a critique site for book lovers, hosted by author Jude Hardin
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Deep Rough by Chris Blewitt
What's the genre? What is it you like or don't like about this cover? Does it make you want to know more about the book? Does it make you want to BUY the book? Discuss.
I agree with Tara. The image is both simple and bold, and I'd venture it has something to do with golf as well. However, perhaps rather than 'A Novel' there could be a bit more of a hint regarding the nature of the story. Is it inspirational, motivational, a thriller, a humorous memoir, a horror, a cozy mystery, a romance... fill in the blank. You might entice more of your target audience by giving them a hint that this is their kind of book. I like the look of the cover -- it's just that unless a reader is a serious golfer they may not take the time to pick it up. And if the story involves a violence perhaps a smudge of blood on the ball or a few blades of grass would emphasize that aspect.
I like this cover...and I get the title. ;-) I also love cegrundler's idea of a smudge of blood on the ball or the grass, if that's the genre. I think that would be really effective and interesting.
The only thing I might change is to make the print slightly larger, especially the author's name.
The title makes me think it's a golf murder mystery. I hope I'm right; that sounds like fun. If it is murder most bogeyed, I'd like to see something a little more suggestive in the illustration. As it is, the illustration is generic and makes me think I'm wrong. Maybe it is a straight up novel about the game of golf.
I assume it's a novel about golf, and the title hints that the character will find himself far outside his comfort zone. (But shouldn't that be the case in all novels?) I don't get a sense of what the novel is really about, nor the genre.
This is a cover of a straight up lit novel to me. I think it's pretty good. However, I'd make a few slight changes...
I'd make the sky look like the sky. As is now, the white sky is blending in with the background on the Amazon page and it gives the book no definition on the edges.
Others mentioned adding a hint of blood on the golf ball. I think that is a good idea if it's an all-out bloody murder novel or a horror novel. To me, blood on the cover signifies a horrific and gruesome situation of some sort.
Now, if the story is more along the lines of mystery (even if involves a murder) I'd add a little bit of mud on the golf ball. The dirty ball would be a subtle indication that there's a dirty plot within.
Your cover on the Amazon page states: "Copyrighted Material". Delete it. All writings benefit from copyright protection the moment they are written down, regardless of being registered with the Copyright Office or not. So mentioning that on the cover is unnecessary and it makes the book look amateurish.
You can include copyright information within the first few pages of the book, but not on the cover.
The font on the title is very readable and that is always good. I can't discern the author's name as a thumbnail. It could be a tad bit bigger or maybe done in bold.
Great cover. I'm pretty certain that if I find out what it's about, the title will be VERY misleading (like History Channels 'The Naked Archaeologist'. Watched it, no nudity whatsoever. Deep rough, I'm sure, will not be what I'm thinking it will be...) but it got me intrigued regardless, so it did its job :)
Writing this without looking at the other comments. I want to say "golf thriller." The title and the image (which are both very effective!) are what do it for me. Now I'll go look and see what the actual genre is...
Straight fiction - obviously about golf - and the cover is quite good. If this book is not straight fiction about golf, you're in big trouble. The title could be bolder, and the author name gets a bit lost, but it's eyecatching.
This goes to show that simple can be good to very good. I also see this as a straight lit about golf. If it is a mystery or thriller then the suggestions above are very good to touch things.
You could also make your tittle a bit bigger, with Deep Rough on two lines and then increased in side. I'm not 100% sure of this idea, but worth trying once in Photoshop to see if it works.
A bolder font might give the title and author name the pop it needs. And I love the idea about a smear of blood on the golf ball. A very nice job overall, I think. You can practically smell that grass!
Thanks for all the comments, guys. At first I liked the drop of blood, then someone mentioned that it would indicate "horror", which it's not. It is a golf thriller/mystery. Maybe I should put that under the title? Making the font thicker is a good suggestion too. The book takes place at the famous tournament, The Masters @ August National but I'm not sure I could put that on the cover. Any thoughts? Thanks again for all the comments.
My golf experience is limited to courses with windmills, bridges and tiny tunnels so I don't know one way or another, but might famous tournaments have any specially designated balls. What I'm wondering is could you perhaps put the tournament information on your otherwise white ball? As for the blood, I think if the cover states "Thriller" where it presently says novel, a small smudge or fingerprint could still be effective, not to mention throw a jarring touch of red on your otherwise quite soothing image. You've got a great image and I wouldn't do anything excessive - horrors tend to lean towards bloodbaths of puddles and splatters - but your cover is understated and the blood should be as well.
There might be licensing issues about including the tournament logo, and I wouldn't want to clutter the image with too many words, but I think a tiny blood smear or a bloody fingerprint on the ball would be the perfect touch.
Yea, I'd never have put this in the mystery genre. Sports novel - literary maybe. I know too many golfers for whom "deep rough" is a way of life so that didn't grab me at all.
If there's a murder in there, then I like the idea of a smudge of red on the white ball. It would be hard to show effectively on the grass, I think.
"The Masters @ August National but I'm not sure I could put that on the cover. Any thoughts?"
I think you are right in saying that you probably can't make specific references to The Masters Tournament on the cover.
However, I'd suggest adding a different tag line instead of "a novel" (which indicates literature) and include the word "master" in it or; some derivative of it such as, mastermind, master plan, master plot, masterstroke, etc.. I don't know enough about your novel to help you with the perfect tag line, but I hope this suggestion will help.
That will be a subtle way of mentioning The Masters without actually mentioning it.
This is a great cover. Very stark and eye-catching. I assume it is a mainstream/literary novel that somehow involves golf.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tara. The image is both simple and bold, and I'd venture it has something to do with golf as well. However, perhaps rather than 'A Novel' there could be a bit more of a hint regarding the nature of the story. Is it inspirational, motivational, a thriller, a humorous memoir, a horror, a cozy mystery, a romance... fill in the blank. You might entice more of your target audience by giving them a hint that this is their kind of book. I like the look of the cover -- it's just that unless a reader is a serious golfer they may not take the time to pick it up. And if the story involves a violence perhaps a smudge of blood on the ball or a few blades of grass would emphasize that aspect.
ReplyDeleteI like this cover...and I get the title. ;-) I also love cegrundler's idea of a smudge of blood on the ball or the grass, if that's the genre. I think that would be really effective and interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I might change is to make the print slightly larger, especially the author's name.
It's a sports novel.
ReplyDeleteThe title makes me think it's a golf murder mystery. I hope I'm right; that sounds like fun. If it is murder most bogeyed, I'd like to see something a little more suggestive in the illustration. As it is, the illustration is generic and makes me think I'm wrong. Maybe it is a straight up novel about the game of golf.
I assume it's a novel about golf, and the title hints that the character will find himself far outside his comfort zone. (But shouldn't that be the case in all novels?) I don't get a sense of what the novel is really about, nor the genre.
ReplyDeleteThis is a cover of a straight up lit novel to me. I think it's pretty good. However, I'd make a few slight changes...
ReplyDeleteI'd make the sky look like the sky. As is now, the white sky is blending in with the background on the Amazon page and it gives the book no definition on the edges.
Others mentioned adding a hint of blood on the golf ball. I think that is a good idea if it's an all-out bloody murder novel or a horror novel. To me, blood on the cover signifies a horrific and gruesome situation of some sort.
Now, if the story is more along the lines of mystery (even if involves a murder) I'd add a little bit of mud on the golf ball. The dirty ball would be a subtle indication that there's a dirty plot within.
Your cover on the Amazon page states: "Copyrighted Material". Delete it. All writings benefit from copyright protection the moment they are written down, regardless of being registered with the Copyright Office or not. So mentioning that on the cover is unnecessary and it makes the book look amateurish.
You can include copyright information within the first few pages of the book, but not on the cover.
The font on the title is very readable and that is always good. I can't discern the author's name as a thumbnail. It could be a tad bit bigger or maybe done in bold.
Great cover. I'm pretty certain that if I find out what it's about, the title will be VERY misleading (like History Channels 'The Naked Archaeologist'. Watched it, no nudity whatsoever. Deep rough, I'm sure, will not be what I'm thinking it will be...)
ReplyDeletebut it got me intrigued regardless, so it did its job :)
Scrap my comment in regards to the copyrighted material. I think I was looking at it with the "Click to look inside" mode...
ReplyDeleteWriting this without looking at the other comments. I want to say "golf thriller." The title and the image (which are both very effective!) are what do it for me. Now I'll go look and see what the actual genre is...
ReplyDeleteNow I've read the other comments. Because it said, "a novel," with no other tag line, I assumed literary, not a thriller, horror or mystery.
ReplyDeleteStraight fiction - obviously about golf - and the cover is quite good. If this book is not straight fiction about golf, you're in big trouble. The title could be bolder, and the author name gets a bit lost, but it's eyecatching.
ReplyDeleteThis goes to show that simple can be good to very good. I also see this as a straight lit about golf. If it is a mystery or thriller then the suggestions above are very good to touch things.
ReplyDeleteYou could also make your tittle a bit bigger, with Deep Rough on two lines and then increased in side. I'm not 100% sure of this idea, but worth trying once in Photoshop to see if it works.
The title makes me think it's a thriller - the word "rough," I guess - but I read a lot of thrillers, so that's what I imagined.
ReplyDeleteGreat picture. Striking, and it resizes very well. Your name is illegible in a thumbnail, but that's really only relevant if you're famous.
Maybe you could say, "Deep Rough, a thriller," or "Deep Rough, a Mystery," to let people know it might be their type of book?
A bolder font might give the title and author name the pop it needs. And I love the idea about a smear of blood on the golf ball. A very nice job overall, I think. You can practically smell that grass!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments, guys.
ReplyDeleteAt first I liked the drop of blood, then someone mentioned that it would indicate "horror", which it's not. It is a golf thriller/mystery. Maybe I should put that under the title? Making the font thicker is a good suggestion too. The book takes place at the famous tournament, The Masters @ August National but I'm not sure I could put that on the cover. Any thoughts? Thanks again for all the comments.
My golf experience is limited to courses with windmills, bridges and tiny tunnels so I don't know one way or another, but might famous tournaments have any specially designated balls. What I'm wondering is could you perhaps put the tournament information on your otherwise white ball? As for the blood, I think if the cover states "Thriller" where it presently says novel, a small smudge or fingerprint could still be effective, not to mention throw a jarring touch of red on your otherwise quite soothing image. You've got a great image and I wouldn't do anything excessive - horrors tend to lean towards bloodbaths of puddles and splatters - but your cover is understated and the blood should be as well.
ReplyDeleteThere might be licensing issues about including the tournament logo, and I wouldn't want to clutter the image with too many words, but I think a tiny blood smear or a bloody fingerprint on the ball would be the perfect touch.
ReplyDeleteYea, I'd never have put this in the mystery genre. Sports novel - literary maybe. I know too many golfers for whom "deep rough" is a way of life so that didn't grab me at all.
ReplyDeleteIf there's a murder in there, then I like the idea of a smudge of red on the white ball. It would be hard to show effectively on the grass, I think.
I like the suggestion about the blue sky, too.
@ Deep Rough
ReplyDelete"The Masters @ August National but I'm not sure I could put that on the cover. Any thoughts?"
I think you are right in saying that you probably can't make specific references to The Masters Tournament on the cover.
However, I'd suggest adding a different tag line instead of "a novel" (which indicates literature) and include the word "master" in it or; some derivative of it such as, mastermind, master plan, master plot, masterstroke, etc.. I don't know enough about your novel to help you with the perfect tag line, but I hope this suggestion will help.
That will be a subtle way of mentioning The Masters without actually mentioning it.