a critique site for book lovers, hosted by author Jude Hardin
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Emerald 3 by Colette Duke
What's the genre? What's the logline? 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 get the feeling from this cover of Romance in Space.
It maybe that I am not the target audience for this short story (old male), but the cover just leaves me a bit cold. Nothing in it makes me want to learn more about the story.
I would really suggest that you take another pass at this cover; however, I do not know how much time and energy one should put into a short story cover.
Contemporary romance is what it says to me. The plane looks modern nor futuristic. It leaves me cold but I'm not a good target for romances. A short story cover generally gets less work thought.
Clearly it's a scifi romance cover. LOL! I see the classic clinch with a space like backdrop. The guy on the front is good looking and the he's looking deep into the eyes of the woman. I would at least be curious enough to read the blurb and see what the plot was behind the story. It works for me as a romance reader.
I'm going with SF/R and I like a lot of this cover. If I were a short story reader, I'd probably read the blurb.
The background (while a bit flat) works nicely for me and the title font helps with the SF vibe.
I'd like to see "a Beacon short story" pulled up tighter to the title, in all caps, stretched a bit and centered under it.
The people look like they've been compressed horizontally. It's not a good look for them.
The overall cover's aspect ration (3:4) is off compared to other titles (2:3) and makes it look too square to me.
I'm not a fan of the thin-stroked decorative font on the author's name. It's too much with the (different) decorative title font. I'd prefer to see either a replication of the title's font (slightly scaled down) or something more upright and latin (a Cheltenham, or even Garamond).
All in all, not a bad cover in spite of my comments.
Thank you all for your thoughts, especially Nathan (I think your covers are brilliant). There are some great suggestions in there that I'm going to use for the cover of the next book.
J. R., I beg to differ. :) This cover got tons of thought. The problem is with the person who was doing the thinking. But I have faith I can learn new skills, lol.
(Eric – Still can’t post using my Google ID)
ReplyDeleteI get the feeling from this cover of Romance in Space.
It maybe that I am not the target audience for this short story (old male), but the cover just leaves me a bit cold. Nothing in it makes me want to learn more about the story.
I would really suggest that you take another pass at this cover; however, I do not know how much time and energy one should put into a short story cover.
Contemporary romance is what it says to me. The plane looks modern nor futuristic. It leaves me cold but I'm not a good target for romances. A short story cover generally gets less work thought.
ReplyDeleteSF Romance? Not a bad cover, but then I don't read romance.
ReplyDeleteClearly it's a scifi romance cover. LOL! I see the classic clinch with a space like backdrop. The guy on the front is good looking and the he's looking deep into the eyes of the woman. I would at least be curious enough to read the blurb and see what the plot was behind the story. It works for me as a romance reader.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with SF/R and I like a lot of this cover. If I were a short story reader, I'd probably read the blurb.
ReplyDeleteThe background (while a bit flat) works nicely for me and the title font helps with the SF vibe.
I'd like to see "a Beacon short story" pulled up tighter to the title, in all caps, stretched a bit and centered under it.
The people look like they've been compressed horizontally. It's not a good look for them.
The overall cover's aspect ration (3:4) is off compared to other titles (2:3) and makes it look too square to me.
I'm not a fan of the thin-stroked decorative font on the author's name. It's too much with the (different) decorative title font. I'd prefer to see either a replication of the title's font (slightly scaled down) or something more upright and latin (a Cheltenham, or even Garamond).
All in all, not a bad cover in spite of my comments.
Thank you all for your thoughts, especially Nathan (I think your covers are brilliant). There are some great suggestions in there that I'm going to use for the cover of the next book.
ReplyDeleteJ. R., I beg to differ. :) This cover got tons of thought. The problem is with the person who was doing the thinking. But I have faith I can learn new skills, lol.