Cover page variations: Suggestions please?

[AndrewMowere]

I would like to first state that these covers are made for me by a friend, for free. I would like to have opinions on which of these variations would be best, and what you might suggest be removed/added. In the interest of not looking like a promotional post, none of these have the book's name on them.

Another thing to note is that this cover is for a sequel.

The first part had a black background with a grey barbute (a helmet type) in the middle. This one has a white background with a scythe in the middle. There are also three significant runes in the book that I wanted added in to fit with the idea of demon based cults.

The border is just there for the artist to work within.









Thank you in advance.

[theducks]

The last one. Assumes the dark is the helmet.

I did not like the 3 scattered rune version

Scythes are traditionally shown UP or Down, not at an angle

my 2 lead pennies

[AndrewMowere]

Originally Posted by theducks

The last one. Assumes the dark is the helmet.

I did not like the 3 scattered rune version

Scythes are traditionally shown UP or Down, not at an angle

my 2 lead pennies

Thank you, the ducks. I wonder how the scythe would look vertical. It has quite the curve.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by AndrewMowere

Thank you, the ducks. I wonder how the scythe would look vertical. It has quite the curve.

You miss understood. I did not intend the blade or handle to be straightened.


The Grimm reapers blade is usually overhead.

in your slanted (over) page, the blade would be parallel to that page top , not cover top

[AndrewMowere]

And this is basically what I have to choose from now. At this point, I can only apologize for not removing the book's name

[theducks]

Where is everybody? A one person comment is not helping the OP refine their selection.

OP Did you change layout plans (with the page in front of a Helmet) from the original post?

I am an engineering support technician, not an artist.

I like the balance in #2

[Penforhire]

I may be a pedant but I am distracted by the overly stylized scythe. The extreme curve makes it non-functional, as the curve blocks any scything by an interior-only edge. The pointy thing sticking out the other side is mostly dangerous to the user.

[Lima Bean]

The black and white colors are generic. The drawing of the weapon and the choice of font are plain. While the drawing is good, it does little to stir my imagination. I had to read the blurb to make sure it was fiction and not a non-fiction book on weaponry or history. I suggest using something flashier that hints more at the genre.

[AndrewMowere]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

I may be a pedant but I am distracted by the overly stylized scythe. The extreme curve makes it non-functional, as the curve blocks any scything by an interior-only edge. The pointy thing sticking out the other side is mostly dangerous to the user.

Excellent. That's part of the story. Death doesn't ever need to fight, and I comment on his inexperience. I should probably use the scythe's design and mention it in the appropriate spot. Thank you for the idea.

[AndrewMowere]

Originally Posted by theducks

Where is everybody? A one person comment is not helping the OP refine their selection.

OP Did you change layout plans (with the page in front of a Helmet) from the original post?

I am an engineering support technician, not an artist.

I like the balance in #2

Thank you. That one will probably be the amazon cover.

Interestingly, many people liked the one with the strange borders along top left and bottom centre. I was surprised since I liked it too, but I am a messy person and so thought it would annoy potential readers.

What's that about a layout change? and helmets?

[AndrewMowere]

Originally Posted by Lima Bean

The black and white colors are generic. The drawing of the weapon and the choice of font are plain. While the drawing is good, it does little to stir my imagination. I had to read the blurb to make sure it was fiction and not a non-fiction book on weaponry or history. I suggest using something flashier that hints more at the genre.

Very interesting, Lima. I never considered it from that pov...

[AndrewMowere]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

I may be a pedant but I am distracted by the overly stylized scythe. The extreme curve makes it non-functional, as the curve blocks any scything by an interior-only edge. The pointy thing sticking out the other side is mostly dangerous to the user.

Thinking back on it, no matter how well related the story and the art is, if it doesn't get the reader far enough to see the relation everything becomes useless. Same with the color issue somebody else mentioned. That's why I wanted the symbols in despite the clutter. So many things.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by AndrewMowere

What's that about a layout change? and helmets?

It was the first book in the series with the helmet

[GrannyGrump]

If you can stand some strong honesty in critiques, you might submit your cover to http://covercritics.com/ --- "the crowd-sourced book cover critique site"

The folks there offer very good advice on how to create a genre-specific cover, with suggestions for fonts, colors, layout, and art. Take a look at some of the comments on existing submissions, and consider whether they might have good advice for you.

[gmw]

(Sorry, I'm a bit late to the party, been very busy lately.)

I found it almost impossible to offer comment on the first images you posted, without context the symbols didn't really give me any idea how the cover might might.

Of the second set of images you posted, I liked the third best (with the almost complete border) - mostly this choice is determined by it being a slightly better fit with your already published first book.


I have to be blunt though, I'm not really enthusiastic about any of them.

The use of black and white with a very plain font gives a very simple appearance that is obviously deliberate, and reasonably tasteful (at full size). But the problem with this approach is that it is also quite generic. They remind me of covers put on re-issued classics.

The second problem I have is that neither the font choice, nor the overall cover, works well in small thumbnails. I don't think the covers make good use of the space available to them.

The third problem also relates the thumbnail appearance but specifically targets the simple black on white: in a list of book thumbnails your cover for this second book will almost merge into the general (background) text of a typical page, rather than stand out as an image of a book cover (you can see this already with your existing sample image for the book on Amazon, it looks more like a pencil sketch than a book cover).


It's possibly too late to change this style for this particular book, since the changes needed would mean that it did not match well with the first book in the series. So unless you were willing to re-issue the first book with a new matching cover, you are a bit stuck.

(I hope that doesn't read too harshly, but you did ask.)