I'm still on track to finish my inspirational romance e-book and release it in Amazon's Kindle Store by the end of this month. Other e-book formats and perhaps even a print-on demand version will be available soon after that.
Today I took a break from working on the manuscript to try my hand at creating a cover for the book. Here's what I'm thinking about going with:
A note to those viewing this on my blog page: The purple border is not part of the bookcover, but is a decorative frame automatically added to all photos on this blog. There is no border on the actual cover.
I am aware that the teaser is diffucult to read. The plan is to entice e-book shoppers to click on the cover image to enlarge it so they can read that fine print. Pulling people deeper into an advertisement is supposed to increase the likelihood of their making a purchase. (You can click the image right now, if you like, and see it full-size.)
I'd love to see some comments on this. If you hate the cover or even the title, please say so. All of this is a huge experiment for me, so I will carefully consider all honest opinions and suggestions.
17 comments:
I am not sure if the tea cup goes with the title. He sounds like he would need strong coffee.
I hope it's black tea...Grandma Orpha's favorite.
Unfortunately, I would skip over this book cover without a second glance. The image, title, and teaser seem to have nothing in common, so I'm left confused as to what the book is about. The ivory background will look tacky against most websites' white backgrounds, and most fiction covers tend to be all one image with words on top.
It doesn't have to be elaborate - take a look at How Huge the Night here for an effective cover using one photo and color of font.
Hope this helps!
I really appreciate that you folks have taken the time to comment. I'm not looking for flattery, but for honest first impressions, so please keep 'em coming!
I have to agree with Katie Hart. If your name were not on the cover, I doubt I would take a second look at this book. And the title doesn't grab me at all. Wish I had something constructive to suggest, but I don't know enough about the story line to be a big help. However, I WILL be buying the book whatever it looks like, because it has been Much Too Long since I got to read one of your books.
I think the cover screams "amateur" and "homemade". Most inspirational book covers use soft flowers or landscapes with fuzzy people or children. Try to mimic that look.
Hi Brenda,
Hmm. I like what you're going for. You should check out my friends at Tekeme Studios. They design cover art for books and do a FABULOUS job! They're designing my new website so I totally trust them. Look them up at http://tekeme.com/ let them know I sent you. :)
-Noelle Marchand
My advice - release it and see what happens.
Covers and titles don't really have to mean anything with fiction. If you have time/money/energy - try a different cover in a few months to see if it makes a difference.
For example on title's - Stephen King's "Carrie". Or for something more recent "Twilight".
And in covers - Westerns are notorious for using covers that have absolutely nothing to do with their contents. This was because people sometimes buy the book - just because they like the cover art. Westerns used art from Calendars.
What I would take from your cover is that this is romance-style novel. Maybe something like Bridges Over Madison County. And if I was a someone who liked those types of books - I'd be intrigued. And then read your blurb.
And then decide from there to give it a short or not.
Also I think it is distinctive. I could care less what's in the cup - the hand really grabs my attention.
I have to agree with some of the other responses, the cover and blurb would not catch my eye. The tea cup and poised hand somehow doesn't seem to fit. Since it's about a rock star and a Christian girl, how about a table with a small bible on top (with a cross necklace laying on top like it was just taken off), and a guitar leaning against the table? (Like one of those little ice cream parlor tables, with the two wire chairs) Maybe a darker cobalt blue background where you have the name and title, with silver embellishment in the lettering and maybe a few silvered music notes. (People seem to be all about the 'bling and flash' now-a-days lol :-) The title is ok, but going with the theme of the story maybe something like 'Minnesota Rocks', or 'Rock Steady' (having a double meaning: Rock/rock star and Jesus is their rock.) Not that Her Minnesota Man isn't good, it just seems on the bland side.
For the teaser, I like to see the characters names in the blurb. (Name), the bad-boy rock star, is trying hard to reform. (Name), who everyone considers to be a good Christian girl, is now facing new choices, and is questioning her faith. With God's help, will they ever figure out how to help each other, or will they ever fall in love? (I like it when a blurb poses a question about what will happen, or possibilites, and then I just have to read it to get the answer.) I believe they call it a 'hook' for good reason!
Looking at the cover 24 hours later, I decided that the fonts I was using looked almost cartoonish, so I changed those. I changed a couple of other things, as well (and updated the picture in this post), but I'm keeping the teacup photo and probably the basic design. I want this cover to be recognizable in teeny-tiny thumbnails on laptop computers, and busy photographs don't work for that.
I'm not obsessing over this. Just having some fun. Thanks, everyone, for your thoughtful comments.
Brenda, my first reaction was, "It's too plain" (the font mostly, I think). Then, overall, it kinda grew on me, although the title didn't. (I guess "Two for Tea" is out.) Then I came back later and looked again -- and returned to my first impression.
Anyone who knows your writing (love it! love it! love it!) won't care what the cover looks like. I'm just excited that your 5th book is about ready to take wing! Now I can stop checking the new book releases every month for your name!
Thanks, NM.
I forgot to mention that I actually created four different covers, and the one I shared here is the one I like best. The other three are full-cover photos (as has been suggested here): a woodsy autumn scene, a sunset, and a flock of ducks milling beside a lake. But as I mentioned before, en e-book cover needs to show well in itty-bitty photos on smaller computer screens and on reading devices like the Kindle. So, no busy scenes. Second, it needs to show well in black-and-white (for people shopping from their Kindles). And that's why I like this yellow cover with a very simple, memorable image and lots of big letters. Even my photo of a sunset behind a Minnesota cornfield didn't look good tiny, or in black and white. (Yes, I tested these designs.) But if another handful of you sounds off about the cover being awful, I might cave and show you one or two of the others.
;-)
And don't worry--nobody here has hurt my tender little feelings. I did ask for your opinions. But some of you are still wondering what on earth I could have been thinking, so I'll tell you: A book that looks good on a shelf in Walmart or a bookstore is not necessarily going to look good in a thumbnail image online or in the black-and-white e-reader that you might hand to a friend while saying, "Here. Look at this new book by Brenda What's Her Name." This is a new world, and I think people will soon stop expecting e-book covers to look like "real" book covers.
Or not. But as Mark suggested, the cover of an e-book that's not selling well can be changed at any time.
And about that "lackluster" title:
I recently came across a Jeanette Oke book, Love Comes Softly. Didn't I see that movie on the Hallmark Channel? I couldn't remember. What was that storyline, again? I was blank. Because as sweet as that title is (really, it's quite nice), I do not associate it with a particular story. And not that Jeanette Oke needs any help from me, but if I loved that story and wanted to recommend it, I might have trouble remembering its title.
Some of you will remember when Stephenie Meyers' Twilight wasn't "Twilight", but "that new book about the teenage vampires". The cover of that book (Here. Let me tempt you with this perfect apple.) was brilliant, but the title wasn't. Can anyone tell me what was "twilight-y" about that story? You know the title because it's been repeated so often in recent years, not because it was a good match for the story.
So I'm calling my book Her Minnesota Man because after you've read it, the title will be stuck in your mind--which means you'll be able to tell your friends the book's title, even if you don't think it's all that catchy, and even if you forget my name.
Alliteration always helps make a title memorable, so... "Minnesota Man". The "her" was added to tip off readers that it's a romance novel. And there you have it. Everyone who reads the book will learn that although the hero is a rock star, he's not puffed up with his own importance, but is just an ordinary guy from Minnesota. That fact is alluded to several times in the book. Here's one brief excerpt:
QUOTE
Like most musicians, Jeb craved live audiences because he fed off the energy they beamed toward the stage. But after the shows were over, he had no use for fans. Celebrity hampered his freedom.
He rarely gave interviews, so the media had labeled him reclusive, which made him even more sought after. But Jeb wasn't bashful. He was just a guy from Minnesota. And when Minnesota men weren't talking about the weather or their cars, they just weren't all that big on conversation.
UNQUOTE
So, what do you think now? Is Her Minnesota Man a poor choice for a title?
It's okay to disagree. As always, I'm interested in your comments.
The title of your book doesn't grab me at all and plus the plain background wasn't inviting either.
Ok, Watts. Thanks for commenting.
Brenda, I'm in the minority here. I stumbled on your blog or I wouldn't be commenting at all. But the guy's hand trying to hold that tiny teacup represents to me conflict, which is important. He probably doesn't fit in a tearoom, but he's willing to drink from a delicate cup because he loves the owner. Her Minnesota Man has appeal to me as well. And I like the small come-on on the picture. My only suggestion would be to (if possible) bring the photo down a bit lower to minimize the large block at the bottom. The title would still fit. It would just be less like looking through a window and more framed.
I have 3 e-books on Amazon now and you should've seen some of my early attempts at covers. They aren't easy to make or to even find that perfect photo to use. I really think your fits the teaser you gave.
Mildred Colvin
Mildred, thanks for checking out my blog.
I've decided to delete the text on the cover because the image will never appear without a product description beside or below it, and there's no point in duplicatiuon.
I'm fancying up the fonts, too, but the yellow background and all of that space will remain because it keeps my name and title readable even when the image is teensy. Also, Amazon's "Kindle" graphic often covers up any text near the bottom of e-book covers, so I'm leaving plenty of room to prevent that.
Thanks again, everyone, for you input.
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