Which cover is better?

[Gregg Bell]

My novel is called The Find and it's romantic suspense. Here's the blurb.

What can a mother do when she has no money and a dangerously sick kid?

She can make a mistake.

In a moment of desperation, cleaning lady Phoebe Jackson tries to pawn the diamond-bejeweled Rolex she found in a mobster's locker. Turns out the watch is a fake, but the mobster isn't—and he's on to her.

**********************

Phoebe can't stand to see her young daughter suffer with juvenile diabetes. Only able to take her to emergency rooms and free clinics, Phoebe knows she isn't getting the care she needs. But just barely able to make the rent every month and keep food on the table, Phoebe can't afford health insurance. When she finds the Rolex, Phoebe, despite her circumstances, is determined to do the right thing and return it, but then when she loses her job—and a friend tells her the Rolex is worth thousands—it seems finding the watch is an absolute godsend.

But Phoebe never figured on what would be sent along with the watch. Before she knows it, hers and her family's life is on the line.





Thanks!

[ATDrake]

Depends on the content and intended effect, I'd say.

The 2nd cover suggests to me a more steamy, possibly erotic-toned novel with greater emphasis on the relationship elements (which may or may not be truer to the story inside). But you can tell immediately that it's very definitely a romance.

Whereas the 1st cover is more toned down, but seems relatively neutral and perhaps ambiguous relationship-wise (it's not all that obvious at first glance that the leads are topless and it could be interpreted as a concerned friend/relative gesture sort of pose) and may not necessarily convey the romance inside as obviously as you might want it to. However, if you want to emphasize the suspense element, this might be the way to go, to indicate that while there's a romance, it may not be the main thrust of the plot and the Gentle Reader should perhaps not expect a whole lot of shippy moments.

(In either case, the helpful blurb text across the top will pretty much be invisible at the small cover preview size in most listings that a search will pop up, IMHO.)

[JSWolf]

I find the watermarks better on the 2nd cover. It's cut off on the 1st.

[arjaybe]

The first one is better. The woman seems more like the one described in the blurb, and the man's not wearing jewelry.

[crich70]

I like the 2nd one better. There seems to be more of an intense romantic atmosphere about the couple and I can identify with them better as I can see more of their faces.

[David Munch]

While I prefer the second one, as it puts more focus on the woman, I also think it appears to be quite erotic.

[Catlady]

The blurb doesn't match up with either cover. The blurb sounds thriller-ish, the covers belong on a romance novel.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Depends on the content and intended effect, I'd say.

The 2nd cover suggests to me a more steamy, possibly erotic-toned novel with greater emphasis on the relationship elements (which may or may not be truer to the story inside). But you can tell immediately that it's very definitely a romance.

Whereas the 1st cover is more toned down, but seems relatively neutral and perhaps ambiguous relationship-wise (it's not all that obvious at first glance that the leads are topless and it could be interpreted as a concerned friend/relative gesture sort of pose) and may not necessarily convey the romance inside as obviously as you might want it to. However, if you want to emphasize the suspense element, this might be the way to go, to indicate that while there's a romance, it may not be the main thrust of the plot and the Gentle Reader should perhaps not expect a whole lot of shippy moments.

(In either case, the helpful blurb text across the top will pretty much be invisible at the small cover preview size in most listings that a search will pop up, IMHO.)

Thanks ATDrake. I would say the book is 60% suspense and 40% romance. There's a few shippy moments, esp. the ending, but not as many as a straightforward romance. Appreciate the feedback.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I find the watermarks better on the 2nd cover. It's cut off on the 1st.

Good catch! Thanks for pointing that out!

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

The first one is better. The woman seems more like the one described in the blurb, and the man's not wearing jewelry.

Thanks rjb. Yeah, I really don't like the jewelry either.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by crich70

I like the 2nd one better. There seems to be more of an intense romantic atmosphere about the couple and I can identify with them better as I can see more of their faces.

Thanks crich. That second cover is definitely more visible. I'm wondering though if that intense romantic atmosphere is bleeding over to sleazy.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by David Munch

While I prefer the second one, as it puts more focus on the woman, I also think it appears to be quite erotic.

Thanks David. I agree about the 'quite erotic' comment. And the story is not erotica. It's just romantic suspense.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by Catlady

The blurb doesn't match up with either cover. The blurb sounds thriller-ish, the covers belong on a romance novel.

Thanks Catlady. I would say the covers are more romantic suspense than romance, but I agree with you in that the blurb isn't matching up with the covers. But I like the blurb a lot (esp. the first half) and sort of dread giving it up. I was hoping the potential reader would get enough of the 'romantic suspense' aspect from the cover, but I'm not so sure about that. Appreciate the feedback.

[ATDrake]

Could you possibly have the 2nd cover redone with the top people in the same/similar pose, but visibly clothed?

That would seem to solve the issue of "does it look romance-y enough, but not too romance-y in a way that sets up the Gentle Reader to anticipate far more sexyfuntimes than are actually described inside?"

Also, a minor addition to the blurb (not necessarily a rewrite) mentioning the guy character who'll apparently be helping the heroine with her problem (or who just gets haplessly caught up in it all, North by Northwest-style, depending on what the story's actually like), would probably help with making clear that there are strong romantic elements in the plot alongside the suspense.

[issybird]

Not about the cover, but the grammar in the last sentence of the blurb is making me nuts. It needs to be cleaned up.