Hello readers!
I’ve been tinkering in photoshop instead of writing. I put together a new concept for the Curse Breaker Saga’s covers. Why did I do this? Because I’ve done a lot of research on covers and I want mine to stand out. I love the current cover, but I’m not certain it’s doing the book justice, and my marketing plan has been undergoing a lot of revisions as I learn more each day. Before I fine-tune (drive myself nuts by measuring every pixel)–what do you think?
So here’s my really, really rough idea:
Thank you! I hope to see you in the comments.
You can still pick up a copy of Curse Breaker: Enchanted for $0.99 on Amazon here. It’s on sale until 12 am PST on 11/20/16. If you’re on the other side of the pond, (in the UK) Curse Breaker: Enchanted will be on sale for 0.99 for you from midnight GMT on 12/5 until midnight GMT on 12/12. No worries, I’ll remind you. Yes, I’ll make you a special short link. I’ve got you covered, literally. 😉
Melinda, I’m not a cover designer but I do know what attracts me to a book. I like the picture you have in the background of the new one. The image of his son, highlights how important Sarn’s journey is, so he can keep his son safe. I do like the eyes at the top of the page actually and your name down at the bottom. And I like how in the original the title Curse Breaker and then Enchanted are split so the one is on the top and one on the bottom. Most of all, I think the bigger bolder font is better. I like cursive and more delicate writing, but the bolder font better represents your story and the character of Sarn. Sorry this is late to reply but hope it helps.
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Thank you Mandy! A certain character of mine put up a blog post with the latest drafts of the covers. if you have a moment, I’d love to hear what you think of them:
https://melindakucsera.com/2016/11/21/blog-takeover-day-5/
They’re at the bottom of the post.
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Yes forsure!
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Thank you again! You are an absolute star!
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😊(blushing). Thank you 🙂
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You’re welcome 🙂
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If I had to choose between the original cover and this new one, I would actually go with the original because I feel like there’s too much happening in this cover and the three images don’t flow very seamlessly together, versus the original cover which was very striking to me. I love the color scheme.
The image that is really nagging at me is the green Sarn you added next to the little boy. That Sarn looks very, for lack of a better word right now, fake and unpolished, like a mannequin almost.
My favorite thing about the original cover, just to share, were the green bubbles thing. That and the color scheme is what drew my eyes at first. I don’t know if this comment helps at all since I didn’t give any suggestions on improving this cover 😦 I hope you can find it useful lol.
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Thank you! I LOVE my original cover. It looks so awesome in print. I don’t want to change it but I’ve been looking at it minimized on amazon listing pages and next to other books, it fades into the background. You’re right about it being crowded and the face looking off. I changed a setting I think when I saved the last version and it over sharpened the picture. I’m working on less crowded version. I love the green eyes. I don’t want to part with them but when they are minimized, they are hard to see. I don’t know what to do. I love the cover. Any and all thoughts are welcome!
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Ahh, I can see how the eyes disappear when the image is minimized. One thing you should keep in mind though is some of those authors splurge for a high quality and professional cover artist. It’s hard to compete with someone who has more resources, time, and experience.
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Some do spend a lot of money on covers but I know some authors who don’t and they do quite well. Besides, I’ve worked with, for and under many designers in my professional career. I’ve done layout, photo retouching and design before. I can do this.
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Oh wow! I had no idea you had that kind of experience. I have the utmost faith in you Melinda 🙂 ❤
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Thank you 🙂 I know I can do this. I just have to keep fiddling until it looks right.
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oh. i am not really good in art (facepalm) but i think i prefer the first one (the original one) honey. 🙂 ❤
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Me too! I have a poster size version on my wall and it looks awesome in print 🙂 But when minimized to an itty bitty rectangle on Amazon, it loses its punch. I don’t know what to do. Will changing the cover to be more striking when that tiny help it to sell? I just don’t know. This is all new to me.
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oh…. i don’t know too. 😦 😦 😦
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I’ll figure something out. I always do!
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yeah!! you are bright woman! brighter than me! 😀
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We’re all bright in our own way. You’re brighter than I about somethings too
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yea. we are unique in different aspects. 😀 ❤
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Yes we are and that’s makes us great!
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yea! 😀 😀 😀
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🙂
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Oooh cool!
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Thank you. I’m still tinkering with it. Hoping to release the final version by Friday.
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It’s fun to tinker in photoshop. 😊
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Oh God yes. I love photoshop. Best job i ever had was photo retouching. 8 hours of photoshop. 😊
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That sounds like fun!
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It was 🙂
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Actually, I like it very much…..Hugs! ❤
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Thank you. I’m still tinkering with it, studying cover designs on Amazon. Hoping to finish it by Friday
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Is it possible to underlay the green eyes under the word enchanted and bring the two lines of text closer together? Not convinced it’s an improvement but it’s something I’d do to see if it works.
For some reason (and I’m not sure why) I ‘d like to see the hand and face lower than the green head, again not sure if it’s an improvement but it’s something I’d play with if I was playing with the image.
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Thank you for your comment! You’re right about closing up the title text. I’m working on a couple other versions trying it with all caps, title at top, title at bottom, images clustered together etc. I’ll post another version when it’s ready. I’m going to work on it tonight
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Welcome 🙂 As I say it may not work so don’t put all your faith in it but it’s definitely something I would try with the raw image just to see what it looks like.
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I have 4 variations in mind to try. One of them will look right on an amazon on a listing page
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After 25 years of graphic design I know what your going through and it never changes. No matter how good something looks today I can still find something wrong with it tomorrow.
20 years ago I designed 3 logos for 3 different businesses, they are all still in use today and each time I look at them still to this day I see things I could have done better. Whether it would have changed things I don’t know but it’s just those nagging little things that sit in the mind.
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Yes exactly! I just want my book to stand out from the crowd and is not right now.
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