Torn between two cover designs - your input?

[Ralph Rotten]

I don't like any of the 3.
The first one, with the glass...I could see what you were trying to do, but the fonts were too small and thin, and would be illegible when the image is thumbnailed on Amazon. I liked the glass and thought you needed more of it, but the fonts needed some beefing up.

The 2nd and 3rd covers were...less good.

Try shopping for some professional clipart at canstockphoto.com. You can buy a hi-rez image for $7 and use it for up to 50,000 copies. You can also buy custom fonts that will stand out much more than those stock fonts you are using. Also, don't be afraid to use a different font for the title and author name. They do not have to be the same.

When you are all done, test your cover by thumbnailing it to see how it will look on Amazon. Lots of cover designs fall apart during this test.

[bdcharles]

Yeah the new glass one is not too bad, for me. Is the actual blue colour of the dot significant? I assume the genre is crime or thriller.

Ralph R makes an interesting point about the font though. I see some neat effects acheived by mixing up fonts. In my dabblings in such things, I understand that mixing fonts is a well-established design decision.

[Eicca]

Tweaked the grid font:

(Still contemplating a shadowed shape of significance I could put in the background)

[Periander]

Yeah, the broken glass looked a little gimmicky to me. I like the sleek clean look of the cover you just posted again with some slight revisions. I dunno...the "O" in "point" looks kinda cool. I also like the soft glow of the letters against the dark blue background.

I can definitely see readers madly scrambling to grab a pen and notepad, assuming that the letters in the background are concealing a secret code that will throw a whole new light on the contents of the entire book!

[Eicca]

I'm gonna revive this thread if y'all don't mind... I had a burst of inspiration for a different design that I feel is pretty awesome. Your input would again be greatly appreciated.

[Joker]

I'm gonna revive this thread if y'all don't mind... I had a burst of inspiration for a different design that I feel is pretty awesome. Your input would again be greatly appreciated.

Visually it's good, but I couldn't tell you what the story was about.

[indianroads]

Visually it's good, but I couldn't tell you what the story was about.

You know, it might help us give better input if you were to include your back-cover blurb / product description.

[Eicca]

You know, it might help us give better input if you were to include your back-cover blurb / product description.

Still working on a blurb, but this is a realistic-fiction action-thriller novel. Jack Ryan type stuff.

[indianroads]

Still working on a blurb, but this is a realistic-fiction action-thriller novel. Jack Ryan type stuff.

I've had very good results using a professional cover designer - yes, it's a bit expensive but IMO worth it (just as using a professional editor is). The cover is the first thing a potential reader sees, if it's intriguing they'll look at the blurb, then they might read the first few pages. The whole thing is like a funnel that draws the reader toward a purchase.

I found my guy via a website called Reedsy - they have lists of editors, cover designers, marketing people, even website designers - and all show samples of their work. I'm not promoting Reedsy - it's just the one I use, and there are many similar sites like it out there.

[Taylor]

Visually it's good, but I couldn't tell you what the story was about.

Maybe not, but it appeals to me. I would definitely pick up this book and read the synopsis. The feeling I get from it, is that it is a story about something technical, or scientific. If that is the case, then you have appealed to your target market.

What is the impression you are trying to invoke?