[Guest]

This is the cover for my first novel, released about 6 months ago. Since releasing a second book, having what I think is a better cover, and seeing how much work that went into it, I am wondering about the value of this first effort. However, I am struggling to be objective because I have got so used to it.

I have thick skin, and can take your comments. Please be brutal. Like it? Hate it? What would you change, if not everything? It did it myself, on paint.

The book is a medical thriller, dark in mood, and looks at the complex relationship between two men. Here is the link to the Amazon description too http://www.amazon.com/The-Loss-of-Deference-ebook/dp/B008LSHGT6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356078653&sr=8-1

 

[R. M. Reed]

Well, you can't read the title in thumbnail, and the author name is almost invisible even at larger sizes.

 

[Rene Folsom]

In my opinion, it needs to be a lot more noticeable at a small size because, initially, that is all people see.  A bolder, more eye catching title would do the trick.  I also, and this is a personal opinion, don't think the male is all that appealing in the photo, probably because of how close up the image is.  I imagine he probably has freckles, but because of the image being grayscale, we can't really tell whether they are in fact freckles or blemishes.

I hope this helps you decide.  I would say the main reason for needing to revamp the cover would be to make your title more noticeable.  It needs to catch the viewer's attention and make them want to click on it to read the synopsis.

Happy new year! 

 

[CraigInOregon]

This is the cover for my first novel, released about 6 months ago. Since releasing a second book, having what I think is a better cover, and seeing how much work that went into it, I am wondering about the value of this first effort. However, I am struggling to be objective because I have got so used to it.

I have thick skin, and can take your comments. Please be brutal. Like it? Hate it? What would you change, if not everything? It did it myself, on paint.

The book is a medical thriller, dark in mood, and looks at the complex relationship between two men. Here is the link to the Amazon description too http://www.amazon.com/The-Loss-of-Deference-ebook/dp/B008LSHGT6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356078653&sr=8-1

My thoughts?

Being all grey/black/white makes it blend into the background among other books.

The cover does not remotely communicate the medical thriller genre to me. For some reason (I'm not sure why) it communicates "this will be something vaguely European and literary in nature." At least, it does to me.

The layout of the cover (white text on grayscreen overlay, generic font, way too small to read) is also rather plain.

I suspect you could benefit from a more professional cover/redesign job. Someone who knows how to work with image layering and such.

Medical thriller needs to come across much more clearly, and I'd say some strategic use of color would help the cover pop out.

Whoever you go to for the cover also needs to do a much better job with the title and author name; in terms of font selection, placing of text, and overall cover design.

It's not bad for a first-time do-it-yourself cover, but I'd bet dimes to donuts that a sharper cover would help the book sell better. The only downer there is that Amazon's new algorithms penalize anything that's over a couple months old, so....

...one final note: have the same person do both the new cover and the redo; let them know branding is important to you, so that in terms of the title/author name text layout on the covers, they look like the product of the same author, rather than two completely different books from different publishers by different authors.

Good branding, and consistent branding, are helpful tools.

 

[swolf]

I don't seen anything in the cover that matches the plot described in the blurb.   The cover looks like literary fiction to me, not a conspiracy thriller.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[CraigInOregon]

Any way, from reading your blurb - I had a little mess about with ideas for about 20 mins. Here's my results. I hope they both say something about the story.

If you want either of them just give me a shout. And I'll send them as a high resolution file for you. Free of charge.

Neither of those cover communicate medical thriller. They're improvements, but off-target.

 

[Hildred]

Add me to the list of people who are going "wait, it's a medical thriller?" Every time I've seen it in your sig I've thought it was either literary fiction or possibly poetry. (Memoir could be a possibility too.) The gray + image really conveys a sense of brooding and contemplation, definitely not a thriller.

I think you've got some really great advice so far. Take a look at some of the other covers in your genre and see what kind of take you can spin with them. The first thing I notice is that they all have text that really pops with a sense of urgency.

 

[HezBa]

I agree with pretty much everything everyone else has said so far. Your original cover isn't bad by any means, it just doesn't communicate what you want to the reader/buyer.

I have done all my covers myself as well, and I have had a lot of luck using Fotolia. There are a lot of really cool images that you can find there, and it's fairly cheap.

The covers that Humblenations posted are great and a vast improvement. While they may not convey medical mystery, they don't not convey that either....if that makes sense. But they are interesting enough esthetically that I would read the blurb.

 

[TJHudson]

I know it would be quite cliche, but use a stock image of a syringe or scalpel with a blue colour scheme to clearly signify the book's genre.
Your name and title should be bigger too.
This is all opinion of course.

 

[CraigInOregon]

The covers that Humblenations posted are great and a vast improvement. While they may not convey medical mystery, they don't not convey that either....if that makes sense. But they are interesting enough esthetically that I would read the blurb.

I can agree that Humblenations' takes are improvements, but I have to differ with you on "they don't not convey that either" as a point.

To the contrary, while both are sharp covers to a degree, they are just very generic.

The one on the left, with its barbed-wire imagrey, has eye-catching title design, but the barbed-wire and overall look to me convey either WWII/Holocaust imagery, or a prison novel. Probably still rather literary, though less so.

The one on the right (Heart of the Matter option) seems more like 1960s-era pop art, kind of an Andy Warhol meets Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo sort of vibe. And I don't care for the font-work as much, personally. That might get a tiny bit of a thriller vibe going, but more of a dated/literary one, rather than a modern medical thriller.

Neither say "medical thriller" and are actually rather off-target for this book. They'll fit other books, but not this one, IMO.

 

[BenEBrewer]

I agree with some other posters that the text should be much bigger and maybe a dash of coloring somewhere...

...but if you really want it 'slated' then I know an out of work roofer who will gladly slate it for you!! 

 

[Sapphire]

One more thought...this one about the blurb.  It doesn't imply medical thriller.  I tend to pick up a medical story.  Nothing in the cover OR the description informed me this was one.

 

[John Twipnook]

Cover makes me think French New Wave movie poster. Maybe the B&W arty close-up of a guy's face.

Anyway, it doesn't make me think medical thriller at all.

What should you do? Depends what you want. If you want to become a better cover designer, keep at it. If you want to spend your time instead on writing and output, hire a cover designer.

 

[Justawriter]

All I see is a nose, a big nose. So this cover would not draw me in, and I'd never guess it was a medical thriller. I agree with other suggestions to make it more obvious, pull an element from the story, a syringe or scalpel or whatever fits the story. For suspense, vivid, sharp images tend to draw me in. I read a lot of medical suspense, just this past weekend I bought the newest Robin Cook and Michael Palmer books....here's links to their covers, both are top selling writers in this genre.
Robin Cook's Nano,
http://www.amazon.com/Nano-Robin-Cook/dp/0399160825/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357136588&sr=8-1&keywords=robin+cook

and Michael Palmer's, Political Suicide, [URL=http://www.amazon]http://www.amazon.com/Political-Suicide-Michael-Palmer/dp/0312587554/ref=pd_sim_b_1[/url]

 

[Justawriter]

Also, should have done this already, sorry, am a little foggy from the flu! But I just read your blurb, and nothing in it indicates the medical aspect of the story. It reads more like a literary drama. I would suggest adding in some elements that paint a picture of the medical question at stake.

 

[edmjill]

I really like the two options posted by Craig in Twin Cities!  Both are eye-catching.

As for the original, while I like the image, the text needs to stand out much more - colour or style or size - something needs to change so people see what it's called and who it's by.

 

[Anne Frasier]

i too think it looks like a poetry book. love the palmer book that pamela posted.

 

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

A cover has to tell me what the story is about. It needs some sort of medical reference, such as a syringe, and some sort of threat to show it's a thriller. The title needs to be bigger and imho it needs some colour.

 

[CraigInOregon]

I really like the two options posted by Craig in Twin Cities! Both are eye-catching.

Those are not mine. Originally posted by HumbleNations, not me.

 

[Patty Jansen]

I learned something today.

I had to go and look up the verb to slate to see if it had a meaning I wasn't aware of.

It did.

*G* over here "slated" only gets used when it means planned, and then most often by politicians. I'd never heard the other meaning.

Oh yeah, the cover. What they said. It's very non-descript, non-readable, doesn't convey genre. It's not "the worst I've ever seen" but it's definitely below average.