Proposed Covers

thothguard51

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Based on your description of what the story is about, The second one is more to the point...

Still a story about a sailor and carpenter, not sure how the bell fits in just from the cover...
 

Puma

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The first one. The circles / spiral interfere too much on the second one regardless of what else is on the cover. I actually don't like what shows of them on the first cover either.

Thothguard - the story is about the travels of Father Junipero Serra, founder of the California missions, hence the bell. Puma
 
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gothicangel

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First one, but if I were to be brutal, if I saw either in a bookshop I wouldn't be tempted to pick it up and take a better look.
 

FictionQuest

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I don't like either. The smaller text does not work on the grey background I'm afraid.
 

Puma

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Can you elaborate on the whys, Gothicangel? I'm curious and I think your reasoning would be worth hearing. Covers are important. Puma
 

pdr

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Sincere apologies...

but neither works as a 'look at me' make a sale.

Too much clutter, all that writing.
Too dark.
Too many things going on.
Keep it simple and bright.
At the moment it's popular to have a person on the cover as being more attractive to readers.

How about a portrait of your bearded priest?
or
the priest on a donkey vanishing into the Californian desert?

All this I've been learning as I contemplate e-publishers.
 

TheBladeRoden

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If I had to pick I'd go with the second once since the bell makes more sense floating over land than the ocean. But still the lighting of the bell and the background doesn't match. And it looks kind of floaty, since there's no visible way for it to be connected to the ground.
 

gothicangel

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Can you elaborate on the whys, Gothicangel? I'm curious and I think your reasoning would be worth hearing. Covers are important. Puma

Just not attractive at all to me. I wouldn't even realise it was historical. I don't mean to insult anyone here, but if I saw that on Amazon/in a bookshop I would dismiss it as self-published.

I also agree with everything PDR said. :)
 

Friendly Frog

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Second one based on the image. But the block of text obscuring much of the image on both covers is unfortunate.
 

mscelina

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Here's what I do--sometimes it helps.

Print off both covers to real size.

Tack them up on one wall and walk across the room. The one you can READ most easily is the better cover.

That being said--neither cover works for me. The cover image doesn't speak to the content of the book. (BTW folks, ignore the circles. That's an indication that the image comes from a stock photography site and hasn't been bought yet) Judging from what you've said just in here and on your blog as to the content of the book, these covers don't even give a FEEL for the subject or theme.
 

Puma

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Thank you for that tidbit of information, mscelina - I had no idea that's what the circles were. Puma
 

veinglory

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In my opinion the photos don't go together in time of day or light direction and their is a lot of text in a self-publishy looking font. Without reading more I would have no idea what the book was about. A love story set in Mexico?
 

Deb Kinnard

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Neither gets me interested. If they were mine, I'm afraid I'd ask the artist to go back to the drawing board. My recommendations: change the white text on colored background. Delete about half the text on the top half; it looks cluttered and "busy." Recommend putting the deleted text into the back cover copy. Go with a single design element to attract the customer's eye and don't let that eye "travel" around the cover to discern so much information.

Sorry, but them's my opinions.
 

Sargentodiaz

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The first one. The circles / spiral interfere too much on the second one regardless of what else is on the cover. I actually don't like what shows of them on the first cover either.

Thothguard - the story is about the travels of Father Junipero Serra, founder of the California missions, hence the bell. Puma

The circles are because the publisher hasn't yet paid for the rights to use the photos!
 

Sargentodiaz

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Wow! Some great responses!

I don't know how much of the coloring is because of the not purchased thing. I would guess the purple hues will be replaced in the final.
 

L.C. Blackwell

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I prefer the coloring of the second one to that of the first, but I have real trouble with the font placement in the top half of both. It looks jammed in there, and isn't easily read. I think if the title is going to be repeated in Spanish, it needs to be separated from the English title and made distinctive. Also, the fonts themselves are not doing it for me.
 

mephet

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I'm going to have to repeat the opinion that both feel cluttered and dark. The typography looks somewhat off, perhaps partly because of the font choice. I personally believe the text should be more lined up - think webdesign, where the boxes below are equal width with the ones above (aka grid-based design), which I find very helpful when designing my covers. But that could be just a matter of taste, I'm probably biased here. :) Reducing the space between the title lines could help as well. Also, just the amount of text is scary. If all the small text is really required, I'd try see how it looks when made smaller, so that it can only be read with closer inspection (unless this is an e-book cover). Finally, maybe experiment with the publisher logo placement? Centering it could look a little more graceful, since then it wouldn't stand out from all the other text so much.
As for the pictures themselves, the first one is the better one. It feels less crowded, though the rocks still make it a little so, since they bump into the bell.
 

Sargentodiaz

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I feel like an idiot because I don't know which covers you're talking about. :(

Sorry 'bout that!
The link takes you to the latest post on the blog and NOT to the covers. If you scroll down to the post on November 22nd, you will see the two covers.

Right not, the cover artist is trying to work out a them for all three novels. I think we've just about settled on the one of the desert beneath the bell. He's almost convinced the bell must be on all three. So, the problem arises as to how to show the current area of California north of San Diego and south of San Francisco for the second novel. The third cover will show the interior or exterior of Mission San Carlos Borromeo at Carmel.

Anyhow, thanks for wanting to take a look.