Thursday, April 22, 2010

A Choice of Covers


So, sometime in the relatively near future, I'll be putting a previously unpublished action/adventure novel (not a Western) up on Amazon for the Kindle. There's a story that goes with it (of course), but I'll get to that at a more appropriate time. For now we could use some input on the cover. Livia designed several, and these are the two we like the best. So if you have a preference for one over the other, please let me know in the comments.

25 comments:

Scott Cupp said...

I like the top lighter colored one. No real reason but it appeals to me slightly more than the darker one.

Laurie Powers said...

I like the top one, because it seems to fit the title. I think the lower one is great too, and I love the photo, but for some reason the font reminds me of a romance novel.

BleuUnicorn said...

I like the top one too.

Angeline Hawkes said...

I like the top one. The bottom one has a sort of self-pub look to it. I like the background on the top one.

Paul Bishop said...

Okay, just to be onry, I'd pick up the bottom cover long before I'd pick up the top one. For me it has more modern eye appeal.

Randy Johnson said...

I like the top one as well. And please let us know the story at the right time. I don't own a Kindle and have np plans to get one anytime soon.

August West said...

I love the wooden fence background on the top. And those green leaves enhance the image of the snake.

It's a "hissing" cover....

Cullen Gallagher said...

I'd also agree with the majority and go with the top one. Looking forward to reading it.

Since I don't have a Kindle, is it possible for me to purchase the file and convert it to PDF, or another format to read on my computer?

Mark Terry said...

I like the color scheme and photograph in the second one, but I think the first one's graphics, title, etc., pops better.

James Reasoner said...

Cullen,
Other than getting the book up on Amazon, which may take a few weeks yet, we don't really have any plans. Might be able to make it available in other formats.

Chris said...

I really can't get beyond "A Texas Tale of Death and Destruction." I LOVE that!

Picking up the top one, with your name on it, I'd assume it was a Western because of the font and the wood boards look. It just looks like a Western to me.

James Reasoner said...

Chris,
Credit Where Credit is Due Dept.: Livia came up with that line of copy. I like it, too.

J. Kingston Pierce said...

Definitely the top one.

Cheers,
Jeff

Richard Prosch said...

Absolutely the top one.

Richard R. said...

The top one is very good, but if you don't want to convey the "hey, it's a western!" thought to the buyer, the boards as backdrop must go. The old wood, the word Texas near the top and the snake combine to shout "western!". The lower cover is a great start but I agree with Laurie about the typography, to flowing for the type of book this apparently is. Also, the "by the author of" line is too large in relation to the title. Lastly, a very slightly cooler color palate, even for a hot dusty Texas story, might add a little chill to the rattler.

Honestly, I'd like to see the others, there may be a better choice.

Chris Gruber said...

I like the bottom one. I like the darker colors and can focus on the words and picture independently. The top seems too busy.

beb said...

I favor the bottom design. I'm not fond of the circus font but more importantly the blurb seems to get lost in the wood plank background. (Perhaps reduce the size of the planks so the letters over power the vertical grains of the wood.)

But also I like the untextured background of the second which makes the text over all easier to see and read at a distance.

That said, I wonder how many people would buy a book with a picture of a snake on the cover? Of course I'm one of those people who can't bear to go into the reptile house at the zoo. Really bad phobia about snakes.

Michael Bracken said...

As someone who recently launched a book on Kindle (a romance with an absolutely terrible cover, mind you), I suggest two things:

1. Reduce the cover to the smallest size it will appear on an Amazon page. Can you still read the cover type? Is the image still identifiable? If not, redesign.

2. Amazon adds a graphic image of a Kindle that covers the bottom right portion of the cover. For that reason, don't put anything important--such as your byline--down there.

And good luck.

Vince said...

Another vote for the top one.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Top also. The bottom one looks murkier.

Rick Ollerman said...

I like the font on the first one but the cover of the second, soo...

...use the font from the first on the second. There. You've made me happy.

Richard Moore said...

I prefer the bottom cover. The lettering gets lost in the background of the top cover. I like the darker, amber tones of the bottom cover.

Cap'n Bob said...

The bottom. Too much is lost to the background in the top one.

D.A. Trappert said...

Agree with Rick Ollerman, although neither cover makes me want to reach out and pick the book up off the shelf to see what it's about.

Suresh Ramasubramanian said...

The first screams pulp western (especially with the shadow effect to the "western" font of the title, old wood, texas, etc)

The second? Well, Mills and Boon or Harlequin would have been my first thought.

Sorry :(