One last cover appraisal

[StephenJSweeney]

Which of these two covers do you prefer?

http://www.battleforthesolarsystem.com/images/covers/knights-frontcover01.png

http://www.battleforthesolarsystem.com/images/covers/knights-frontcover02.png

[Mumut]

I prefer the lower one. It has depth.

[Bmwhtly]

I'd go for the black one.

I like it's minimalism. Almost like it's not trying too hard.


But bear in mind that I'm not qualified to make decisions.

[C.M. Daniels]

The blue one is far more appealing to the eye.

[StephenJSweeney]

Hmmmmm, it's still a split... I was going to go with the black one, but there's still part of me that thinks I should go for the blue one... Grrrr...

[sunandshadow]

How about the black one but with silver/white stars (like the blue one desaturated)

[TPCSWR]

I normally love simplicity in cover art but I'm going to go the second one in this case.

[Troo]

I'm all for the black one :)

[StephenJSweeney]

Hmmmmmmmm, may have to go with the second one, even though I'd almost set the first in stone.

My thinking was that the black one looks a lot more mysterious and therefore might catch someone's eye because it's not giving a lot away. Aw, man... this is a hard decision to make... :(

[Stormhawk]

I already told you my opinion :P But I still like the blue one.

[StephenJSweeney]

Thanks, Stormhawk :)

I just thought I'd run it past a few more people and see what happens ;)

[KTC]

I prefer the second one. I'm all for minimalism... but not in a book cover. I want it to snap out at me from the shelf. Minimalism doesn't grab me much in book covers. The second one would attract me more.

[callalily61]

The blue one.

[StephenJSweeney]

I prefer the second one. I'm all for minimalism... but not in a book cover. I want it to snap out at me from the shelf. Minimalism doesn't grab me much in book covers. The second one would attract me more.

My own feelings pretty much echo yours. I think people like the black one because, as you said, it's minimal, but the blue one is the more attention grabbing one.

Guess it's the blue one then.

[Toothpaste]

I feel like the black one might be a werewolf story you know? The focus is all on "the moon", feels like there is something very important about the moon, that could have more to do with the paranormal than Sci Fi. If that makes sense.

So yes, add my vote to the blue one!

[StephenJSweeney]

hehehe :)

It's not meant to be the moon. It's a planet called Arlos; a lonely, dull, grey looking place, and where the White Knights uncover some terrible truths... :)

So, maybe I should go for the blue one so that people don't associate Solar System with the picture of the moon! ;)

[Jeremy]

The blue one definitely! I love it.

[badducky]

Instead of posting this up on Lulu and DiY, did you ever consider trying the traditional route and seeking agents and editors and etc?

[Esopha]

Blue. Definitely. The black one looks too flat.

[StephenJSweeney]

Instead of posting this up on Lulu and DiY, did you ever consider trying the traditional route and seeking agents and editors and etc?

Yes, of course I did! That's why I'm now on Lulu and DIY.

I sent the first version out to a dozen agents here in the UK and none were interested, although one did say that at 80K words it was too short. I then revised, edited and brought it up to 130K (plot, not padding). But still no one was interested.

I then tried US agents. None were interested, not even one partial request.

I then tried UK publishers. Out of the three that still accept unsolicited material, only one said they would read it. However, they then sent it back unread, saying the offer to read it was a clerical error.

So now I'm at where I am.

[badducky]

Did you ever also consider writing a new book?

A. Lee Martinez recently came out with "The Automatic Detective". It's his fourth or fifth book published, but it was the first one he wrote.

All this energy you will spend producing and promoting a self-published book could be better used focusing your craft on your next project.

Then, after you sell a book or two, and your agent/editor asks you what else you have, you can tell them about this one.

The traditional system works. Just be patient, and keep writing.

[StephenJSweeney]

I did try to write other books. 3 or 4 before I came to this one. But the energy for the others simply wasn't there. It is with this one, so I decided to put every ounce that I have into it.

Maybe it will be a complete waste of time, maybe it was be a success. Or maybe it will lie somewhere between. I'll find out in time.

But thanks for the pointers, Bad Ducky :)

[badducky]

Maybe it will be a complete waste of time, maybe it was be a success. Or maybe it will lie somewhere between.

This doesn't bode well, Stephen, and I'm very sorry to say it because I really do wish you all the success in the world.

"Maybe it will be a complete waste of time, maybe it >will be< a success. >do not begin sentences with "Or"< Maybe, it will >lay (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/lay-versus-lie.aspx)< somewhere in between.

Did you hire a professional copyeditor to help you out?

[Toothpaste]

Actually in fiction writing, there is no issue writing in sentence fragments, therefore starting a sentence with "or" isn't a biggy.

Ehem, anyway . . . back to our regularly scheduled thread . . .:)

[veinglory]

I gotta say it looks like the moon. Could you give it a 'clearly not the moon' color tint?

[StephenJSweeney]

Did you hire a professional copyeditor to help you out?

I intended to. But then this credit crunch thingy kicked in and I've been out of work for 3 months...

So I had to read it myself... :)

[KTC]

This doesn't bode well, Stephen, and I'm very sorry to say it because I really do wish you all the success in the world.

"Maybe it will be a complete waste of time, maybe it >will be< a success. >do not begin sentences with "Or"< Maybe, it will >lay (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/lay-versus-lie.aspx)< somewhere in between.

Did you hire a professional copyeditor to help you out?

Whoa, whoa, whoa. It is perfectly legitimate to begin a sentence with 'or' in fiction. How Stephen posts here is not indicative of his writing abilities. I'm sure the 'will be' error was just a 'writing quickly in a post on a forum' error. I don't think you're being very fair here.

[StephenJSweeney]

I can see this thread might start turning into some sort of slagging match, so could a mod please lock this topic now?

I've got the feedback on the cover I was looking for.

Thanks, everyone.

[ChaosTitan]

Locking threads gives me hives. :) And it gives the impression that something bad happened.

Instead, I'll ask that the "Or" debate be taken to PM or to another thread, and we'll just let this one sink into obscurity.

Glad you got the feedback you needed, Stephen.