[Keri Knutson]

Okay -- I hate designing my own covers. Well, I like designing them, but then I obsess over whether they are particularly what I want. The new novel has had 16 designs and will no doubt have another before it is published.

So, I'm writing a memoir, kind of a darkly humorous thing about writing, my husband's infidelity, my diagnosis of ovarian cancer, and my current struggle with depression. (Whee!) I want the cover to be quirky and kind of fanciful, sort of darkish. I've come up with something I really like as a first draft, but I wonder if it's effective at all. Any and all suggestions, comments, thrown pies, whatever will be happily received.

 

[sngraves]

I really like the concept!

Critical advice I could give: Your drop shadows are going different directions, which makes your light source unclear. People may not be able to realize what looks "off" but subconsciously they will know something IS off.

Also, the moon in the upper left corner is hard to make out. It might work better when the drop shadow is fixed, but you might want to make it a different color so it's not merging with the background so much.

 

[Kay Bratt]

I'm not a cover designer, but I just wanted to say that I love the title!

 

[JRHolmes]

Love the title for your subject matter. It indicates the approach you will be taking with the combination of trouble that you've run encountered.

However, I don't think that the cover, while very well-constructed (absent the shadows that Graves noted), is a good fit for the subject matter.

With that title, I was thinking some something like text fading toward the right or, ironically, a tattoo being erased.

 

[Michael Parnell]

Some of your covers look as good or better than anything I've seen from professionals, so I hope you don't agonize too much over your ability. As for this cover: My personal preference is for smoother fonts like the ones on your other covers, and I wonder how it would look if the title did not intersect with the moon (or anything else). I am probably showing my ignorance, but I don't know what that round thing is under "A Memoir." I mention it anyway because I may not be the only ignorant book buyer out there.

And feel free to laugh at my ignorance.

 

[JRHolmes]

I think that the "round thing under 'A Memoir'" is a crystal ball. Given the subject matter, I found that a perfectly reasonable thing to include on the cover.

 

[Keri Knutson]

Thanks so much, everyone!  I've reworked the drop shadows. And I'll think about a complementary color for the moon.  The title is the mantra I've been using for the last couple of months.  And, yes, the item in the lower half is a crystal ball -- I like the idea, but it's the part I feel most iffy about.  It represents thinking back about a situation and thinking that only if you could change something, or some things, everything in the present would be different. Unfortunately, we aren't issued a crystal ball.   And in the end, I may go with something different altogether.

I would much rather design for clients than design for me. I think I'm my own worst client.

 

[Michael Parnell]

Well, as I mentioned above, your other covers are great, and I'm sure this one will be, too.

 

[Robert Dahlen]

Well, as I mentioned above, your other covers are great, and I'm sure this one will be, too.

And her design work over other people's art is great as well; just check my signature for proof. Nice cover, Keri!

 

[Kalen ODonnell]

I like your title treatment, and how it matches the tone and whimsy of the title itself.  Aside from the drop shadow issues other people have noted, I like your cover visually for the most part, but I don't think its the right direction because honestly.....it doesn't evoke anything for me.  There's no immediate tie in to the title, there's nothing that specifically suggests this is a memoir other than the text, and it unfortunately doesn't give me any kind of initial impression or feeling of what it is I'm going to experience when reading this book. 

I do think you're on the right track with the less is more philosophy you're going for here....the title and description of your book really do necessitate a cover with very sparse visual elements I think, and focusing on just one or two things is probably the right way to go.  I'm just not sure that these things specifically are what's going to best sell your book.  Can you pinpoint a single thematic image from your memoir that sums up the tone of the whole thing well and maybe tell us a little more about that?  That might help us narrow down what kind of focus you want to give your cover.

But just my two cents of course, and what you have now is certainly a very competent cover, I just think you can probably come up with something that'll better market your book visually.  And most importantly, all the hugs for the experiences within the book itself!

 

[Cora Jane Snow]

Keri, your covers ALWAYS rock.

(I know, because you've done both of mine!)

Nice job!

 

[INDIGODESIGN]

I think the cover is great. I really like the title font and background. That being said I might tweak a few things. The comments about the shadows are true but I might also lighten the moth shadow it seems quite dark and almost distracting. I love the moon in the left but feel it fights with the V possibly move it or lighten it. Lastly i think the globe would look cool with some life in it swirling filaments or something ethereal, not sure if its the flatness or the color that seems off to me.

Hope this helps.

Audria

 

[Shei Darksbane]

What I love: Overall color and theme. The moon. The crystal ball.

What is bothering me: The moth's drop shadow is way way way to distant. It makes it look like a hovermoth. Rein that in and it should look better.

I'm also not sure the text moving over the moon is okay, but I can't figure out why. I think it is in contention with the letters that cross it? In art we call this a tangent, but I don't know how to explain it in laymen's terms. I suppose... it makes an uncomfortable connection with the letters.

Great job over all? Best self-made cover I've seen on here so far.