Category: Covers

Rock the Boat

Covers

The author says:

ROCK THE BOAT is an erotic romance set in current day America. A simple love affair becomes complicated when a soldier shares his new wife with his best friend. Parental disapproval escalates to lies and manipulation. A man with an obsession, a kidnapped spouse, and a murder, change a happy home into a nightmare. One that might be fixed by choosing the right man.

RTB good cover.JPG

RTB good cover.JPG

Nathan says:

I will readily admit that I’m not the target audience, but in my perusal of book covers in all genres, I’d noticed this distinction:

  • Soft romances usually have soft color schemes, airy or pastel.
  • Erotic romances usually have deeper color schemes — darker shadows, more saturated colors.

Your description says “erotic romance,” but the color scheme doesn’t support that.  That’s the first change I’d make.

But then: I don’t think the transparent overlay of the soldiers works, I don’t think the placement of the title works, and I DEFINITELY don’t think the “Word Art” warping of the title works.

I’ll give you the advice I give often: Look up the books on Amazon that you would expect to see in the same armload of books as yours.  Look at their covers.  Taylor yours so that all the signifiers are there to tell your potential readers that, if they liked those other books, they’d like yours.

Good luck.

Hallowed Souls

Covers

The author says:

The first of a series of high-fantasy books with more of an emphasis on historical fiction. There are multiple characters and multiple plots in the story all tied together under a single plot involving an economically stagnant country on the losing side of a war set in a world greatly influenced by Medieval Europe and East Asia.

Synopsis: War rages on as various kingdoms struggle to gain power and maintain their freedom. From the shores of the Grey Sea to the mountains of Cosca, chaos reigns. It is a tale of murder, rape and war. Here a peasant girl masquerades as a princess; a deposed king schemes to regain his throne; and fierce pagans strive to regain their freedom. As opposing forces scheme and plot to gain power, a strange sickness blows in from the mysterious east and ravages the land. Not even Spenta can save them as everyone, from fools to sages, realize that even the most hallowed of souls can do nothing.

hallowedsoulscoverdraft1

hallowedsoulscoverdraft1

Nathan says:

It’s well-executed art, and I don’t know how much of a draw it will be for readers.  In thumbnail, all I can see is “blue” (and maybe “tree”).  At the larger size, while I can see the human figures, I have to hunt for them, and I can’t make out enough detail to tell setting or genre from their clothes.  Couple that with a font that is the epitome of “generic,” and you’ve got a cover that tells the reader as little as it can.

Is the original artwork that intensely blue?  If not, I would scale that waaaay back, and let other colors at least give a penumbra of a palette.  Also, you could trim the artwork so that the characters are larger and more central (the only thing you’d lose would be some trees and sky).  Then find a font and font treatment that helps convey the fantasy genre (not Algerian!), as the artwork still probably wouldn’t be able to do all the heaving lifting in that regard.

Other ideas?

Vandal Valkyrie [resubmit]

Covers

The author says:

Changes include overlaying text directly onto the background image and adding a drop shadow. A less ornate typeface is used (actually the same font, but there is a world of difference between the all-caps and lower case for this font).

A dark fantasy and cosmic horror novel, book 1 in a series. The main characters quest to bring justice to the dread lord of an evil nation. But all of their actions are orchestrated by titanic forces that move in the shadows of history, seeking terrible ends that these mortal pawns cannot begin to imagine or oppose.

The art is a sketch by Alex Ruiz at Conceptmonster.net used with permission, my role was in colorizing and formatting it as a cover.

Vandal Valkyrie Cover

Vandal Valkyrie Cover

[original submission and comments here]

Nathan says:

Getting there. Still not there yet.

Remember that the purpose of type on a cover is, first and foremost, to be read. Against a busy dark background, your title especially needs to stand out and be understood.  That means bolder, thicker letters, and more dynamic contrast between the type and the art.

Let’s say you’re browsing Amazon, and these two thumbnails are at the bottom of the page.  Which one is going to catch YOUR eye?

Vandal Valkyrie Cover        Vandal-Valkyrie-Cover-modded

(That’s my five-minute do-over, just grabbing a font that was convenient and futzing with the art.  Not the best font, not the best layout, but you get the idea.)

Any other comments?

Under a Hunter’s Moon

Covers

The author says:

Richard Parsons is a lupine, one of the many breeds of shape-shifters living in Seattle. Mortal legends of his kind call them werewolves. When a traveling exhibition returns to Seattle, Richard takes a night time visit, with plans that go beyond seeing a particular display. However he is unprepared for the memories and emotions that come flooding back.

This short story is set partly in current day Seattle, and partly in the near past. It’s intended to be part of a series of releases that provide some background stories that precede an upcoming novel.

xx-Under A Hunter's Moon 5in x 8in Cover

xx-Under A Hunter's Moon 5in x 8in Cover

Nathan says:

There’s a running gag at LBC.com about “Wolfie” showing up on covers. I’m afraid yours would be a candidate.

I can see what you’re trying to do here — a big shadowy wolf looming over the city — but it isn’t working.  The wolf isn’t looming so much as looking on in a disinterested fashion.  The filters you’ve used to render the wolf “ghostly” also make him plain and easy to ignore.

I also have a big problem with how you’ve decided to separate your type from the main image.  Let’s be honest: There are no particular details in your image that absolutely shouldn’t be obscured by text, so there’s no reason to keep your text completely off your image.  And in shoving the text to the top and bottom, and then encasing each in a border, you’re forcing the text to be smaller and smaller — the result being that not one bit of it is readable in thumbnail.

There are no quick fixes here.  To take your cover from your concept to a market-ready layout requires the find of graphic intelligence that is usually only gained from years of practice.  I think this is the point at which you should turn over what you’ve done to a freelancer to make it professional.

Anyone think differently?

Growing Amaranth

Covers

The author says:

Growing Amaranth is a retelling of Rapunzel. Amaranth lives in a secluded cottage with her mother when she meets a young boy who helps her realize she’s not as free as she thought. Her mother traps her in a tower when she discovers her friendship. Amaranth starts at 9 years old, but it follows her until she is 17. Its for YA, focused more on emotionally abused youth/adult. It is set in a fictional medieval/regency time.

Amaranth2

Amaranth2

Nathan says:

It’s a nice image. Let’s make it pop!

  1. It’s the Rapunzel story? Make the braid longer! I don’t care if it actually figures into the story. Make it longer!
  2. Play with the contrast and saturation.  Make the picture come alive!
  3. Why are you hiding your byline in teeny type?  You wrote a book. Be proud! You’d got that extra space along the top — put your byline there, then make the title just a bit larger to take up the space you just vacated.

Other ideas?