Cover critique?

I'm writing a thriller and I'm only publishing online on a website. I made the cover myself because where I normally got them from was recently closed. It's a thriller about a male serial killer that the MC falls for. It's a short story with paranormal bits and some minor romance.

 

Doesn't look like a thriller to me. The peaceful woods and the lantern make it look more like some sort of literary finding-yourself or coming-of-age story.

 

It looks like a slice of life about a man who's gonna find joy in his life. My suggestion: get a cover designer. Your cover is the first thing a reader will see and will determine whether they even read the blurb to find out that much about the book. It's worth spending money to getting it right.

 

I wanted it to look innocent, warm, and inviting like how the story begins.

(Because it starts off like a typical moving home kinda story with a sweet neighbor and new beginnings. Then it turns into a slightly paranormal thriller with a serial killer.)

 

Sadly, I'm only 21 and can't work at the moment. And this book is just for an online website for free books. I won't be making money off of it. It's going to be surrounded by thousands of other books made by young adults, teens, and elders.

 

Have to agree with the others, it doesn't look like it's genre, which will attract the wrong readers and turn away the right readers.

 

I suggest browse covers by books that've been published in your genre and pay special attention to the themes, the layout, and the typesetting they use. You don't need to spend lots of money on it (pre-made covers are not expensive, might even do it yourself), but the elements need to point your readers to the type of story they'll be getting when they buy your book.

 

I did look. They were all blue/gray toned dark scenes of houses and people with knives. Or couples. If I go with the same look literally nobody will be able to pick it out of a crowd. Isn't that worse than having it look too welcoming for a thriller?

 

You need to find your own way. I know that's not particularly helpful, but think about the theme of your story and particular scenes that stand out in your mind. The turning points.

What makes them stand out? What symbolises the theme?

 

You need a cover that matches the genre style because it tells potential readers what your book is. It's advertising more than art. It can still be unique and stick out though. There's this recent thriller that came out who's cover really attracted me even if I don't read that genre all that often. The Last Resort by Susi Holiday. It still has the big house, the woods, the dark colors. But the red is so bold! And the typography is very well done.

 

It's lovely.

 

No, it isn't worse. Because guess who's going to download your book? If you attract the wrong readers who are expecting something your book will not deliver, you will end up with horrid reviews. Imagine a romance reader cozying up to your book looking forward to a love story and end up with a serial killer. You could be the best writer in the world and still probably get a 1 star review for that lol. It's about managing expectations. Sell your book to the right readers.

That it's free is no excuse to release a book with a poorly chosen cover. Your published books make up your "CV", so to speak. In the future should you decide you want to publish seriously, people will - fingers crossed, hopefully - look you up. They will then see the older, poorer work you've released that no longer reflect your skill level and make snap judgments about your writing quality. Agents, should you decide to go traditional, will look you up.

Try out Canva. I've made some pretty decent stuff on it. Templates are either free or only $1. Here's what I made on Canva - it's just a snippet of my novel, not a book cover:



And here's a "teaser" I made for fun. It was literally a background and some font I spent 15min choosing.

Be realistic about your skill set - go simple if you must. There's nothing wrong with copying what works. But unless you have the necessary skills, I wouldn't break from the mould. Your cover simply isn't the place to buck the trend because it is a marketing tool - it's not supposed to be artistic. It is supposed to communicate one simple thing: What sort of product is this and why do I need it?

 

What if I change up the colors? I don't usually make my own covers. I'm not good at it but I've lost where I got them at normally.

 

This was the previous cover that I had made for me.

 

The few issues I had with it were
- The house is like a mansion which just isn't what I wanted but it's what I got.
- The red title looks good in big images but as a thumbnail, you can't read it at all.

 

NOTE: I posted this before seeing the last two posts, so I am referring to image in the OP

it looks like the cover of young adult magic story with an innocent appeal. I like the innocent appeal, you manage to get that across well. But I would imagine that starting a story with a cover that doesn't give off the thriller vibe of a thriller, least about a serial killer is something that might work against your story . . . . But it is your story and site, so if you want to experiment to see what happens, then I say try, but be warned you are misleading the reader and that may backlash.

Perhaps add a weapon, a corpse, a detail somewhere in the image to get the thought that it is a thriller . . . you could try also hide a message in the title or words on the cover?

 

I wouldn't worry about the house size being wrong but I do think the font should be brighter. Can't you ask the designer to make the font pop more? It would be a trivial thing to change

 

I didn't pay for it. It was a trade for a few comments on her story. I don't pay for anything. I post to online book sites as a hobby bc I'm not ready for publishing. Sites like Wattpad and Inkitt and other free story sharing sites. And for the most part the people are minor learning designers or also hobbyists. They probably don't know anything about genre font. They just ask what you want, what mood it should give off, and what colors.

 

it doesnt have to be "dark and creepy" if you dont want it to be, but warmer colors and the font you used in the initial image does give it a fluffy romance type of feel.

Alyssa Cole's thriller doesnt have the darker tones or shadows to convey that its a thriller, but it does have a cooler color tone.

Spoiler: other colors

If you are married to the idea of the first one, perhaps change the tint to a cool tone (doesnt have to be grey or black) and definitely change the font. the AJ Rivers example i gave, the cover without the text would have been a pleasant cabin. if the text had been more "curly" and rounded, it would have given it a more romance-y feel. So text choice is important.
So is symbolism. The way you have your text with "Hands" as the focal point, i didnt really notice the rest of the title (especially "..of a House"). There are ways to emphasize the importance of "hands" without diminishing the rest of your title. The guy in the cover is holding a lantern (already a good start). If you tint the picture darker but adjust the color around the lantern (exaggerate its light and shadows a bit), it draws the viewers eyes down to his hands. So the viewer automatically emphasized "hands" in the title. Draw the eye to where you want it to go.
(like in Alyssa Cole's cover, the emphasis is on the window with the light on, but you also notice the window that looks like someone is peeping out of it; also how in Sagers, "Dark" is illuminated by the chandelier and "Home" is in the shadows.)

Your second cover looks like all the other horror/thrillers out there. its very Shirly Jackson and the font still isn't working for it either. If you are married to the idea of a house as the main point, I'd probably pick a house that is in daylight and play with the lighting and tints (and stay away from curly/rounded font, lol!)

 

I think it’s understandable that you don’t want to pay for a design on a free book. I wouldn’t either. Not worth the investment. But I think you wanted honest feedback about the cover.

I think you just need to weigh your options and make a decision.