Support for Indie Authors discussion

I've made so many different book covers for a short story thriller I recently completed . Everything I made was SUPER bland and wasn't very appealing. Although my final cover is a bit dull it really stands out to me, I just like it! It's nothing fancy, nor is it anything to brag about.
So with out further ado, here it is!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzSh...

Like I said, it's nothing to brag about. Any comments are appreciated and I would love to hear what you think of it. I've only shown this cover to a couple of people and they both said it made them feel uneasy. I like that it made them feel like this (not because I'm creepy or anything ha-ha) and that they were totally upfront with their opinion. Thanks for viewing!

It's requesting permission to see it, Ripley.

Whoops! How embarrassing! If that link still doesn't work, here's another.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzSh...

I like it! I don't get an uneasy vibe, but it seems a little quirky spooky, if that makes any sense.

Oh intriguing! It would certainly make me pick up the book and check what it's about. :)

Simple yet effective.

Wow, I like the cover! It has a sort of Donnie Darko feel to it. Very cool!

Thank you Christina, G.G., Joe, and Heidi!
Now that you mention it, Heidi, I am getting a Donnie Darko vibe by it!
Thanks for the kind words! Just when I thought I had to redo the cover again!

The image is pretty cool/creepy :) If it was me, I might play with the title font to get it to match the mood of the book.

Marie wrote: "The image is pretty cool/creepy :) If it was me, I might play with the title font to get it to match the mood of the book."

Yes, that was my immediate thought too. Good image, but the font lets it down overall. Too standard and plain.

I can't advise much because fonts are one of my real weak areas, but I just recently saw an article by a cover designer and one of the examples was Jurassic Park. That cover has some stylistic similarities - very simple black & white graphic - and the font was also simple but also not something you'd see inside the book. That's the best way I can explain my gut feeling - needs to be a title font, not a text font. You might also try experimenting with a few colors, e.g. red or gold.

What's the story about?

Is it a classic romance? If so the cover may not work... ;)

Ian wrote: "Marie wrote: "The image is pretty cool/creepy :) If it was me, I might play with the title font to get it to match the mood of the book."

Yes, that was my immediate thought too. Good image, but th..."

Was thinking the same. The font works for the Author's name, but it's a little dull for the title. Otherwise, that is one cool image.

I agree with Christina, it's quirky spooky. It also comes of as sort of animated. I would also agree the font needs to stand out more and perhaps tie along and connect to the creepy effect your giving off with the image.

I like the black and white. If you're doing your own cover, it's a good idea to stay simple - make a statement out of a necessity, as it were. And black and white never goes out of style!

Consider swapping the title and author name to capitals, and increasing the size and centre-justifying the author name.

I see a lot of self-published novels with the author's name in tiny font in the bottom right-hand corner (as if it's trying to hide), whereas traditionally published novels have the author's name in big letters, centre-justified. Is there some kind of union rule that you're only allowed to use the middle if you've got a publishing contract?

I like it! It dares the reader to explore, read the blurb, look inside; dark humor awaits. :-)

Not my genre, but my adult children would like it. Reminds me of some Tim Burton films.

Martin wrote: "What's the story about?

Is it a classic romance? If so the cover may not work... ;)"

It's a thriller about a cartoon animator who begins to hear a faint voice inside his head. At first he brushes it off thinking that he's stressed or tired. Only after that the voice gets louder and even refers to the main character by his real name.
Although I think it would have been a little more interesting if I had made it a classic romance instead :)

T. K. Elliott wrote: "I see a lot of self-published novels with the author's name in tiny font in the bottom right-hand corner (as if it's trying to hide), whereas traditionally published novels have the author's name in big letters, centre-justified. Is there some kind of union rule that you're only allowed to use the middle if you've got a publishing contract?"

You'll notice that there is no set rule as to where an author's name should be, either with trads or indies. But yes, those centered, top half the cover names are well established brands like Danielle Steele or Stephen King. The idea is that you need to see the name from across the grocery store.

I like it. It's creepy. I also agree with what was said earlier about the font not matching the style. Here are some free font sites where you might be able to find something more interesting than what's installed on your computer. Make sure to pay attention to the top right corner of each font where it lists whether it's completely free, free for personal use, etc. If you don't know how to install fonts, visit the FAQ page for the first site below here http://www.1001freefonts.com/faq.php

http://www.1001freefonts.com/
http://www.dafont.com/

I love the cover image! It definitely gives off an unsettling vibe, which I think is perfect based on your description of the story. However, as others have said, the font doesn't really seem suitable. Fonts are definitely not my strong suit so I'll just add another font resource to Shannon's list if you're looking for some good free for commercial use fonts: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/

Thanks for providing those font sites! I appreciate all the support and helpful input given so far! I've been playing around with different cover designs and even ordered a few proof copies to see what it would look like in person.
I have to agree that the font I used originally was a bit dull and didn't fit well with the cover image and story.
Here's my most recent design after the font change.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzSh...


I'd like to make a few more after looking deeper into those sites!

Hmm... The new font might be a bit *too* whimsical. Maybe try to find a medium between sinister and cartoonish, like your image. I'll second font squirrel as a fantastic resource. The licensing information is easy to find and read.

I agree with Christina. Besides, your title went from being easy to see (big letters) to harder to see (small letters).

I like it! Your story sounds interesting too :)

That really changed the feel ... It's more, Mr. Rogers' evil twin took over the Neighborhood. Could be more scary, or less, depending. :-)

I like the cover, especially with the story you have written. I agree with the font change. A few suggestions, if you have these fonts, would be: Chiller (which I believe the artist used on my cover, but enlarged the font size because Chiller is rather small). Then two other similar ones would be Viner Hand ITC, which is rather creepy, and Bradley Hand ITC. I hope this helps, and I wish you well.

I think the font's still not right and I find it's a bit too close to the image now.

M.L. wrote: "That really changed the feel ... It's more, Mr. Rogers' evil twin took over the Neighborhood. Could be more scary, or less, depending. :-)"

That was the best description of anything I've ever heard! Ha-ha but really, thank you for your input :)

Marie wrote: "I like it! Your story sounds interesting too :)"

Thank you!

Thanks again for all the advice, everyone! You've all been a big help, I really appreciate it!

Just wanted to share a reason that you will want big giant letters for title and author...I have just seen my new ebook for the first time on my samsung galaxy. At the bottom of the screen, it shows "recommendations" and such, and I realized how small the covers appear for ebook readers who are browsing. This means that if your title is small on your cover, it might be very difficult to see what the book is called when reading from a tablet or mobile device, which may lead to less interest in clicking on it. Hope this helps :).

Marie wrote: "Just wanted to share a reason that you will want big giant letters for title and author...I have just seen my new ebook for the first time on my samsung galaxy. At the bottom of the screen, it show..."

I didn't even think of that! I've played around with the size and font of the title for the past few days and everything has become much bigger. Thank you! :)

I've had a look at both your font images and I think it still not working right. I think Fontsquirrel is about the best site for fonts as you can specify that you want a Display font, which is essential for a book cover. If you've not tried it, you can do a test run of your title on the website, which helps a lot. Also, have a look at Cover Design Studio which has excellent tips on how the layout should work.
http://www.coverdesignstudio.com/copy...
Good spooky image though! It just needs big powerful text.