So how about this cover design?

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Last week, Tamara, a web designer, sent a cover design idea that I liked a lot--Thank you, Tamara! It featured a photo of a man’s face, and I’m not convinced that I want to show that.

However, it inspired the version you see here. I think that, on a bookshelf the cover has two goals:

1. to catch your eye
2. to get you to check out the back cover

That’s it—catch the eye, turn book over. Please give your input via the poll below and with comments.

But what about blurbs?
Often there are blurbs on the front cover to help with engaging your interest, and I don’t have any yet, not yet having created or sent advance review copies, but I’d like to know how the following quotes from real beta readers would influence your level of interest. How about doing that poll, too?

A woman read this novel and said, “I wish this world you’ve created existed.”

A man read this novel and said, “Enjoy the ride. It’s worth taking.”

A college student said, “A lot to think about, a lot to hope for.”

Would you please vote on the poll and give any comments you have? Many thanks.

Once again, many thanks for your help.

Ray

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© 2010 Ray Rhamey

Comments

[Kristy]

I like this design a lot. It looks much more professional and helps to place the novel a bit better in terms of genre.

I think blurbs on the cover look messy, and I never believe them anyway without seeing the context. I think this would be especially true if I knew the book was self-published.

[Deb]

I'd like to see a person or two (or at least a shadow of people) on your cover to make it seem like fiction. It is still too sparse for my taste.

[Deb]

Possibly the shadows of people and the bullet hole right through the middle of one of them.

[Greg]

I agree with what others have repeatedly said: in today’s unusually hostile political environment the more you can make it look like a novel, rather than non-fiction, the better your odds. That cover would probably catch my eye, and I’d turn to the back specifically to find out who “We” is.

So far as the front cover blurbs are concerned, opinions are like… well, you know the rest. Unless it’s coming from an authoritative and respected source, what’s the point? Get a favorable opinion from a top-notch Constitutional lawyer and, yeah, I might take a look. (But good luck with that.)

[Kathleen Bolton]

I'm not feeling the cover art, sorry. It's so generic looking to me. I'm not getting "thriller" from this rendering. I'd put a human image back in somewhere, perhaps running (cliched, but that's why they all use it) something to connote peril to a character so people can latch on.

Blurbs don't sway me either because I know they wouldn't be on the book unless they were favorable.

My, my, my, I have a lot of opinions today! :)

[tamara]

I think this one works. When I resize it to a small thumbnail of 50 pixels wide, it's still readable.

You'll probably get criticism of every cover you post here (we're trying to help!), so I'd suggest if you want to get to the winner fast, post 3 possible covers, with big or small variations, and we'll vote.

That's how I help clients get focused on a web site design!

With just one design, they'll feel stuck and only notice what they don't like. More than three and they start enjoying the novelty factor and want a hundred more.

[elizabethe]

I'm mixed on the cover. It's eye-catching, but it does also seem a bit spare.

Of the quotes, I like the one that says "Enjoy the ride. It's worth taking." because I read to experience a good story and good characters and to have a fun read. The other two make it seem more like a book that's going to try to present some kind of utopia with a thriller plot laid over the top. As another commenter noted, in today's hyper political client I am not going to be drawn to anything that I think is going to try to smuggle a political message at me. If that's what your book is about though, then maybe those quotes are fair warning, and there are some people who do like to read those kinds of book.

I find that one well-placed and short blurb on the front can be effective but more than that and my eyes glaze over.

[Heather]

This cover says fiction to me, now, so I would be more inclined to pick it up and turn it over. How much more? I'm not sure. My eye tends to be drawn toward either really flashy or really stark covers. I'm tempted to pick at this, but I also realize you probably haven't set up a large cover art budget dedicated toward cranking out covers for us to tear apart :D

I agree that we'd do better with several to choose from because it's just our nature here to pick stuff apart when it's by itself.

I'm not sure about blurbs. I don't tend to pay much attention to them, but I would pay more attention to those from trusted sources. I wouldn't really care what "a college student" has to say. If I wanted to know what people thought of a book, I'd probably just go read reviews. And if there are blurbs, I think I'm more accustomed to seeing them on the back beneath the blurb.

[Ray Rhamey]

You guys are great, and thanks for your patience. Your input on both the cover and the mock "blurbs" is very helpful. I think I'm on a good path, knowing that no cover design (and title) will please everyone. I may play around a little more, but I like the lean feeling of this one.

Thanks again.

[Greg]

Oh, while I think of it… Ray, that bullet hole looks like those fake appliqués that you see on the back of cars now and then. If you want a realistic one, let me know. I’ll pull a piece of plate steel out of the shed and make one for you. You can even have your choice of calibers. (grin)