Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Something New...
My inbox is crammed full of submissions, so I've decided to try posting two at a time. Let me know what you guys think. If two works out, I might go for three.
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.
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.
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I think posting 2 or 3 at a time makes things a little difficult. What if you put the tag line ("what's the genre, etc.) in the blog header then just posted covers separately, no tag line?
ReplyDelete"Mad About the Boy," is, well, I'm really sorry to say it because I'm sure someone spent a lot of time on the illustration, but it just does not look professional at all; it looks amateur. His abs are scary. I would not be attracted to this book to read.
On the second book, the typeface isn't too bad, but the lighting is too bright on him and the pendant looks pretty fakey. The solid black background makes both objects look flat and two-dimensional.
Of the two I'd have to pick the MMM book, but neither is as good as it could be.
(New book cover blog at http://www.bookcoverblog.com)
Covers are really hard to do well. I think both of these miss the mark just a bit. The upper book might be a middle reader romance, it's a good idea, but I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been.
ReplyDeleteThe second one is okay, but reminds me more of a self-help type of cover. I think the man should probably look a but more... I don't know, just a bit more artistic. That might not help, it's just too flat to really catch my eye. The typeface is pretty good though. I suppose it looks more like a rough draft or concept than a finished cover.
I think that you can post two a day if there are that many, or two at a time, but two in the same post makes the comments hard. It also seems to make them in competition with each other.
ReplyDeleteThe art work on the top cover just doesn't work for me.
The second one, I don't like the look of the pendant.
I think the artwork on the first one is an honest effort, but not appropriate for a book cover. It's not as polished as it could be.
ReplyDeleteThe second one has kind of a pasted-together look about it. It doesn't appear professionally done.
Two book covers per day is fine, I think. However, it would help if each had a separate comments section. Could this be done?
ReplyDeleteGood idea, Rayne. That's what I'll do from now on.
ReplyDeleteMy comments for Mad About A Boy:
ReplyDeleteI like the clarity. I like how easy the title font is to read. I like how obvious the genre is: the couple's pose and attitude clearly shows it's a romance, while the word 'boy' in the title suggests it's about teens, so I reckon YA romance, and it's clearly something with a beach setting.
The illustration looks like the work of a talented hobby artist. It's nice - but does it stand up to the competition? Other romance covers have a slick, professional look with semi-realistic images. The less refined image may suggest to potential buyers that the writing is also less refined.
A more photo-realistic image would be preferable. If the choice for semi-realistic is deliberate, I'd suggest working on perspective. The sea doesn't look like it's really going into the distance; rather it looks like a painted wall raising behind the couple. The man's ten-pack abdomen looks not real - forgive me for saying this but I can't help being remind of a double organ keyboard. The man's hand around the woman's arm looks unproportionally tiny. The woman's facial expression looks unintelligent. I'm also confused about the age of the protagonists. The title led me to expect teens, but the faces and bodies are those of grown-ups.
The byline in the sand is a clever idea, but at thumbnail size it's not easily readable. It also emphasises the perspective problem.
So - applause for the clarity, nod of approval for artist's effort, reluctant head-shake for level of professionalism.
Of course, this is just my opinion. If it's not helpful, ignore it. If it annoys you, toss it in the trash.
My comments for Magic, Murder, and Microcircuits:
ReplyDeleteThis cover immediately caught my eye. The black&gold colour scheme is striking. I reckon the cover serves superbly well for stage 1 of the AIDA process.
I like the lettering - the title and the byline, their font, their colouring their placement. It is very effective. This is one of the few examples I've seen where the lettering is both interesting and clear.
It's dynamic, it's easily readable, it's interesting. It emphasises the alliteration in the title. It's clever without being gimmicky. 100 points out of 100 for the lettering.
For the image - the man is ok, although he doesn't stand out as someone particularly interesting. He's not bad, just a bit too generic for real impact. I'm guessing (perhaps wrongly) that it's a stock photo. It's a good stock photo, sure. Real photographic quality, with even the black clothes looking sharp and 3D. The black clothes against an even blacker background work surprisingly well, and it creates effective light/dark contrasts with the skin.
What doesn't work for me is the Christmas bauble thing in the background. I'm guessing that this represents the 'microcircuits' element. The choice of colour is fine, it fits with the black&gold colour scheme. But it doesn't work for me. It doesn't look like it's the same picture as the man, and it would need to be for a harmonious hole. If it's meant to be a separate image, then it would work better (for me) if it wasn't hanging from the ceiling. I confess that the 'Christmas bauble' (sorry, it really reminds me of one), looks silly to me.
I'm afraid I can't make suggestions how to represent the microcircuits and magic theme in other visual ways on the cover (I'd have to be familiar with the novel to come up with a constructive idea).
Does it make me want to buy the novel? It might make me want to read the blurb.If the blurb is interesting, I might move on to the sample chapters.
Genre? A cross-over between several genres. I should say contemporary fantasy cosy mystery with a dash of humour.
I conclude this mostly from the title.
100 out of 100 for the lettering.
90/100 for the colour scheme. 50/100 for the image of the man. 0/100 for the circuit bauble. 80/100 for the eye-catching effect at AIDA 1.
20/100 for AIDA 2.
I hope these thoughts are interesting. If not, feel free to ignore them. Of course, they are just my personal reaction, and don't represent how other people might feel.