# Book Covers



## lvcabbie

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I’d appreciate your opinions.[/FONT]


  [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Here are the covers provided by my ex-publisher[/FONT]














  [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]And here are the new ones I’m thinking of using:[/FONT]






  [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]and


[/FONT]





  [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]What do you think? Be honest please.[/FONT]


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## ireneintheworld

I hate to be negative about anything really, but they're both a bit dull - nothing to catch the eye, nothing that would immediately draw a browsing reader right in to choose it amongst all the amazing covers out there. I don't like the covers your ex publisher used either. Go out there and take colourful pictures...give me an idea of what you want and I'll donate a few to you to doodle with.

Think about what draws you in when you're choosing a book...think about buying Xmas cards - you don't choose the dull landscape one, do you? I hope I haven't been too brutal, but I know I have, but you do need honesty.


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## lvcabbie

ireneintheworld said:


> I hate to be negative about anything really, but they're both a bit dull - nothing to catch the eye, nothing that would immediately draw a browsing reader right in to choose it amongst all the amazing covers out there. I don't like the covers your ex publisher used either. Go out there and take colourful pictures...give me an idea of what you want and I'll donate a few to you to doodle with.
> 
> Think about what draws you in when you're choosing a book...think about buying Xmas cards - you don't choose the dull landscape one, do you? I hope I haven't been too brutal, but I know I have, but you do need honesty.



Thanks, appreciate the comment.


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## Shemp

Hey lvcabbie are you really a cabbie in Las Vegas?   Seems like it'd be a fun job.    If I won Powerball, I'd move to Vegas and drive a cab.   Part time, of course.   The rest of my waking hours would be spent in the sports books.

On to biz.   I think the first cover is attention getting, but visually unappealing.   The opposite is true, for the second cover.   Together, they are incongruous.

Have you ever seen _Aguirre, the Wrath of God_?    Except for_ The Godfather_, it's my favorite movie.    I re-watched it again on the YouTube last night.  There are some similarities between Father Serra and Spanish Dominican friar Gaspar de Carvajal, one of the film's main characters.   A couple of scenes in the first 20 mins (sort of) fit your titles.   One, is the conquistadors floating down the Amazon on the rafts they constructed.   In another, earlier scene, enslaved natives are slogging through the rain forest, carrying a sedan-chair.   Eye candy for history porn buffs.    So, that's the ideal, having 2 covers with memorable and harmonious images.   In my humble opinion.

Good luck, whatever you decide.


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## Jack of all trades

I haven't been here in quite a while, but stopped by today to see what's new and saw your covers. Here's my opinions.

The ex-publisher covers are intriguing, but like too many other covers being done these days.

Your covers have potential. They just need a bit of work.  

My recommendations for book one : 

1. Add an old fashioned sailing ship, or rowboat with a sailor to the ocean.
2. Add an old fashioned hammer and some nails to the wood.
3. Alter the font color to make it readable. The words on the ocean are next to impossible to read at a glance, and that's what most potential readers are doing -- reading titles at a glance. Black on blue is a poor choice. The colors don't have to be consistent for the entire title, or even the entire word. For example, the word "and" could be moved up so that it's half on one pic and half on the other. Then it would need to be half white, to stand out against the blue, and half black, to stand out against the wood. If you add the ship and hammer, that could change the font color needs.
4. Keep in mind that you should limit colors to four color families. Currently you have blues, browns, white and black. That's good. Just don't add any other colors when making changes.

Suggestions for book two : 
1. Add a path or dirt road, or get a picture with a path or dirt road. Something to be that "highway".
2. The words fade into the background again. This cover is greens, browns, yellows and black. Four color families, so that's good. It also means you might be able to use a pale yellow font color to make the words stand out better.

Hope these observations and suggestions help.


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## lvcabbie

I appreciate the comments. The target audience is clearly religious and specifically Catholic and Californians. So, is this version any better?


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## Jack of all trades

The latest picture shows only as a question mark for me. Probably because I am using old technology.

If you are implying with your mention of a religious target audience that the carpenter is Jesus, then you need to know that your cover is not conveying that.


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## lvcabbie

Jack of all trades said:


> The latest picture shows only as a question mark for me. Probably because I am using old technology.
> 
> If you are implying with your mention of a religious target audience that the carpenter is Jesus, then you need to know that your cover is not conveying that.



That's one of the problems I've had with the title since I first came up with it. The carpenter I refer to is a Mexican Indian who finds the Sailor washed up on the shores of Baja California. They become very close friends and the two of them follow Father Serra in exploring California.

Maybe I need to clearly rethink the title.  Any suggestions?


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## lvcabbie

I'm thinking of changing the title to:

The English Sailor and the Mayo Indian Carpenter


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## Jack of all trades

I think The Sailor and the Carpenter is a fine title. I only got confused when you started talking about Catholics.


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## -xXx-

i largely agree with post #5.
i can't see a second cover either.
got rid of 6 lines of title evolution:
Sailor
and
Carpenter
-it's the _THE Carpenter_ that may be misinterpreted by prospective readers.
looks like your efforts are coming along nicely.


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## lvcabbie

Well, I'm seriously into changing the title:



Here's the book blurb:

Indentured as a cabin boy, sailed to the far ends of the earth, tossed overboard in a storm, washed up on an alien shore, and wakened by a savage Majican Indian. Timothy Beadle finds himself under the spell of Father Junipero Serra and sets out to explore the land called California.


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## Jack of all trades

The beach background is nice.

The title change .... what was wrong with the original title? Are the ethnic backgrounds more important than the occupations? I like the original title better.

The blurb ... opens with an awkward sentence. Tell me more about the story in this book and less about the back story.


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## sas

For myself, your proposed title, The Sailor and The Carpenter, is pedestrian. A title should, at least, intrigue, make one wonder. Consider something like this: The Followers 

Your lazy beach scene cover would not inspire me to read it on the beach, either. I'd pass it by and not even read the jacket to see what it's about. If your target audience is the religious, then jar the beach with an unexpected cross jambed into the sand, at an angle; or, a cross washed up on shore like driftwood. It can be photoshopped in.

Keep working on this.


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## lvcabbie

Have to figure out how to add the cross cleanly.

Also think I need to change the color of the text.


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## Jack of all trades

The beach in post #12 is lighter and showed the words more clearly.

Is your target audience religious? 

Keep in mind that Catholics prefer a crucifix over a simple cross. But they might be turned off by a crucifix in the sand.

Trying to cater to a small target audience may be a mistake. The larger the target audience, the more potential sales.

Also, too many cooks spoil the soup. Stay true to what resonates with you.

I'm bowing out now. If you want any further opinion, send a pm.


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## Jack of all trades

Double post caused by technical problem.


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## lvcabbie

A little bit of fiddling around


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## -xXx-

much easier to read the tan text.
if you are pleased with the photo and title,
is there a reason you don't lower
the title text and use a "sand appropriate color"?


perhaps a crucifix necklace washed upon the beach would serve your intent(ion(s))?


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## plawrence

I think the current titles are fine. The publisher's covers make no sense to me. To me, a cover not only has to be attractive (meaning that it attracts attention), it also has to be relevant to the book.

Your replacements don't seem inspiring at all, though. For example, the first one, The Sailor and the Carpenter has neither a sailor nor a carpenter in it. The second cover has no highway. Makes no sense to me.

Take a look at my book cover.  https://www.paullawrencebooks.com/index.php/2017/06/01/hello-world/ The bulk of the story takes place at a lake cabin, so the picture is relevant to the story. The picture is also attractive. That's what I'm trying to describe.

Look at the book covers on this site: http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/the-50-coolest-book-covers Most of them have some relation to the content of the story. I think that's what you're trying to accomplish, but the pictures you've chosen are bland and don't even contain the main characters.

These are online pictures of antique tools that might give you some ideas. One thing I think might be cool is to combine the two - find antique shipmaking tools.  This one, for example, is particularly compelling to me. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/86/10/16/86101631ce7a3086ebcf6281a5281f2e.jpg

Pictures of sextants, or anchors might make sense. If you choose to do that, I would use tools in both images. If you have a boat in the top picture, I would have a sawhorse or something similar in the bottom one.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas.


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## lvcabbie

Here are my latest efforts on new book covers. Comments?​ ​









FYI  the Tau cross is the symbol of and the crucifix carried by Franciscans.​ ​ http://thepoliticsforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=22598&d=1498262298&thumb=1


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## plawrence

The images are broken for me. And I can't see anything on the politics forum without joining, which I have no desire to do.


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## lvcabbie

plawrence said:


> The images are broken for me. And I can't see anything on the politics forum without joining, which I have no desire to do.



I have no idea why that link appeared.

I'm still not completely satisfied with either cover. Better than the publisher's but still not good enough.


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## aj47

broken for me too.


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## Jack of all trades

lvcabbie said:


> Here are my latest efforts on new book covers. Comments?​ ​
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> FYI  the Tau cross is the symbol of and the crucifix carried by Franciscans.​
> ​ http://thepoliticsforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=22598&d=1498262298&thumb=1




The pics aren't showing. No one can give feedback because no one can see them. Try posting them again.


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## Jack of all trades

Third time's the charm?

Nope!

My attempts to fix the situation have been unsuccessful. It's back to the OP.


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## lvcabbie

(Well, here's another try)

After a whole lot of diddling around, I think I've just about reached  the final versions of my book covers (including the blurb for one and am  still working on the second).






He was indentured as a cabin boy, sailed to the far ends of the earth,  treacherously tossed overboard in a storm, washed up on an alien shore,  and wakened by a savage Majican Indian. Timothy Beadle found himself  under the spell of Father Junipero Serra and set out to explore the land  called California.






[I sure hope it works this time!]


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## Jack of all trades

lvcabbie said:


> (Well, here's another try)
> 
> After a whole lot of diddling around, I think I've just about reached  the final versions of my book covers (including the blurb for one and am  still working on the second).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> He was indentured as a cabin boy, sailed to the far ends of the earth,  treacherously tossed overboard in a storm, washed up on an alien shore,  and wakened by a savage Majican Indian. Timothy Beadle found himself  under the spell of Father Junipero Serra and set out to explore the land  called California.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [I sure hope it works this time!]



Didn't work. It's trying to link to an image in the political forum.


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## lvcabbie




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## Jack of all trades

I know I said I was going to bow out, but since I already came back to nudge the OP into posting the new covers, I might as well put in my two cents.

I find the cross in the upper left corner slightly distracting. Maybe if it didn't have the rectangle of white behind it, it wouldn't bother me so much. But then it probably would blend in too much on the book two cover.

Book one has "Kegacy" instead of "Legacy".

The series info is also a bit distracting. Maybe if it was all the way across the top it would be better. Right now I feel like I'm looking all over the place.

Other than that, these covers are alright. Nothing to catch my eye, however. The half sea and half wood grabbed my attention better.

Question: are the locations of the pictures used relevant to the stories? If not, I would drop the location from the cover. It's looking a little busy.


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## lvcabbie

Thank you very much!

The cross is important. It is a Tau cross of the Franciscan Order of which Father Serra and his friars were members.

The pictures are of locations important to the stories. The first is of the beach where the MC was washed ashore from a storm and found by the second MC, the Majican (Mexican) Indian. The second is of a point of land close to Monterrey, the Spanish capitol of California which was the primary goal of the initial expedition to discover California.

Will definitely correct the spelling error.


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## Jack of all trades

You're welcome.

If it were me, I'd put a strip of white across either the top or bottom, and that's where I'd put the cross and series info. I'd also pick different pictures. An empty beach doesn't make me want to read to find out more. And with both pictures being beaches, well, it seems redundant.

Sorry I'm not being more positive. I am thinking of taking another break from this site, so I want to give you all my points today. 

The Sailor and the Carpenter grabbed my interest more than the more descriptive title. The half and half image made me more curious than the beach. I'm not sure how well I represent the general public, but those are my opinions. 

Too bad you aren't getting more feedback from others. That seems par for the course around here.

If I don't see you before you publish, good luck!



Adding -- Oh, thanks for explaining Majican. But that might be a stumbling block for your book (unfamiliar word in the title).


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## jackjohn

The latest image is just like a question mark for me.


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