Which Sci-Fi Cover do You Like?

Smaller please

The base art is okay, but I think you need better/different font. For sci-fi especially, I think eye-catching color is best, rather than understatement.

Also, have you looked at it in thumbnail? I'm guessing the long word with a lot of letters might make it difficult to read.

If it was a for a standalone book, I would ask what is more important - your name or the title?
However, I see it is a prequel to Contact Us so there would be some synergy in retaining a similar style on the cover.

I agree with DVD though.  You need to check it in thumbnail.  That long title could be a problem.

TromboneAl said:

Yet another cover choice (picture the one on the right with the title up higher):

Click to expand...

Being honest I would dump both.

You can get much higher quality ones for about $50 premade. Do yourself a favor and invest $50

Neither.  Your typography needs work. (different colors maybe? Not such a crammed font. Try a drop shadow to soften it slightly). As does the composition. You've got all the action bunched at the top half of the page and a gaping hole of nothing down below. Get something down there next to that out of focus stuff so all the sharp, eye hurting things aren't all together. Any maybe get a slight blur filter on those stars so they don't compete with the satellite for attention.

I have to go with neither. 

I also feel the title is cramped and not as clear as it could be, I had to concentrate to work out what the word actually was (antiterrorist/anti-terrorist), and as someone else has said, in thumbnail it's going to be even harder.

Not liking the words at all.  What is beside Antiterrorist?    Cannot read the.

I think you need to remove the whole lot of nothing but stars between the author and title, which doesn't look good in the Contact Us either. If you want to maintain consistency between both covers, maybe change the first, too? For a list of fonts, see here: http://www.creativindie.com/300-fool-proof-fonts-to-use-for-your-book-cover-design-an-epic-list-of-best-fonts-per-genre/

>I think you need to remove the whole lot of nothing but stars between the author and title,

Agreed. I was thinking: simply move the title up.

I'm still not completely happy with the "the".

Thanks Jeff!

TromboneAl said:

Yet another cover choice (picture the one on the right with the title up higher):

Click to expand...

I dont think that "space sky" will be so starry, and i think that much "calmer" background will make it easier on the typo to stand out.
The colors are murky and the laser beam or what ever that is looks like a shmear instead of a powerful blast.
The typo is way too crowded and i hate that font that suppose to be sci-fi but it's outdated.

Having just gone through this process myself I can say the comments are all worth your consideration. I agree with what others have said here.

Also, Sawyer Pentacost has done a superb job on the cover. And done in ten minutes? That's some serious talent. Get in touch with Sawyer. 

Well, shoot, you've convinced me. Now I have to consider redoing the Contact Us cover.

What are the downsides of redoing a cover of a book that's been released?

baldricko said:

Also, Sawyer Pentacost has done a superb job on the cover. And done in ten minutes? That's some serious talent. Get in touch with Sawyer.

Click to expand...

Done!

Did you use an offwhite on the text for the first cover? I don't know if is just the font sizing to fit antiterrosit in, but the colors don't seem the same when you show the first book and the prequel in thumbnails. The first book's color choice looks better anyway.

Me and Al are going to give this another shot and see if we can put together something that can pass the gauntlet here! Wish us luck!