enough – but then Old Beardy, the Beach Hermit, gets involved.

Genre: Fiction, historical (1959 / 1942)

Nathan says:

I think the biggest problem here is that the artwork isn’t up to snuff — specifically Uncle Buddy.  If you could get the artist to rework him (and perhaps simply re-tinting him all in spectral colors would work), you’d have it.

Other comments?

The author says:

The novel, The Battle for Taiwan, is set around the South China Sea and is the second in a series of books. There is a slight change of action in this second book as its focus switches from an early sea battle, which the Chinese lose, to dramatic internal problems in China. Chinese faceless generals and other powerful people take the opportunity of disorder in China to steal three nuclear bombs. These faceless men act first against Taiwan and then Vietnam. Our hero Matt Fraser, accompanied by his loyal friends, hunt down the faceless men. All this happens against a backdrop of the faceless men trying to assassinate the new President of China who was not their preferred choice. In the mold of Sum of all Fears, the action is both suspenseful and surprising in its outcomes. Once again the book is fiction, but it draws heavily on actual events for its story line.

Nathan says:

First up: You say it’s the second in a series. I can find The Third Gate listed for you on Amazon; is that the first book? If so, you’ve missed an important opportunity for branding. Ideally, books in a series should maintain the same font choices and art styles so that they look to be of a piece — you want readers and fans of your first book to be able to pick it out from the background noise on Amazon or in the bookstore.  I’d advise you to start work on the second cover by returning to the first cover and deciding what to modify: The color scheme? The particular images (keep their same place in the layout)? etc. (If that’s not the first book in the series, then ignore this paragraph.)

On top of that, while filling in a country’s geographic borders with another image is a design trope with a long and distinguished history, in this case it works against you.  The image inside the border is a longer-range shot than the surrounding background, and so the internal image looks like a hole to something more distant — there’s more confusion than recognition, which works against the goal of immediate comprehension of a book cover.

At this point, one way or another, rethinking the concept of the cover will be more help than tweaking the present one.

Other comments?