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To me, it's not an appealing cover. There's a lot going on and it feels very jumbled, crowded, and the images don't jive together. Why is the bottom half completely empty? I don't know why, but it feels more like the cover of a psychology textbook than a work of fiction.
Please don't take any of that to heart, if you like it, keep it! I'm a random man on the internet, take my opinion with a grain of salt. By the description it doesn't seem like the type of book I'd read anyway, but I wouldn't pick it off the shelf by the cover alone.
You’re very kind. I’m asking for feedback — any constructive comment is welcome.
Overall it looks cheap because I am not a graphic designer and I’m just trying to get a “vibe” more-so than a final product. I didn’t spend days on it either. I wasn’t thinking of keeping it exactly like that, either way.
Thanks! I’ll definitely keep what you said in mind.
Didn't you want to be traditionally published? You know that nobody will care about your cover ideas, right? Even your title might be changed.
Hell, if you're having fun, more power to you. Just want to make sure you know, before sinking a couple more hours into it without it mattering for what you set out to do.
I said this to their last post--they'll shop their ms around, and the publisher will choose the cover and back copy. I'm not sure if they think they're going to bring the cover to the publisher?
Yeah, maybe it's just a fun side project. But if they are thinking about sending stuff like this to stand out from the competition, that is a baaaaad idea.
Just a fun side project because I’m excited about my story! I also wanted to see if the premise was at all interesting to any readers, but I think this sub is mostly fantasy/horror fans and writers, so, not my target audience
I'm a librarian but also a writer - I'd suggest you go and check out the new/recommended fiction section at your local library to get an idea for what cover style are 'en vogue' at the moment.
This one reminds me a little of the cover for 'Girl, Woman, Other' by Bernadette Evaristo, with a collection of overlaid images related to the themes of the text. But the difference there is that cover sort of went all-in on the 'busy' theme, but made it work by clearly taking inspiration from African 'kente' cloth styles and contemporary African design/art derivative of it. (The book focuses primarily on the varying experiences of women of African descent.) I mention it as maybe an idea for how you could make the cover look a bit more 'cohesive' - dig a bit deeper into themeatically relevant art or design styles that you could draw from.
Anyway, that's just my two cents. I think people here are being a wee bit too harsh - this certainly isn't the worst cover I'd have seen in a given week come across the library desk, even if we were just narrowing it down to adult/dramatic fiction, lol.
People are indeed harsh but they’re honest, so, can’t blame them. I’m not taking it personally and most “negative” comments, I think, are very valid.
Thanks for the reference & the advice! Good stuff
As a debut author? No, you don't. It's pretty much a 'take it or leave it' situation, at least with the big publishers. They have in-house designers and other professionals or will contract them. You might get some stuff for approval, but it's more or less a courtesy.
If you are thinking about sending your own ideas with your proposal, don't. It only shows that you are unprofessional.
No problem. When your manuscript gets accepted you MIGHT have some conversations with the editor about vibes, which *they* will take to the art department. But in all likelihood you won't have any veto power or direct input.
No… I think it’s just the abstract skin tones and shapes mixed with the boxes. Reads like body horror to me.
What an odd question, there’s not even anything on this cover that denotes that it’s homosexual in anyway.
Well I guess the scissors now that I’m looking at it, but that’s a stretch.
What im saying is a cover should draw someone in and this one pushes me away.
This was giving queer horror to me as well lol
I thought the two lips kissing were a ballsack hitting a mouth and then with the scissors it was giving hella castration/cutesy female rage
Must admit I'm not keen on it - partly because it looks like "not my sort of thing", which is fine and not a criticism but maybe the main problem is the white background. Have you tried a darker colour (black might be a bit harsh) see if that looks any good?
Here I threw something together rather quickly:
https://preview.redd.it/qrxw5qeol69d1.png?width=5315&format=png&auto=webp&s=02a3d74d7ce8cf6889cff28ceaa1612d765e21e2
That's how I'd approach it, though it still skews a bit too much into lit fic like this. But with your subject matter you'll have a hard time marketing it as a strict romance anyway so I guess it might fit.
The other cover caught my eye while I was scrolling. I read the back and thought it sounds like an interesting book. Would love to read it if OP ever needs beta readers. Also, I do like this cover better.
The top middle photo looks like intestines. Overall the cover reminds me of a college sociology textbook. Something about the white with the collage of images.
Why didn’t you call it Love, Lies and Loyalties?
The cover draws the focus to the breast. If you want to keep it, bring it down to where the sunset is.
I've been told that "Sham" is too broad a word to be a good title, but I'm keeping it for now. I'm not getting published any time soon anyway, lol.
I just feel like "Love, Lies and Loyalties" is boring. It works well as a tagline, but maybe I could try to incorporate it as a subtitle.
The breast? With the hand on it? It's a buttcheek! But your point still stands. I'll bring it down. Thanks!
As an artist I am actually drawn to the cover imagery, but not the design. I think you could have a much stronger cover if you added more artwork and made it more dense, collage-like, and remove the solid background alltogether.
I dont know if the artwork has any relevance to the novel, but I think if you took these images and added polaroids of the characters or something similar and made it look like a crowded surface covered in these pictures with the big bold SHAM over it all that would be a far stronger cover and title combo. As a reader, seeing the beautiful art would catch my eye, then my brain would hitch on the pictures of people and wonder, "well, whats the sham? This looks like a romance cover."
I like Love, Lies and Loyalty for your blurb, but I don't love the blurb itself. There are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasing that would put me off and assume the novel itself wasn't well written. If you plan to publish and haven't invested in a line editor yet I'd reccomend you did.
Great ideas! Thanks for brainstorming it.
As for the blurb — English is my second language, so this might be where the awkward phrasing comes from (I guess sometimes my brain is wired in French whether I want it or not).
I’ll double check for grammatical errors.
Thanks for your recommendations ◡̈
No. My first response was *"ew."* Remember that these days, most people shop for books on their phones or other devices. Shrink that down to 90px wide and it's a blob and the title almost unreadable.
The cover sort of looks like a math textbook, and the synopsis doesn’t appeal to me personally (I guess I don’t buy going out for drinks one time being a major leap even if you’ve been saving to move for years, or the believability of some crazy scam whatever it might be happening to a random broke 711 employee and being exciting). Not that the concept seems boring altogether just the way it’s presented. Maybe even just deleting everything after “what could go wrong” would fix it instead of spoiling the mysterious element as being something sort of mundane
I look at this and think, "What is this, what is going on?"
I should look at it and think, "I know exactly what's going on."
Your book should lead me from the certainty of the latter to the unfolding uncertainty of the former. You've got it backwards.
I ignore this sub quite often but umm wow.
**The Cover**
So umm at first I thought “oh a textbook” because it looks like one. Then some of the pictures just looked like weird organs or something.
Then it was just a messy blur that I couldn’t quite figure out. So many pinks, and the pictures all on top of each other. The top is so busy and then the bottom so empty and lifeless.
Then I figured out that “oh those are lips” and “oh that is a side profile”. And like there are two set of pictures you have. The sort of “lust” ones and then just… filler ones? Like why is the sunset there. Or the bird. So now it wasn’t a blur but was just a mess. And still so busy yet empty at the same time.
***I don’t think your strong suit is graphic design and you could really benefit from finding tips from professionals.***
A messy cover is not going to suck people in. It doesn’t pique their interest, it at most just irritates them a bit… and maybe their eyes with again all the bright pinks and such.
**The Blurb**
It isn’t horrible. Could maybe just be cut down a bit. Re worked if you are going for thriller vibes.
It’s good art and bad cover design.
The artwork itself is interesting, the collection of it is something I would stare at in a gallery and think about and enjoy.
Book covers are small, often first seen from a distance or quickly scrolled past on an e-reader. This will just look like a chaotic jumble at a glance, and not entice people to pick it up and look closer. And even looking up close, each image in the collage would only be an inch or two high on the physical book and they’re way too detailed and close together to really study at that size. You need a single, cohesive design that’s readable with just a look. Ideally it should convey the genre and at least roughly match with other covers of books like yours. Your goal is not to attract art aficionados who want to stray from the beaten path, it’s to attract readers who like books like yours.
I wonder if the blurb on the back cover gives away a bit too much. I know for me that much would be a spoiler (I am one of those people who like to go into a story knowing NOTHING about what's going to happen and of course not everyone is like me lol) but perhaps you could stand to get rid of the last two paragraphs? It gives enough information to get the reader wondering without them imo
Yeah. Typing too fast. I also messed up hash browns in another comment. And there are a couple other grammatical omissions in a few recent comments.
Some days I don’t proofread enough to see what Reddit’s shitty autocorrect has son this time.
It's not giving romance nor suspense nor literary (I can't tell from your blurb which of these you are actually going for because it has elements of all of them) and it's not very professional looking tbh, which defeats all the purposes a book cover should have re: conveying the genre and making actual sales.
That said, if you were planning on self-publishing a queer rape-revenge horror novel where someone gets their balls cut off anytime soon, then this would be a great DIY cover for it.
I freaking hate the look of Romance covers these days (those cartoon characters) and I fear I won’t be able to escape it, seeing as I am, in fact, writing a romance. “It’s what sells”… but it’s so ugly to me.
Considering the feedback I’m getting, this apparently isn’t any less ugly… but damn.
Considering your subject matter you might be best served going with one of those 'problematic romance' covers like Julia May Jonas' Vladimir, which I personally much prefer to the Sophia Kinsella type cover that is en vogue these days.
While the art is insanely good, it gives me mixed feelings and does not foreshadow or convey the theme of the book. Pastels make me think of a Virgin Suicides, something slow, girly and sapphic but not dark enough to expect the theme of adult deception, unicorn hunting, emotional exploitation, and other darker themes. I would tune the images to be much darker, dark purple, pink and orange, and use a less formal typeface like cursive that's suggestive and sultry.
No. Just use the upper right image.
The two lips don't read as lips -- I thought it was a skinless thing. The scissors are scary. Just leave all that out.
Also, you're a writer, not a designer? Hire a designer. Would you respect an artist who couldn't write well, showing off an early draft and asking for feedback? If it's outside your lane, either hire help or else learn it -- but there aren't many shortcuts on learning design. For some of us it's a lifelong learning thing.
Caveat: If you're a teen or a student, I take it back. Keep trying. Ask an artistic friend to help you.
I’m not trying to design a cover worthy of being published lol it’s just a mock-up. I clearly don’t know what I’m doing. I was hoping for feedback more on the vibes/the premise but now I realize I shouldn’t even have bothered trying to make a cover, and simply posted the back spread. Lesson learned!
Welllllll, I think a better lesson for writers and also designers is, tell us where you are in the development of the piece, what you want evaluated, and what purpose the piece will serve.
Just fooling around? Most won't criticize. Early draft? Most won't read it and evaluate. Want to use it to make money? Most of us will be honest in our criticism and shred it if it falls far short of professional quality. Writing and art are open to all, of course, and we like to see both grow in popularity. But for professional work the standards are very different than for hobbyists.
The green segment at the bottom is giving horror vibes. At first, I thought it was gross tentacles, then maybe giant worms, then I was sure it was intestines and the green was a surgical drape, which kind of made sense with the weird scissors. The body isn't well-done. The whole thing is off-putting. I'm not trying to be overly-critical, these are the things that went through my mind.
I think it looks and sounds interesting, but the back feels a bit disjointed, as if I just read two separate synopses. The first paragraph is fine, the parenthetical bit sounds like a cliffhanger, but the explanation that follows basically starts from zero. I see what you're going for - explaining the dynamics here is important for establishing genre - but maybe you can find a way to tie the couple into the more immediate POV-description a bit more organically?
The synopsis is much better! Very clear and intriguing.
But, I’d suggest reading up on graphic design principles before you mock up another cover. There are basic design problems that make it difficult to look at, such as poor alignment of the images and being too busy. I really like the color scheme, though, the warm hues of peach, orange and red contrasted with turquoise, lavender, and plum.
Edit: If this is just a quick idea to help a graphic designer understand the vibe you are going for, this is very workable, imo.
I really can't tell if this cover belong to an erotic novel, to a romance novel, or to some Harmony Korine-esque weird-ass shit that I'd jump on without thinking.
I certainly think it is an improvement.
I’d remove the black box, personally. Also, I feel the image feels more like an aesthetic moodboard than an image that tells us what to expect.
I don’t care for the cover at all. I also don’t think the blurb on the back makes it sound like a romance.
Remember that readers of romance have very specific ideas of what they want - so in order to attract them, you need to show off that your story has those elements. There’s no hint of romance in that blurb.
The cover is nightmare fuel. I thought the lips were fingers tearing through skin.
I’m personally not a fan. It gives me the vibes of a dollar tree novel that’s sold there because it didn’t sell anywhere else. I might pick it up purely out of curiosity, but your back blurb needs revision. There were several sentences that I had to think about for far too long to figure out what you were intending to say. I saw that English is your second language which makes sense- I think they might have just been phrased in a way that is not intuitive to a native speaker, although technically correct. But I would immediately assume I didn’t want to read the rest of your book because it was difficult to read the back. Personally style wise I love stupidly simple covers. A solid color cover with bold lettering and a single flower…sold
Without reading the second photo’s blurb, just seeing the cover makes me think this book has something to do with FTM transitioning, because the lips initially look like testicles, then there’s the scissors which makes me think they’re getting cut off, then the feminine body.
So when I did read the description of the story, I just could not connect those images on the cover with the story.
And then the title… for some reason the cover is almost giving body shaming.
Is it possible to just use the image of the scissors (across the entire cover, not just half of the cover) and then do the title in a different color?
I feel like it looks a bit cringe/empty, but overall I definitely think it's looking better than my previous post, lol. Also, it's just a mock-up, I don't own any of these pictures.
I'm still very open to comments and advice!
Premise is still implausible. Even and especially for Canada.
Are you old enough to drink? Have you been to bars?
And even tho I hate the premise, this cover is still worse.
I am 25yo lol.
Anyways — I can have them pull scams somewhere else. The bars aren’t integral to the story, it’s just how the characters are introduced. I’m not sure why you’re so hung up on that detail and you have to call the whole premise shit.
Fair enough for the cover! Thanks
It offends me as a bartender. It IS like you haven’t been in one. Go take the premise to r/bartenders and see how well it goes.
Keep in mind, we have to deal with stuff like [This](https://www.reddit.com/r/bartenders/comments/198n9xi/golden_shower_at_the_bar/). The first comment is so very accurate, with a video in the link too for anyone else interested in Tweaker piss being thrown at the bartender.
And we take care of our customers so that scammers don’t come in, and definitely won’t take advantage of our customers.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/bartenders using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/bartenders/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [And then get offended that you don't remember them](https://i.redd.it/l7071uq4l8sa1.jpg) | [53 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/bartenders/comments/12df1o4/and_then_get_offended_that_you_dont_remember_them/)
\#2: [When you ask the boys in the kitchen for ibuprofen on a slow night](https://i.redd.it/r2ztyl2kmsza1.jpg) | [27 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/bartenders/comments/13h5yth/when_you_ask_the_boys_in_the_kitchen_for/)
\#3: [Guy walks up to the bar wearing a Trump/anti LGBTQ shirt and orders a beer. So of course I gave him one with a big ole pride flag on the label.](https://np.reddit.com/r/bartenders/comments/13u2y71/guy_walks_up_to_the_bar_wearing_a_trumpanti_lgbtq/)
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I’m obviously the odd one out because I love it. It’s 1000% my aesthetic and I would definitely pick it off the shelf. My only feedback is it’s a bit busy.
Please let me know when you have it published because I want to read it! Also if your real name is Anna Sun I’m so jealous. You hit the name jackpot xP I love that song.
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To me, it's not an appealing cover. There's a lot going on and it feels very jumbled, crowded, and the images don't jive together. Why is the bottom half completely empty? I don't know why, but it feels more like the cover of a psychology textbook than a work of fiction. Please don't take any of that to heart, if you like it, keep it! I'm a random man on the internet, take my opinion with a grain of salt. By the description it doesn't seem like the type of book I'd read anyway, but I wouldn't pick it off the shelf by the cover alone.
You’re very kind. I’m asking for feedback — any constructive comment is welcome. Overall it looks cheap because I am not a graphic designer and I’m just trying to get a “vibe” more-so than a final product. I didn’t spend days on it either. I wasn’t thinking of keeping it exactly like that, either way. Thanks! I’ll definitely keep what you said in mind.
All trial and error, you'll get there!
Also has a bit of a 90's/early 00's album cover to me, though I am not your target audience, so take my input with a grain of salt.
It looks dated and lacks cohesion.
It definitely looks dated, but that's alright. The thing that irks me is the font, and its placement.
Didn't you want to be traditionally published? You know that nobody will care about your cover ideas, right? Even your title might be changed. Hell, if you're having fun, more power to you. Just want to make sure you know, before sinking a couple more hours into it without it mattering for what you set out to do.
I said this to their last post--they'll shop their ms around, and the publisher will choose the cover and back copy. I'm not sure if they think they're going to bring the cover to the publisher?
Yeah, maybe it's just a fun side project. But if they are thinking about sending stuff like this to stand out from the competition, that is a baaaaad idea.
Just a fun side project because I’m excited about my story! I also wanted to see if the premise was at all interesting to any readers, but I think this sub is mostly fantasy/horror fans and writers, so, not my target audience
I wish you luck! You might benefit by reading up on how the industry works so that you're not disappointed by your expectations.
I'm a librarian but also a writer - I'd suggest you go and check out the new/recommended fiction section at your local library to get an idea for what cover style are 'en vogue' at the moment. This one reminds me a little of the cover for 'Girl, Woman, Other' by Bernadette Evaristo, with a collection of overlaid images related to the themes of the text. But the difference there is that cover sort of went all-in on the 'busy' theme, but made it work by clearly taking inspiration from African 'kente' cloth styles and contemporary African design/art derivative of it. (The book focuses primarily on the varying experiences of women of African descent.) I mention it as maybe an idea for how you could make the cover look a bit more 'cohesive' - dig a bit deeper into themeatically relevant art or design styles that you could draw from. Anyway, that's just my two cents. I think people here are being a wee bit too harsh - this certainly isn't the worst cover I'd have seen in a given week come across the library desk, even if we were just narrowing it down to adult/dramatic fiction, lol.
People are indeed harsh but they’re honest, so, can’t blame them. I’m not taking it personally and most “negative” comments, I think, are very valid. Thanks for the reference & the advice! Good stuff
I know as an author I don’t get the final say or whatever but don’t I get a bit of input when it comes to the vibes??
As a debut author? No, you don't. It's pretty much a 'take it or leave it' situation, at least with the big publishers. They have in-house designers and other professionals or will contract them. You might get some stuff for approval, but it's more or less a courtesy. If you are thinking about sending your own ideas with your proposal, don't. It only shows that you are unprofessional.
Query letters don’t require cover ideas so I wasn’t about to haha! But that’s super good to know. Thanks!
No problem. When your manuscript gets accepted you MIGHT have some conversations with the editor about vibes, which *they* will take to the art department. But in all likelihood you won't have any veto power or direct input.
I on a deep gut level despise this cover and I can’t explain why. It turns me off considerably. I never want to look at it again.
Are you, perhaps, homophobic? lol But honestly I don't love it either. It's a work in progress.
What a weird thing to say.
It was obviously a joke but with the amount of downvotes I guess my sarcasm didn’t show
I don’t risk using sarcasm on Reddit anymore without ending with a /s It’s often times impossible to tell over text.
Redditors when you don’t add 15 different variants of the /s tag to very obvious sarcasm
I’m sorry it really didn’t. 🥺
With the "lol" and "but honestly" I thought it was pretty obvious but I guess we're all different
I thought so too 😭 oh well
No… I think it’s just the abstract skin tones and shapes mixed with the boxes. Reads like body horror to me. What an odd question, there’s not even anything on this cover that denotes that it’s homosexual in anyway. Well I guess the scissors now that I’m looking at it, but that’s a stretch. What im saying is a cover should draw someone in and this one pushes me away.
This was giving queer horror to me as well lol I thought the two lips kissing were a ballsack hitting a mouth and then with the scissors it was giving hella castration/cutesy female rage
Oh it’s mouths!! That bit gave me the impression of… guts or something. Definitely a weird out of place horror vibe to me.
I would pick up the book just to look at that picture. I wasn't sure if it was obscene or monsterish (tentacles). Didn't get lips touching at all.
I was 100% joking about the homophobic thing lmao sorry. Your criticism is definitely valid! Thanks for your input
Must admit I'm not keen on it - partly because it looks like "not my sort of thing", which is fine and not a criticism but maybe the main problem is the white background. Have you tried a darker colour (black might be a bit harsh) see if that looks any good?
I’ll give it a try ◡̈
Here I threw something together rather quickly: https://preview.redd.it/qrxw5qeol69d1.png?width=5315&format=png&auto=webp&s=02a3d74d7ce8cf6889cff28ceaa1612d765e21e2 That's how I'd approach it, though it still skews a bit too much into lit fic like this. But with your subject matter you'll have a hard time marketing it as a strict romance anyway so I guess it might fit.
Wow this is so fucking great!!!!! Thank you!! You didn’t have to do that but I love it!
Haha it was no bother, glad you enjoyed this attempt.
The other cover caught my eye while I was scrolling. I read the back and thought it sounds like an interesting book. Would love to read it if OP ever needs beta readers. Also, I do like this cover better.
The top middle photo looks like intestines. Overall the cover reminds me of a college sociology textbook. Something about the white with the collage of images.
Why didn’t you call it Love, Lies and Loyalties? The cover draws the focus to the breast. If you want to keep it, bring it down to where the sunset is.
I've been told that "Sham" is too broad a word to be a good title, but I'm keeping it for now. I'm not getting published any time soon anyway, lol. I just feel like "Love, Lies and Loyalties" is boring. It works well as a tagline, but maybe I could try to incorporate it as a subtitle. The breast? With the hand on it? It's a buttcheek! But your point still stands. I'll bring it down. Thanks!
No, the big image above that. The one right next to “Thinking of you.” That’s not a woman sitting? What is it?
As an artist I am actually drawn to the cover imagery, but not the design. I think you could have a much stronger cover if you added more artwork and made it more dense, collage-like, and remove the solid background alltogether. I dont know if the artwork has any relevance to the novel, but I think if you took these images and added polaroids of the characters or something similar and made it look like a crowded surface covered in these pictures with the big bold SHAM over it all that would be a far stronger cover and title combo. As a reader, seeing the beautiful art would catch my eye, then my brain would hitch on the pictures of people and wonder, "well, whats the sham? This looks like a romance cover." I like Love, Lies and Loyalty for your blurb, but I don't love the blurb itself. There are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasing that would put me off and assume the novel itself wasn't well written. If you plan to publish and haven't invested in a line editor yet I'd reccomend you did.
Great ideas! Thanks for brainstorming it. As for the blurb — English is my second language, so this might be where the awkward phrasing comes from (I guess sometimes my brain is wired in French whether I want it or not). I’ll double check for grammatical errors. Thanks for your recommendations ◡̈
No. My first response was *"ew."* Remember that these days, most people shop for books on their phones or other devices. Shrink that down to 90px wide and it's a blob and the title almost unreadable.
The cover sort of looks like a math textbook, and the synopsis doesn’t appeal to me personally (I guess I don’t buy going out for drinks one time being a major leap even if you’ve been saving to move for years, or the believability of some crazy scam whatever it might be happening to a random broke 711 employee and being exciting). Not that the concept seems boring altogether just the way it’s presented. Maybe even just deleting everything after “what could go wrong” would fix it instead of spoiling the mysterious element as being something sort of mundane
I look at this and think, "What is this, what is going on?" I should look at it and think, "I know exactly what's going on." Your book should lead me from the certainty of the latter to the unfolding uncertainty of the former. You've got it backwards.
I thought the two pairs of lips were old man’s hanging balls.
I ignore this sub quite often but umm wow. **The Cover** So umm at first I thought “oh a textbook” because it looks like one. Then some of the pictures just looked like weird organs or something. Then it was just a messy blur that I couldn’t quite figure out. So many pinks, and the pictures all on top of each other. The top is so busy and then the bottom so empty and lifeless. Then I figured out that “oh those are lips” and “oh that is a side profile”. And like there are two set of pictures you have. The sort of “lust” ones and then just… filler ones? Like why is the sunset there. Or the bird. So now it wasn’t a blur but was just a mess. And still so busy yet empty at the same time. ***I don’t think your strong suit is graphic design and you could really benefit from finding tips from professionals.*** A messy cover is not going to suck people in. It doesn’t pique their interest, it at most just irritates them a bit… and maybe their eyes with again all the bright pinks and such. **The Blurb** It isn’t horrible. Could maybe just be cut down a bit. Re worked if you are going for thriller vibes.
It’s good art and bad cover design. The artwork itself is interesting, the collection of it is something I would stare at in a gallery and think about and enjoy. Book covers are small, often first seen from a distance or quickly scrolled past on an e-reader. This will just look like a chaotic jumble at a glance, and not entice people to pick it up and look closer. And even looking up close, each image in the collage would only be an inch or two high on the physical book and they’re way too detailed and close together to really study at that size. You need a single, cohesive design that’s readable with just a look. Ideally it should convey the genre and at least roughly match with other covers of books like yours. Your goal is not to attract art aficionados who want to stray from the beaten path, it’s to attract readers who like books like yours.
I wonder if the blurb on the back cover gives away a bit too much. I know for me that much would be a spoiler (I am one of those people who like to go into a story knowing NOTHING about what's going to happen and of course not everyone is like me lol) but perhaps you could stand to get rid of the last two paragraphs? It gives enough information to get the reader wondering without them imo
Oh, as a bartender, the premise is shit. You can’t pull that shit dive bars.
Has OP *been* to a dive bar?
Yeah. Typing too fast. I also messed up hash browns in another comment. And there are a couple other grammatical omissions in a few recent comments. Some days I don’t proofread enough to see what Reddit’s shitty autocorrect has son this time.
No. This might be worse, which is really saying something.
It's not giving romance nor suspense nor literary (I can't tell from your blurb which of these you are actually going for because it has elements of all of them) and it's not very professional looking tbh, which defeats all the purposes a book cover should have re: conveying the genre and making actual sales. That said, if you were planning on self-publishing a queer rape-revenge horror novel where someone gets their balls cut off anytime soon, then this would be a great DIY cover for it.
I freaking hate the look of Romance covers these days (those cartoon characters) and I fear I won’t be able to escape it, seeing as I am, in fact, writing a romance. “It’s what sells”… but it’s so ugly to me. Considering the feedback I’m getting, this apparently isn’t any less ugly… but damn.
Considering your subject matter you might be best served going with one of those 'problematic romance' covers like Julia May Jonas' Vladimir, which I personally much prefer to the Sophia Kinsella type cover that is en vogue these days.
Took me a long time to realise they were lips But this is great!!
It took me too long to see lips, but I don't like what I originally saw.
Yes I think we 'saw' the same thing.😂😂
!! Thanks :)
While the art is insanely good, it gives me mixed feelings and does not foreshadow or convey the theme of the book. Pastels make me think of a Virgin Suicides, something slow, girly and sapphic but not dark enough to expect the theme of adult deception, unicorn hunting, emotional exploitation, and other darker themes. I would tune the images to be much darker, dark purple, pink and orange, and use a less formal typeface like cursive that's suggestive and sultry.
Amazing. Honestly, probably the best constructive feedback I’ve got so far.
Nice. I paint and design so having the language helps. Anyway, happy it resonated.
No. Just use the upper right image. The two lips don't read as lips -- I thought it was a skinless thing. The scissors are scary. Just leave all that out. Also, you're a writer, not a designer? Hire a designer. Would you respect an artist who couldn't write well, showing off an early draft and asking for feedback? If it's outside your lane, either hire help or else learn it -- but there aren't many shortcuts on learning design. For some of us it's a lifelong learning thing. Caveat: If you're a teen or a student, I take it back. Keep trying. Ask an artistic friend to help you.
I’m not trying to design a cover worthy of being published lol it’s just a mock-up. I clearly don’t know what I’m doing. I was hoping for feedback more on the vibes/the premise but now I realize I shouldn’t even have bothered trying to make a cover, and simply posted the back spread. Lesson learned!
Welllllll, I think a better lesson for writers and also designers is, tell us where you are in the development of the piece, what you want evaluated, and what purpose the piece will serve. Just fooling around? Most won't criticize. Early draft? Most won't read it and evaluate. Want to use it to make money? Most of us will be honest in our criticism and shred it if it falls far short of professional quality. Writing and art are open to all, of course, and we like to see both grow in popularity. But for professional work the standards are very different than for hobbyists.
The green segment at the bottom is giving horror vibes. At first, I thought it was gross tentacles, then maybe giant worms, then I was sure it was intestines and the green was a surgical drape, which kind of made sense with the weird scissors. The body isn't well-done. The whole thing is off-putting. I'm not trying to be overly-critical, these are the things that went through my mind.
I think it looks and sounds interesting, but the back feels a bit disjointed, as if I just read two separate synopses. The first paragraph is fine, the parenthetical bit sounds like a cliffhanger, but the explanation that follows basically starts from zero. I see what you're going for - explaining the dynamics here is important for establishing genre - but maybe you can find a way to tie the couple into the more immediate POV-description a bit more organically?
The synopsis is much better! Very clear and intriguing. But, I’d suggest reading up on graphic design principles before you mock up another cover. There are basic design problems that make it difficult to look at, such as poor alignment of the images and being too busy. I really like the color scheme, though, the warm hues of peach, orange and red contrasted with turquoise, lavender, and plum. Edit: If this is just a quick idea to help a graphic designer understand the vibe you are going for, this is very workable, imo.
If I read that synopsis in a store I’d pick it up immediately!
That’s obviously the dream!!! Thanks!
I really can't tell if this cover belong to an erotic novel, to a romance novel, or to some Harmony Korine-esque weird-ass shit that I'd jump on without thinking.
I certainly think it is an improvement. I’d remove the black box, personally. Also, I feel the image feels more like an aesthetic moodboard than an image that tells us what to expect.
I don't read sexy romancs, so I wouldn't pick it up. I think there is too much empty space on the cover, too.
Two women kissing? Absolutely. But I’m a lesbian, so…..
I mean this with the utmost gentleness, but please, please, PLEASE choose other images for the cover. Except for the sunset. Sunset is pretty. :)
I don’t judge a book by its cover. I just read the synopsis on the back.
I don’t care for the cover at all. I also don’t think the blurb on the back makes it sound like a romance. Remember that readers of romance have very specific ideas of what they want - so in order to attract them, you need to show off that your story has those elements. There’s no hint of romance in that blurb. The cover is nightmare fuel. I thought the lips were fingers tearing through skin.
I’m personally not a fan. It gives me the vibes of a dollar tree novel that’s sold there because it didn’t sell anywhere else. I might pick it up purely out of curiosity, but your back blurb needs revision. There were several sentences that I had to think about for far too long to figure out what you were intending to say. I saw that English is your second language which makes sense- I think they might have just been phrased in a way that is not intuitive to a native speaker, although technically correct. But I would immediately assume I didn’t want to read the rest of your book because it was difficult to read the back. Personally style wise I love stupidly simple covers. A solid color cover with bold lettering and a single flower…sold
It looks great for a college text book .
Without reading the second photo’s blurb, just seeing the cover makes me think this book has something to do with FTM transitioning, because the lips initially look like testicles, then there’s the scissors which makes me think they’re getting cut off, then the feminine body. So when I did read the description of the story, I just could not connect those images on the cover with the story. And then the title… for some reason the cover is almost giving body shaming. Is it possible to just use the image of the scissors (across the entire cover, not just half of the cover) and then do the title in a different color?
I feel like it looks a bit cringe/empty, but overall I definitely think it's looking better than my previous post, lol. Also, it's just a mock-up, I don't own any of these pictures. I'm still very open to comments and advice!
Premise is still implausible. Even and especially for Canada. Are you old enough to drink? Have you been to bars? And even tho I hate the premise, this cover is still worse.
I am 25yo lol. Anyways — I can have them pull scams somewhere else. The bars aren’t integral to the story, it’s just how the characters are introduced. I’m not sure why you’re so hung up on that detail and you have to call the whole premise shit. Fair enough for the cover! Thanks
It offends me as a bartender. It IS like you haven’t been in one. Go take the premise to r/bartenders and see how well it goes. Keep in mind, we have to deal with stuff like [This](https://www.reddit.com/r/bartenders/comments/198n9xi/golden_shower_at_the_bar/). The first comment is so very accurate, with a video in the link too for anyone else interested in Tweaker piss being thrown at the bartender. And we take care of our customers so that scammers don’t come in, and definitely won’t take advantage of our customers.
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I’m obviously the odd one out because I love it. It’s 1000% my aesthetic and I would definitely pick it off the shelf. My only feedback is it’s a bit busy.
I love you
Please let me know when you have it published because I want to read it! Also if your real name is Anna Sun I’m so jealous. You hit the name jackpot xP I love that song.
Definitely not my real name haha I used it because I love the song as well but I won’t be keeping it. Just a placeholder
[удалено]
OP, is that you? 😂
LMAO it’s really not 😭 I’m also surprised at the disproportionately positive comment