The author says:

A contemporary romance for Young Adults set in the Caribbean nation of Belize. Adam Lockwood is bamboozled into a date with an escort– who doesn’t seem to approve of her own job. Through a series of adventures, they draw closer and fall in love.

Nathan says:

First up: If it’s set in the Caribbean, why am I not seeing any indication of that?  Romantic novels are a form of escapist entertainment, and that means that the exotic setting is a big part of its draw. I should see sunny beaches or colorful Mayan ruins or something in that big blank area.

Second: Because the cursive font for “Falling For” is less easily readable than the font in which the byline and rest of the title is rendered, the eye (and the attention behind it) has to linger longer on it to decipher it, with the unintentional result that it gains more emphasis.  In the reader’s mind, the title becomes “FALLING FOR Mr. Nice Guy.”

My suggestions:

• Move the byline up to the upper left, put “Falling For” in the same readable font, and render “Mr. Nice Guy” in the cursive font — or better yet, a similar cursive font which is both heavier (thus making it more readable in thumbnail) and less ornate (ditto).
• Add something colorful and tropical in that unused area thus created by moving the byline up.

Other suggestions?

The author says:

HUNGER -A Thrilling Suspense

Adam was a satisfied New Yorker until he receives a suspectable letter of his grandmother from Pakistan, requesting him to visit her to know the truth about his thrilling past, his insatiable Hunger begins. Will he satisfy his hunger?

Iman is dejected by her life, yet she wanted to save her marriage. will she be able to save it? or a new chapter in her life awaits?

It’s adventure, drama, thriller and suspense plus with a little hint of family and love. Target audience is everyone who lovery thriller with travel and adventure. My primary objective to write the book was to tell the world positive aspects of Pakistan. As I am a proud Pakistani myself. At the beginning it’s set in new York where Adam finds our about his grandmother travels to Pakistan to meet her. Then it goes back to his parents story connecting Adam himself with it. at the end the story takes a seven year leap and the action thickens.

Nathan says:

All automatic cover generators and their templates have problems, and this one is no exception.  Here are the main problems with this template:

• There is a metric ton of wasted space.  Look at the thumbnail; we can barely read the title, and the subtitle and byline are only a few pixels each, but golly do we see a lot of blue-gray background!
• I assume that the font is one of only a few options given for this template. It’s completely wrong for thrilling suspense.
• Coming back to the byline; seriously, who would want their name to be so small?

Those are all complaints directly related to the template itself.  Now here are some complaints about your use of it:

• “A Thrilling Suspense”?  Yes, “suspense” is technically a noun, but as a descriptor of a book it functions as an adjective.  It should be “A Thrilling Suspense Story” or “A Thrilling Suspense Novel” or something.
• Blue-grey, and more blue-grey, are not thrilling colors.  Look at how other suspense novels broadcast their genre: Lots of high-contrast color and strong type.  (And no frames.)
• On the other hand, the story you describe on the back cover isn’t a thrilling suspense story. It’s a family drama.  You either need to change the subtitle on the front, or include the actually thrilling parts of the story on the back.
• If all of this is about Pakistani heritage, why is there no hint of it in the imagery?  A guy sitting in a tree isn’t specifically Pakistani. (Also not thrilling.)

I think you’d be better off by scrapping this and starting over from these questions:

1. What do I want my potential audience to comprehend in the first split-second of seeing the cover?  (I think the answers are “suspense” and “Pakistan,” unless you decide that “suspense” is really not a primary descriptor of your story, in which case “drama” and “Pakistan” would be the answers.)
2. How do you visually say “suspense” to potential readers? (Again, look at the covers of other successful suspense novels to see how readers of suspense novels are used to being marketed to.)
3. How do you visually say “Pakistani” to potential readers who will likely not be Pakistani?  (I’m assuming here that your target audience is a broader one than simply Pakistani-Americans.) A Google image search for “pakistani culture” shows me lots of bright colors, intricate designs, and Islamic imagery. If you’re not using some combination of those elements, you’re not telling us about the book at all.

I think the evidence says that thinking in terms of visual design and impact is not your skill set.  There’s no shame in an author admitting that they don’t have experience in design, and instead turning to someone who does have that skill set.  You should probably look around for a designer to work with.

Other thoughts?

The author says:

Historical fiction of the tough times in Detroit in the 1970s. A poker group meets once a month at the Sax Club and always stops for a dink and view before heading up to the poker room. Members of the group including a police sargeant, are key players in confronting the mafia’s strong hold on the city. They are the “Thorn Birds of Detroit.”

Nathan says:

So is it a crime novel? A buddy novel? I can’t tell from the description whether the main story takes place inside or outside the club (the cover definitely wants me to believe “inside”).

And is the title “Sax Club”?  Or is it “Sax Club: Thorn Birds of Detroit Confront Mafia”?  I would strongly advise the first, and then just dropping (or at least both downplaying and rewriting) the subtitle, as it confuses more than it elucidates.

It’s obvious, and thus detracting, that the neon font has been “squished” to fit in the space… and it’s then confusing that the “Thorn Birds of Detroit” logo also glows just like the neon.

I think that, with a stripper photo, your cover will get a lot of second glances. But then your potential customers will come away without knowing what story you’re telling, and move on to the next book instead of reading the back cover copy.  You need to remember the most essential part of designing a cover: Remember who your target audience is, and concentrate on letting that target audience know that this is a book aimed at them.

(This is a side note, but I don’t know if a ’70s setting qualifies as “historical.” “Period,” yes, but most people don’t consider living memory to be “historical.”)

Other comments?

The author says:

Set in remote mountains of Nevada and travels around the US and abroad in current time.

Book 3 Die-Hard Patriots, a Political thriller Series.

Audience: Conservative men with interest in politics and preppers. Vince Flynn, Brad Thor.

Fearing his life is in danger, Cal Stockton seeks refuge in the remote mountains of Nevada. His future looks bleak until he inherits a sizable sum of money, followed by a visit from the former Secretary of State, Claire Haskett. She’s preparing to make a presidential bid for the White House. Fearing the United States is on the verge of bankruptcy and the dollar is in danger of losing its status as the world’s reserve currency, she wants to abolish the Federal Reserve and issue a new interest-free United States Note—a note backed by gold, yet owned by the People. All she needs are a few noble patriots willing to acquire that gold. Patriots willing to break a few laws and a leader willing to die for the cause.

Nathan says:

Series novels present their own problems; you want to maintain consistent branding across installments.  For reference, here are the covers of the first two novels:

Good covers, if slightly inconsistent.  Of the three, the third volume is the weakest, for a number of reasons:

1. The title taking up roughly half of the cover makes it look like a nonfiction book.
2. Couple that with a plain picture of currency, and it looks like a personal finance book, or a polemic against the Federal Reserve.
3. In contrast to the first two volumes, in which the illustration extends out under the type, the third volume has the type completely separate from the single image element.
4. Also in contrast to the first two volumes, the deep red of the byline blends into the background in thumbnail size.

Here’s what I’d do:

• Place the title on two lines, not three:

ONE NATION
UNDER DEBT

• Fill the cover with the image of the hundred-dollar bill, at an angle and with some texture. Darken it under the text, and see how that looks.

Other suggestions?

The author says:

A 12 month guide of devotionals. The devotionals were written to encourage women that have been through a lot of pain from breakups and/or divorces based on my personal experiences from both.

Nathan says:

I can appreciate the motives that inspired the design — something soft and non-confrontational — but I think the type treatment is too underwhelming.

Italic fonts don’t work well with excessive spacing between the letters.  Using a slightly stronger font at a larger size for the title will make it more visible and readable in thumbnail.

The subtitle is written in a font that doesn’t seems “chosen” so much as it just happened.

Is there really an apostrophe in your surname?

The way the image is cropped, there’s a shadow all the way down the left edge; it makes it look as if you scanned the image from a book.

Other comments?