The author says:
Book 2 of the Abrahamha’s Strays series: Terminally Human. Sci-fi set in the 25th century. Large cast. Symbiotic microorganisms in humans grant them longevity and rapid healing (the thingy in the center is supposed to represent how a few can perceive them). A few have extraordinary powers, that come with considerable limitations. The first book had solved a mystery and rescued an ancient hero. This book is a quest for her original attacker.
Nathan says:
I haven’t looked up Book 1 to see how you’ve maintained the branding, because even if Book 2 follows Book 1 visually, it’s still got a major problem:
I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING.
Remember, most readers are going to see your cover first at thumbnail size, with other books’ thumbnails on either side of it. And what do I learn about your book from the thumbnail? Nothing. I can’t read the title, I can’t recognize any image. As a reader, I might not even register that your book cover is there, because of more intelligible and attractive covers to the left and right.
Even at full size, the reflective tricks on the title only add another half-second to my comprehension, which is a half-second you can’t afford. The “thingy” doesn’t stand out from the background, and the one intelligible part of the image — the human silhouettes at the bottom — blend into their background.
You need to start over with a single question in mind: “What can I convey to my target audience in the limited time and real estate of the thumbnail that will get them to stop and find out more?”
Other comments?
There are a few issues. The first is that the central image—whatever that is—overwhelms the cover. So much so that you have crowded the title into the top corner and the figures and your name into the bottom margin. This just leaves an enormous image that conveys nothing special to the potential reader…other than a generic sense of “science fiction.” To make the title worse, the color and shading camouflage it against the background. The title needs to be much larger and more easily readable. I’d enlarge those figures so that they span the width of the cover and overlap the whirly thing. And then make your name larger and further up into the cover.
I think what might be getting in the way here is objectivity. The design in the middle has significance to you because you know what it represents. The potential reader won’t have that advantage.
My first reaction was cliche, and wondered if it was a poster for a film. I don’t understand what the gyroscope looking things is portraying. Otherwise as a simple observation is that my gut instinct is wondering how these immortals are going to die – which may be a good or bad bewilderment depending on what you as the writer is trying to convey.
Typography treatment is one of the most common problems with covers.
In this case it needs to be bigger, brighter, and centered. Try placing author name between the main object and the figures of humans instead of squeezing it in the corner. I don’t mind too much over the focal point object because it looks sci-fi, but hopefully the story will reveal its purpose.