The author says:

I’m resubmitting a new cover for my Young-Adult Science Fiction novel. Although the cover design doesn’t suggest science fiction, I feel that it captures the spirit of the novel more closely than my attempts at a more SciFi oriented cover. The Magician’s Horses is a time travel story, but the underlying theme involves shedding material possessions and returning to nature. It is a story about coping with death and being alone. It is a story about survival, friendship, and new love. How I’m going to word that in a blurb, I have yet to determine.

Nathan says:

Note: You can see the two previous iterations of this cover here and here.

The typeface chosen here definitely sells the “sf” vibe better than the original.  I would call this a good sketch for what you want to do. Now you need to roll up your sleeves and bring the magic.

– Look at the thumbnail. The horse silhouette gets lost, and the placement of type and other elements against the dark background seems arbitrary.  Perhaps a top-to-bottom fade of color in the horse silhouette (maybe the red from the second cover?) would give it some visual distinction.  The thumbnail comes across as monolithic gray.  Coule upping the color and saturation in the sunset (sunrise?) add some appeal?

– What detail can you add to the large version which doesn’t distract from the clarity at thumbnail size, but rewards the browser for looking at it larger?  (That’s one of the loose principles I’m seeing coalesce out of my exploration of good cover design: The full size version should give the viewer something beyond what can be seen in the thumbnail.) Could a slight bevel, glow, or shadow on the type make it more interesting (without reducing readability, especially in the thumbnail)? How about a subtle texture or pattern in the blacks and darks?

Other ideas?

The author says:

KILLING IS HER SPECIALTY. LEGEND HER REALITY. BLOOD HER DRUG OF CHOICE. Makayla Uriel is a Vampire Seraphim with a split personality. Her first impulse upon meeting her new partner is to bleed him dry. Her second is unthinkable. Humans no longer need to be bitten to become Vampires. London is burning. The Trinian Globe, an ancient artefact, has been stolen. Makayla is the one being who can prevent the inevitable apocalypse and the one least likely to. Is trust possible when you must sacrifice everything? Will the Shadow Seekers save Earth and its Gateways? Can the global distribution of V5 be stopped? Who will triumph? SERAPHYMPIRE.

Nathan says:

Incrementally better, but most of the complaints I had about the previous cover are still present: The text is too small, the tag line covers an active area in the artwork instead of that open space on the right, and the neologistic title is still ungainly.

Other opinions?

The author says:

“A textbook guiding jobseekers how to write the content of their resume, which provides in-depth instructions to help those needing to write or fix up their own resume to make decisions on what sections and details to include and exclude and where included details should be positioned along with a professional resume writers techniques that can make hiring managers to view the person as potentially suitable.” As a professional resume writer and jobsearch trainer I understand that jobsearch can be a long and frustrating process, especially for those who struggling financially and the process is prolonged. So, I wanted the cover of my non-fiction book to convey the emotions underlying that frustration and struggle, in particular the nervousness that some people have from viewing hiring managers as fearsome, mean and scary bosses with the power to make or break their future with little care or thought for their feelings. But, because jobsearch can be tedious, I also strove to soften that element to try making the topic less boring.

Nathan says:

Golly, I’ve got no comments about this. It looks just fine to me.  On the other hand, nonfiction (and especially how-to books) aren’t a specialty of mine.  Anyone else have something insightful to say?

The author says:

Valor’s Worth is a medieval fantasy novel of the sword-and-sorcery vein, appropriate for older teens and adults. Those who appreciate books by Terry Brooks, RA Salvatore, and Weis/Hickman will find Valor’s Worth provides a similar brand of adventure. It’s the story of a surly elf military officer trying to come to grips with a destiny to establish the first airborne cavalry for his people, while he battles emotional wounds that threaten to cripple him from within.

Nathan says:

Nice use of photography instead of illustration — especially because so much indie-published fantasy uses amateurish art.

My first thought is, More contrast!  I immediately want to add a deep green tone to the background (especially in the photographic tableau, but also in the backgrounds to the title/byline and series title to connect them) to contrast with the red in the type, and to make the objects in the tableau “pop” more.

Other ideas?

The author says:

KILLING IS HER SPECIALTY. LEGEND HER REALITY. BLOOD HER DRUG OF CHOICE. Makayla Uriel is a Vampire Seraphim with a split personality. Her first impulse upon meeting her new partner is to bleed him dry. Her second is unthinkable. Humans no longer need to be bitten to become Vampires. London is burning. The Trinian Globe, an ancient artefact, has been stolen. Makayla is the one being who can prevent the inevitable apocalypse and the one least likely to. Is trust possible when you must sacrifice everything? Will the Shadow Seekers save Earth and its Gateways? Can the global distribution of V5 be stopped? Who will triumph? SERAPHYMPIRE.

Nathan says:

Note: This is another cover that got a working-over in its original form at lousybookcovers.com; this is a revised version.

The artwork is certainly fine for the genre; I’ve got no complaints there.  I think you’ll be able to predict everything I’m going to say from looking at the thumbnail: The text is too small.  I’m not just saying that it’s unreadable at thumbnail size (readability is desirable but not absolutely necessary, and obviously big words like “seraphympire” are going to be a challenge) — there’s too much wasted space.  You’ve already got a big chunk of space to the right of the sword; this should keep you from feeling too crowded as you play with the rest of the cover. The bloody drips above the title really don’t need to be seen unimpeded, nor do the rocks under the byline.

Also, speaking of that space on the right: Move your tagline over there and put it in a simple, readable font. Its current placement make it look like the “crazy” comment only applies to the author. 🙂

Unfortunately, I think the biggest hurdle is still going to be the title, which is both (a) a neologism with which readers won’t be familiar, and (b) long and complex enough not to be easily intuited.  the best I can come up with is something like this:

But that still seems too ungainly to me. Anyone else have ideas?