Thriller cover feedback?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

^ Which one is the face of a murderer?

lololol.


Hitch

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

^ Which one is the face of a murderer?

The first one is Curly Howard and the other looks like a disgruntled Russian.

[GrannyGrump]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

a disgruntled Russian.

I was thinking Mafioso, but Jon's is better.

Actually, if the man is the murderer, out to kill the "damsel in distress", his unattractive appearance could be well-chosen for the character. That will prejudice the reader against the character before they even start the book (if that is the author's goal).

But I agree, if the woman is the victim, the character as she appears here is not very sympatico.

And a (perhaps naïve) comment -- I do like the gray-scale with selected words in red. How would it look with LOVE and KILL in red? Or is that too cliché?

EDIT TO ADD---
A quote has been nagging my memory --- “The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell together, as quickly as possible.” -- Mark Twain

[Gregg Bell]

Guys, thanks for all the feedback. I appreciate it. Here's my take: the man on the cover is a mobster. A hitman. He is not supposed to be attractive. The guy looks like a mobster. I think the girl is attractive. Both characters fit my story perfectly.

I know some of you disagree. I respect that.

I've decided to go with the cover, so I'm good on getting any more feedback. Thanks again.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

Guys, thanks for all the feedback. I appreciate it. Here's my take: the man on the cover is a mobster. A hitman. He is not supposed to be attractive. The guy looks like a mobster. I think the girl is attractive. Both characters fit my story perfectly.

I know some of you disagree. I respect that.

I've decided to go with the cover, so I'm good on getting any more feedback. Thanks again.

Can you do us all a favor and keep us informed on how the book sells?

Gregg,
I am sorry but if you were going for attractive woman, you missed the mark. She looks like she would just as soon kill you as look at you and I am not 100% sure that is a woman. That expression and the symmetry look very masculine to me.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

Guys, thanks for all the feedback. I appreciate it. Here's my take: the man on the cover is a mobster. A hitman. He is not supposed to be attractive. The guy looks like a mobster. I think the girl is attractive. Both characters fit my story perfectly.

I know some of you disagree. I respect that.

I've decided to go with the cover, so I'm good on getting any more feedback. Thanks again.

Well, good luck with that, Gregg.

Hitch

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

Guys, thanks for all the feedback. I appreciate it. Here's my take: the man on the cover is a mobster. A hitman. He is not supposed to be attractive. The guy looks like a mobster. I think the girl is attractive. Both characters fit my story perfectly.

The man on the cover doesn't look menacing to me, he looks disgusting. At best, he looks like a caricature of a mobster. I wouldn't want to read about him.

The woman isn't unattractive, but she's not relatable. My reaction to her is negative; she's too distant and looks more like a pouty catwalk model than a person whose plight I should care about.

Also, even if you're committed to those two faces, the cover looks off. Are they in the same space? The cover looks like two separate images poorly photoshopped together. I truly don't get it.

[issybird]

Am I wrong in thinking Gregg didn't want feedback, he just wanted affirmation?

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by issybird

Am I wrong in thinking Gregg didn't want feedback, he just wanted affirmation?

I am starting to think he likes being whipped.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Catlady

The man on the cover doesn't look menacing to me, he looks disgusting. At best, he looks like a caricature of a mobster. I wouldn't want to read about him.

The woman isn't unattractive, but she's not relatable. My reaction to her is negative; she's too distant and looks more like a pouty catwalk model than a person whose plight I should care about.

Nah. Eyes are too small, cheekbones are not adequate, nose is wrong and that's not a pout. Not for the runway or photo work. And yes, I'd know.

Also, even if you're committed to those two faces, the cover looks off. Are they in the same space? The cover looks like two separate images poorly photoshopped together. I truly don't get it.

I think we all have to realize that Gregg wasn't interested in our feedback. He thinks the woman is attractive, and as the man is "evil," it's okay, I guess, to put people off.

Originally Posted by issybird

issybird Am I wrong in thinking Gregg didn't want feedback, he just wanted affirmation?

I'm not sure that your inference is that far off. I mean...obviously, if he were seeking real feedback, he wouldn't be blowing it off--right? This is like doing a beta read for someone, telling them that you hated the book, and they shrug you off saying "oh, well, you just don't understand it."

If this was my cover, and the woman was supposed to be the victim, the heroine, whatever, I'd damn sure want to think that people responded to her in a positive way, but it's his, so...whatever.

We'll all know better the next time we're asked.

{shrug}

Hitch

[JSWolf]

I find the guy on the cover to be dumpy looking and the girl is just plain. He looks like he's sitting in a waiting room and she just looks oh so bored. So to me, the look you are going for don't work. Also,that chair he is sitting on doesn't work. Nor does where the title is placed.

One thing you have to realize is that the first thing most people see of your book is the cover and if they don't like it, they'll pass and not even read the description.

[theducks]

The guy looks like the stereotypical Mobster

Mobster and Hit Man are not synonymous. He might partake in a 'drive by shooting', bot not a well planned 'hit'
I think of a hit man as more athletic, maybe, ex-military

[gmw]

Originally Posted by issybird

Am I wrong in thinking Gregg didn't want feedback, he just wanted affirmation?

To be fair, Gregg presented two covers with the obvious implication he wanted to know if people preferred one or the other. (I prefer the one with the greyscale background.)

The fact that almost no one has liked either cover (to the extent that following the opinions would require starting again from the scratch), well that's a different kettle of fish, and rather harder to deal with.

Everyone's had their say and Gregg has responded in a reasonable manner. I am not sure what else we might expect.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Roshni Patel

This looks like a real crime story from the cover page. Compelling!

It looks like a hastily made cover. It looks like different bits pasted together and then the text put on top. None of it fits together.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by gmw

To be fair, Gregg presented two covers with the obvious implication he wanted to know if people preferred one or the other. (I prefer the one with the greyscale background.)

The fact that almost no one has liked either cover (to the extent that following the opinions would require starting again from the scratch), well that's a different kettle of fish, and rather harder to deal with.

Everyone's had their say and Gregg has responded in a reasonable manner. I am not sure what else we might expect.

True. Excellent point. And as I said--it's his cover. {shrug}

Hitch