Request for feedback on four versions of cover - Page 5

theducks · 09-08-2015, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmw

Check a few more - there you will find a some with mixed, some all serif and some all sans-serif, all different editions of the same book. Mixing is okay as long as the end result works.

I tend to buy titles from a a limited group of publishers as evidenced by the spine logos looking at me from the bookcase.
Seems their cover text (design rules) must also be matching my reading tastes

Gregg Bell · 09-08-2015, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Gregg,
Use the one you love. Either of the last two would make me take a second look.

I don't know, Cin. I think I'll love the one that gets people to click on it.

Not that I'm not into doing what I want. Actually the one I like the best is the one with the hands. It's the most artistic of the bunch. But besides conveying a vague sense of helpfulness it doesn't say much. People might be like, 'oh, that's a pretty cover' and click on one that gives them what they're looking for. (a sense of menace and danger that a suspense cover should have).

I sent a friend the cover of the pretty baby and she was like, "Oh, what an adorbable baby!" (Not much menace or suspense in that.)

Maybe if I did something with the text of "Baby" it could help convey menace. Not blood dripping but something like that. I thought of somehow doing jail bars in the text. (Not that I know how to do that!

)

I think the dark green cover is a better choice. It will be eye catching and it does convey menace. Is it horror-ish? Yeah, it's leaning that way, but at least there's some danger there, some intrigue. That along with the incongruous title of Baby for that theme (with a cover like that you'd maybe expect Alien Baby for the title) might intrigue people enough to click on the cover.

So yeah, I've got a fallback, but still not 100% sure.

Gregg Bell · 09-08-2015, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

I like the balance of the text to picture, but the Gregg ... needs to lose the serif

I checked a few BPH covers No mix of serif, sans-serif

Hey ducks. Thing is all my covers have the same font for my name. My covers are pretty various so I've got to keep at least the name font the same for branding.

Gregg Bell · 09-08-2015, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmw

Check a few more - there you will find a some with mixed, some all serif and some all sans-serif, all different editions of the same book. Mixing is okay as long as the end result works.

Sorry Gregg, I've not made any comments about your covers. I haven't really liked any of them very much - big baby blue eyes least of all (although it may well be the best fit for the actual story). But since I don't have any better suggestions to make I've been keeping quiet. I do know it's very hard when you can't find a good fit.

ETA: I should probably clarify: big baby blue eyes probably would catch my eye, I just don't like the image very much. And further: one person's dislike of an image is not enough reason on its own to discount it, you will never please all the people all the time.

Hey, I hear ya, GMW. It's like with literary agents. Submit a sci-fi novel to an agent with a preference for historical fiction and guess what--they ain't gonna like your sci-fi novel no matter how good it is.

PS. And I haven't liked most of my covers either!

theducks · 09-08-2015, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

Hey ducks. Thing is all my covers have the same font for my name. My covers are pretty various so I've got to keep at least the name font the same for branding.

Brand is important,
but IMHO the product is more so!

I look at offerings from the Publisher of my kinda works
This has gotten a whole lot muddled with self-pub moving into the big picture (vanity press was always present).

Your intriguing cover is what will grab the eye, not so much your name ON the cover. A search or author site probably landed that cover in front of the prospective customer.

my 2cents

Cinisajoy · 09-08-2015, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

I don't know, Cin. I think I'll love the one that gets people to click on it.

Not that I'm not into doing what I want. Actually the one I like the best is the one with the hands. It's the most artistic of the bunch. But besides conveying a vague sense of helpfulness it doesn't say much. People might be like, 'oh, that's a pretty cover' and click on one that gives them what they're looking for. (a sense of menace and danger that a suspense cover should have).

I sent a friend the cover of the pretty baby and she was like, "Oh, what an adorbable baby!" (Not much menace or suspense in that.)

Maybe if I did something with the text of "Baby" it could help convey menace. Not blood dripping but something like that. I thought of somehow doing jail bars in the text. (Not that I know how to do that!

)

I think the dark green cover is a better choice. It will be eye catching and it does convey menace. Is it horror-ish? Yeah, it's leaning that way, but at least there's some danger there, some intrigue. That along with the incongruous title of Baby for that theme (with a cover like that you'd maybe expect Alien Baby for the title) might intrigue people enough to click on the cover.

So yeah, I've got a fallback, but still not 100% sure.

Use the green one.

Gregg Bell · 09-08-2015, 11:49 PM

I think the green one is the best so far. (And, ducks, I know people aren't buying the book for my name but still I want to have a little branding going on.) But here are two more. And the grayscale one the "See no evil...will you listen?" will be in red. Thanks.

meeera · 09-09-2015, 12:28 AM

They still both look paranormal to me, and your typography needs work. The sans "See no evil" section is terribly kerned, and I have to agree that your serif name isn't working with the rest at all.

This is what cover designers do for a living, it is a learned skill, and I have to agree with HappyMartin - if you're going to do this yourself and expect to attract readers it would be a good idea to study design and typography a lot more than you have. People don't expect to wake up and write a publishable novel overnight; they learn their craft. Same with editors. Same with design.

For starters, read about the subject; and as you go along, look at a lot of professionally designed covers in your genre, and learn the language.

How wedded are you to the title?

Cinisajoy · 09-09-2015, 12:29 AM

The green is the best of the three.

pendragginp · 09-09-2015, 07:15 AM

The "See No Evil" is too wordy for a cover, IMO, but would work for the blurb on the back.

Gregg Bell · 09-09-2015, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

They still both look paranormal to me, and your typography needs work. The sans "See no evil" section is terribly kerned, and I have to agree that your serif name isn't working with the rest at all.

This is what cover designers do for a living, it is a learned skill, and I have to agree with HappyMartin - if you're going to do this yourself and expect to attract readers it would be a good idea to study design and typography a lot more than you have. People don't expect to wake up and write a publishable novel overnight; they learn their craft. Same with editors. Same with design.

For starters, read about the subject; and as you go along, look at a lot of professionally designed covers in your genre, and learn the language.

How wedded are you to the title?

Thx meeera. These are just prototypes I'm working up before I give them to my cover designer.

And not wedded to the title but don't have any ideas for another either.

And agree about the serif in my name.

Lima Bean · 09-10-2015, 06:56 AM

The last cover (the black and white one with the closeup side shot of the baby looking up) is by far my favorite. I even like the little blurb on the front, but it would be easier to read at a glance if you shortened it to "When he cries for help, will you listen?"

meeera · 09-10-2015, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lima Bean

The last cover (the black and white one with the closeup side shot of the baby looking up) is by far my favorite. I even like the little blurb on the front, but it would be easier to read at a glance if you shortened it to "When he cries for help, will you listen?"

Getting rid of the "evil" lines would also reduce the paranormal impression.

AnnGirdharry · 09-11-2015, 02:33 AM

hello Gregg Bell,

There are three covers I like. To me, they all suggest different but relevant facets of the story. In order of preference;

the grey scale of the baby staring at the ceiling posted 9/9
of the original four, the blue one with two hands reaching towards each other
the green one (though it has a tendency towards the creepy side)

I agree the one with the teen on the bed suggests abuse of some type (since you can see her bare legs etc and she's curled up)
the doll ones are really creepy and I don't like horror

If you go with sub-text I'd suggest cutting out the references to evil because again they suggest horror. Maybe anonymise the phrase to -

BABY
...when he cries for help will anybody hear

since it's the teen who is going to respond to his cries, not exactly the reader and the use of 'will you hear' is making the reader too active in the equation

good luck with it
Ann Girdharry

gmw · 09-11-2015, 04:10 AM

Of all the examples so far, the grey scale one is the only image I actually like. It's a shame there's no tear in the eye to match the subtext (not that I mean any harm to the model).

As for the subtext, I agree with the comments saying that the "evil" prefix lends a horror touch. You may consider shortening it even further than the other suggestions so far, to something like: When he cries will anyone hear? or Who will listen when he cries? (ie. The "for help" seems redundant.)

09-09-2015, 12:28 AM	#68
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,817 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	They still both look paranormal to me, and your typography needs work. The sans "See no evil" section is terribly kerned, and I have to agree that your serif name isn't working with the rest at all. This is what cover designers do for a living, it is a learned skill, and I have to agree with HappyMartin - if you're going to do this yourself and expect to attract readers it would be a good idea to study design and typography a lot more than you have. People don't expect to wake up and write a publishable novel overnight; they learn their craft. Same with editors. Same with design. For starters, read about the subject; and as you go along, look at a lot of professionally designed covers in your genre, and learn the language. How wedded are you to the title? Last edited by meeera; 09-09-2015 at 12:32 AM.

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09-08-2015, 11:49 PM	#67
Gregg Bell Gregg Bell Posts: 2,266 Karma: 3917598 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Itasca, Illinois Device: Kindle Touch 7, Sony PRS300, Fire HD8 Tablet	I think the green one is the best so far. (And, ducks, I know people aren't buying the book for my name but still I want to have a little branding going on.) But here are two more. And the grayscale one the "See no evil...will you listen?" will be in red. Thanks.

09-09-2015, 12:29 AM	#69
Cinisajoy Just a Yellow Smiley. Posts: 19,161 Karma: 83862859 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Texas Device: K4, K5, fire, kobo, galaxy	The green is the best of the three.

09-09-2015, 07:15 AM	#70
pendragginp Guru Posts: 985 Karma: 4567263 Join Date: May 2009 Location: The End Of The Earth Device: Several	The "See No Evil" is too wordy for a cover, IMO, but would work for the blurb on the back.

09-10-2015, 06:56 AM	#72
Lima Bean Groupie Posts: 172 Karma: 527094 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: USA (near Lima, Ohio) Device: Kindle	The last cover (the black and white one with the closeup side shot of the baby looking up) is by far my favorite. I even like the little blurb on the front, but it would be easier to read at a glance if you shortened it to "When he cries for help, will you listen?"

09-11-2015, 02:33 AM	#74
AnnGirdharry Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 4910034 Join Date: Jul 2015 Device: ipad	hello Gregg Bell, There are three covers I like. To me, they all suggest different but relevant facets of the story. In order of preference; the grey scale of the baby staring at the ceiling posted 9/9 of the original four, the blue one with two hands reaching towards each other the green one (though it has a tendency towards the creepy side) I agree the one with the teen on the bed suggests abuse of some type (since you can see her bare legs etc and she's curled up) the doll ones are really creepy and I don't like horror If you go with sub-text I'd suggest cutting out the references to evil because again they suggest horror. Maybe anonymise the phrase to - BABY ...when he cries for help will anybody hear since it's the teen who is going to respond to his cries, not exactly the reader and the use of 'will you hear' is making the reader too active in the equation good luck with it Ann Girdharry

09-11-2015, 04:10 AM	#75
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,818 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	Of all the examples so far, the grey scale one is the only image I actually like. It's a shame there's no tear in the eye to match the subtext (not that I mean any harm to the model). As for the subtext, I agree with the comments saying that the "evil" prefix lends a horror touch. You may consider shortening it even further than the other suggestions so far, to something like: When he cries will anyone hear? or Who will listen when he cries? (ie. The "for help" seems redundant.)