Cover critique, please -- 6 covers to choose from!

[tkkenyon]

Okay, so I've been making covers lately instead of writing. Procrastination is fun! (But not lucrative.)

Please ignore the white boxes around the covers. I'll trim those off in the final draft. Ditto the lines through the viruses. I'll actually buy the stock photo when I decide which one to use.



The tramp stamp on the girl in #4 is a biohaz symbol.

What do you guys think? #4? #5?

Or bag it all and get a pro?

So anyway, my dearest strangers, which one do you like?

(It's a crime novel/bio thriller. One of the VP characters is a 25 yo female virologist who would terrify sexually insecure men.)

TK Kenyon

[Millard]

I don't like 3, 4 and 6 at all, but I have an aversion to stock photos that don't seem connected to the actual book. #2 is great, though, barring the colour of the font for the title. That's the one that immediately jumps out as the best, and most eye-catching.

[amykwrites]

I agree with Millard. I don't like the tramp stamp pic. TWO is my favorite. It looks professional. I wouldn't have thought otherwise. The ones where you used a virus pic look totally professional.

[Deanna Chase]

I agree. Hate the tramp stamp, love #2. Though I'm not sure about the title color.

[ShayneHellerman]

Here's another vote for both #2, and for changing the color of the title font.

[Patrick Fox]

Yep, number 2. I think number 6 could work if you introduced some colour in the title, and maybe made the tattoo a dark red.

[acellis]

I'd say 1 or 2.

[Doomed Muse]

I really like #6, but I agree that it needs some color. Making the tattoo red would help, and giving some color/texture to the title.

[JodyWallace]

Any of the virus pics look fine to me, and the orange font in #2 is a bit harder to read.

[Feenix]

Hey there!

I'd say "no" to tramp stamp.

I really like #2! Great background image!

Dave King

[amiblackwelder]

Okay, so I've been making covers lately instead of writing. Procrastination is fun! (But not lucrative.)

Please ignore the white boxes around the covers. I'll trim those off in the final draft. Ditto the lines through the viruses. I'll actually buy the stock photo when I decide which one to use.



The tramp stamp on the girl in #4 is a biohaz symbol.

What do you guys think? #4? #5?

Or bag it all and get a pro?

So anyway, my dearest strangers, which one do you like?

(It's a crime novel/bio thriller. One of the VP characters is a 25 yo female virologist who would terrify sexually insecure men.)

TK Kenyon

I like the lady with a mask over her face.

[Kimberly Spencer]

Another vote for the lady with the mask.

[momilp]

Second from the left.

[Chrystalla]

Love #4. 

[S.A. Mulraney]

While #6 certainly is eye-catching, I'm not sure it sends the right message. 

I like #1, but I'm not sold on the font for "RABID". It says digital to me, not organic.

[emilyward]

I like #3 with the lady. Only thing is the D kind of blends in with her hair, might need to lighten it up.

#2 could work with a different font and color. The orange sticks out and I don't think in a good way. Also agree with the person who said it looks too digital.

[mickip]

tk I have always connected 'Rabid' to animals i.e rabies, foaming at the mouth scenario which isn't the case with your novel. But if you look up the word rabid, it is violent, raging, furious or mad. I honestly don't think any of your covers depict this. No offense meant just my two cents worth.  

[DDark]

The two women in B&W - while a great image - portray something other than crime thriller.  
UNLESS, it is something a little more than a crime/bio thriller. But nothing in those images shows anything sciency. (unless the tramp stamp is a biohazard symbol, if so that's pretty cool. Make it glow! lol)

I like #1 over #5 because rabid says to me contagious, and I like seeing more than one single image. Plus, it looks like a kooshball.  If you're going to use the woman, it's a nice effect to put the science into the font. Maybe I'm just not understanding the almost smiling expression?

I guess it's difficult because covers for me are not only about being eyecatching, but I like them to really portray the essence of the book or character. Without knowing more details of your story, not sure I can offer insight other than the visual opinion.

You have a lot of nice ideas to start from and work with - that's always a good thing to have is options!
My opinion may mean very little, since I do not write or sell this genre. The folks in this genre can probably offer more insight as to what attracts their readers.

[DebBennett]

2 without a doubt. The tramp stamps says sex, not thriller.

[T.L. Haddix]

#2, with a change of font color.

[Randirogue]

I like different parts of them for different reasons, but none of them completely on their own.

I like the tramp stamp because it evokes many central themes all at once: sexual prowess, violent/volatile intent, biohazard implications, etc. However, I wish she were in color and that the biohazard tattoo was much, much more prevalent and easy to recognize in a thumbnail.

I like the virus being used in the title image on #3 (I think), the one with the woman wearing the surgical mask. While the image of the woman with the mask is striking, it doesn't evoke the sense of sexual prowess, of dastardly intent, of purposeful infection that you described.  That cover would make me think that it was one of those disaster type stories, one where a virus was threatening the population at large and the woman on the cover was determined (and excited) to cure it. While I like the image of the virus as the fill (or "coloring") of the title, it was neither easy to catch on to that at first glance nor did it help make the title easy to read at a glance.

I like the images of the viruses themselves, but alone they also do not, to me, work towards the overall impression of the book that you described.  These images alone make me think of a non-fiction book or purely a science-fiction or medical mystery.  While these are elements you described, their initial slant incorporate a different variety of reader, and in potentially misleading the reader straight off, you may turn off readers that would be most attracted to it and delighted by it.

I wonder if there was a way you could incorporate these elements more seamlessly together for a better whole.

Perhaps, you could use one of the full page virus images (or colorful elements from both) as background (and partial foreground).  Perhaps, you could pull the tattooed woman out of her image and insert her into the viruses so that it would appear as though she were meandering the maze of the virus (better if she could be touching/stroking) one of them.  Leaving her grayscale amidst the colorful virus would hint that her manipulation of the virus, her plying of it, was part of her goal, her intent, what drove her, what made her come alive - and add a bit of a creepy factor too (but not too much).  I would like to see the tattoo enhanced for viewability - maybe even color it to the vibrant yellow, outlined in black for visibility - which, against her in grayscale, would reinforce her dangerous nature and intent.  Then bold, blocky, large (filling the entire width of the cover), simply colored (white, stark against the vibrant colors of the viruses and her in grayscale), easy-to-read lettering for the title.  And finally, slight smaller, less blocky, perhaps white or pastel blue or green (similar to highlights in the virus, but not precisely the same), but still easy-to-read font for the author.

Now, I am no expert.  My idea may be impossible to make work well and could be unattractive or too busy if accomplished, but that is what came to mnd when I looked over all your options in conjunction with your description.  Basically, it is what I would try to do if I had your story to work with and those options within my grasp. It's what I think would grab my attention in a meaningful and appropriate and even symbolic way should I have come across it on Amazon or B&N (etc.).

I hope that helps you.  Forgive me if it was too presumptuous.

[HeidiHall]

I like #3 with the mask best. Although, while not helpful to you, I really like all of them (even the tattoo ones!). I definitely don't think you need to pay for outsourcing... you're doing GREAT!!!

[John Twipnook]

I think number 6 could work if you introduced some colour in the title, and maybe made the tattoo a dark red.

Ditto, except: isn't biohazard color yellow?

[amiblackwelder]

Another vote for the lady with the mask.

I love supporting indies, in fact I have more indie books then big house pub books, and at 99 cents and with great covers I could't resist. I bought 1 and 2 of your spell series and hope to enjoy soon!

[psychotick]

Hi,

I'm going to stand out from the rest a little bit. I like number six. I'm not sure it sends the message you want to about the book, but it works for me. The only thing I would say is that it does need some colour. I thought about suggesting using a full colour photo, but then someone mentioned just making the tattoo coloured, and that could work even better as it would draw the eye from the female form directly to the symbol.

With one and two, I think they do get the message out that the book has something to do with cells and viruses, but not that it's a thriller. They look to me almost like some of my old microbiology textbooks.

As for the woman in the mask, I'm in two minds about that. She's pretty and the mask says medical, but nothing in the image speaks to me about either the book being a thriller or involving viruses.

Hope that helps, Greg.