Cover critique?

Well you’re talking about self publishing and free as if they are always the same thing.

yeah, if you’re selling the story, hire a damn designer.

And I think it’s a little absurd to equate bad cover art with bad story telling, when we’re talking about a story.

 

Zero budget sounds fine to me in this case, not that OP needs permission. They can always update the cover down the line, when that makes more sense them. For instance, they decide to publish it on Amazon. Then they could hire an editor for the content and buy a professional cover. Having it previously on wattpad with a homemade cover isn't going to hurt their brand when they move to selling their work in my opinion. Heck, I just saw someone move from wattpad to Amazon with a story and it's done very well. They had to get it edited more... no idea about the cover but the people buying it on Amazon are not the same crowd on wattpad (except for her super fans) and therefore it matters to none of them what it looked like before.

 

A simple fix would be to make the lantern light bright red.

 

Look, that's all fine and dandy if I was publishing this seriously BUT I AM NOT. I DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY FOR A FREE PROJECT TO BLOW 50 DOLLARS ON A COVER FOR SOMETHING THAT WILL NOT EARN IT BACK. This is for a hobby style of writing. I AM LOOKING FOR DESIGN FEEDBACK NOT BEING TOLD I HAVE TO SPEND MONEY FOR IT TO MATTER. THAT IS NOT THE KIND OF FEEDBACK I, AS A HOBBY WRITER WHO IS JUST WRITING TO SEE IF IT IS SOMETHING I WANT TO PERSUE, IS LOOKING FOR. THANK YOU. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO KEEP SAYING IT.


Excuse the cap font but it seems that you don't understand that I am not trying to do this on the level that you are. I am only 21, doing this as a hobby, not looking for money, and will not make money off of this book. I'm looking for help like J.T. and montecarlo are talking about. If I was putting this on an ebook online to sell I would probably look for a professional. I am just a Wattpader looking for a new place to get help since they closed down their forums and I'm not professional like the majority of everyone here.

 

Thank you, yes, exactly.

 

I can mess around on photoshop with the colors a bit. I only made it on canva in a few minutes. I'm getting a lot of critiques saying I need more of a wicked vibe coming over it. I was thinking more of a "Extremely wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" warm tone. But I also get that it is more crime/drama and minor thriller.

 

Coworkers and I got a good laugh in about this one book cover..... it is literally the the picture of the author's hands (i assume) holding the book

we were making assumptions like "did printing just make an error?"..... "did the author take a picture of the book but that picture went to print instead of the actual cover?"...... "is he trying to make a point?"

(i cant for the life of me remember the title, but we ended up throwing it away. it had a 0 circulation rate)

 

I'm thinking people will wonder, "Why is that guy carrying a red-light lantern? That's not normal." They can click on it to learn a little more. Then read it to get the full answer.

 

I would say in the very least have the Title font changed to
reflect the sinister nature of the story. Kinda like a contrast
to the mellow imagery of the picture.

Cause as it is, it looks like a lonely guy in the woods waiting
to meetup with the love interest to go on a hike date through
the woods, with the font only adding to the credibility that the
story is much tamer than you describe it to be.

 

I like the woods better as subject because from my point of view it can give more easily more to the story than the picture of a house. I mean that the picture of a house needs more careful crafting to give the meaning you want, and so needs more thought and skills too. Between the cover of The Hands On The House and No One Is Watching, I like the first one the most because it is more like a painting and so the mood is better. Sorry but the cover of No One Is Watching is just doesn't work for me.

 

First cover doesn't read thriller looks self help or romance and I didn't get why he was carrying a lantern when it was so bright out. Second the mansion was fine but the font - those soft curves don't read spooky or thriller. I would do big bold blocky lettering. Maybe something with a shadow or an artwork with a shadow to emphasis the mc's paranoia.

I do my own covers for self publishing because I'm cheap and I write under a pseudonym so anyone that wants to mock my humble beginnings is free to do so I don't care. They don't look as bad as some of the covers I've seen on actual published stuff.
I've been tempted to try fivver for some artwork but I haven't yet.

 

Sometimes you just have to think, if you've put so much time into something, what's a bit of money or delving into bettering your Photoshop skills on top of that? I'm not much older than you, but I'm a big believer in putting everything you have into your dream/creative vision. I don't mean to fuel the fire here, but it's food for thought. Write a manifesto of what you're putting forward with your novel and try and integrate all of its interesting points into imagery ambiguous, different and eye-catching.

If this is just a hobby to you, then the cover art and feedback shouldn't matter to you all that much.

 

Correct. I don't really have a right to be offering advice in matters like this...I just do my own thing. - I usually stay away from this sub. The time will come when I have questions...

 

my understanding of what covers are for is to place a specific piece of fiction into the appropriate age category/genre and offer a sense of what the story will be about, so that when readers look at the cover they know the story contains the elements they will be expecting to find while reading it. You don't want to pick a reading thinking it is an innocent magic fantasy only to find half-way through someone gets killed for instance, I mean that is another kind of book . . . . I think this is what covers are for, not so much an artistic/creative outlet. I think this is what a publisher would do.

With that said, if you feel like trying I don't think there is anything wrong with trying something different, but the cover has to let the reader know it is a thriller in a stronger way (it has to scream thriller) than it is doing now. This, instead, is my personal opinion.

 

someone who expects to be out all night? or going somewhere dark, like in a tunnel or natural cave? I wasn't particularly caught up by that detail.

 

I took the image to suggest what will happen, so the detail does that, even if in real life it would be inconvenient. However inconvenient or unlikely, there are ways to explain it--it can also be that the lamp cannot be turned on again once it is off, or the MC doesn't have matches to turn it on at a later time. That detail seems irrelevant to me. But that is my personal thinking and preference, perhaps others are annoyed by it as well. Now I am curious.