Thoughts on cover concept

leifwright · Jun 20, 2016

[IMAGE REMOVED AT PUBLISHER REQUEST]

OK. The publisher sent along this concept for the cover of my next novel, Robby The R-Word.

The book is about a string of assaults—and one murder—surrounding a severely handicapped man named Robby after he regains the ability to communicate with the world. The detective working the case is fighting misogyny at the police department while she struggles to capture a bumbling criminal who seems to be proving more elusive than he should.

The blurb at the top is a placeholder for a real blurb when the editing is farther along and review copies have gone out.

I have mixed feelings about the cover. Here are the reasons: I like the concept, but I think the "Robby" font could be kerned tighter and the letters be a bit larger.

I'm not at ALL sold on the "R-Word" font. But from a non-designer perspective, I have to admit it grabs the eye.

I'm assuming the pixelated face at the top left is because it's a placeholder image, and I also assume the cutout of that face will be better in the final product—specifically, I'm hoping the blue highlights in that cutout disappear.

So what are your thoughts? Am I being too nit-picky?

EDIT: The publisher asked me to unpublished the cover from my personal site, which I think also includes this one. Their logic was sound: publishing my manuscript before it's edited is akin to publishing the cover before it is finalized.

Samsonet · Jun 20, 2016

I'm not sure if this is helpful at all, but with the name Robby I thought the R-word was Robot.

leifwright · Jun 20, 2016

Samsonet said:
I'm not sure if this is helpful at all, but with the name Robby I thought the R-word was Robot.

In a way, it can stand for that, since the machine he's using to communicate handles all his interactions with the world.

Loverofwords · Jun 20, 2016

I like the "R-Word" font, but I think the "Robby the" font could be different. I'm not sure it needs to be bigger necessarily, though maybe a tad. IMO, I'm not a big fan of faces on covers, but I don't mind it on yours because it's mostly hidden in shadows. But overall it looks like a neat cover and the I like the red and gray colors.

leifwright · Jun 20, 2016

Loverofwords said:
I like the "R-Word" font, but I think the "Robby the" font could be different. I'm not sure it needs to be bigger necessarily, though maybe a tad. IMO, I'm not a big fan of faces on covers, but I don't mind it on yours because it's mostly hidden in shadows. But overall it looks like a neat cover and the I like the red and gray colors.

Thank you. I'm not sure what input they're wanting from me, but I thought I'd throw it out there before I respond with my input. Hoping, I guess, that someone here offers something I can use.

Southpaw · Jun 20, 2016

Dude, your cover is too large for the forum. Shrink it to 400 x 400 and reduce the ppi. (And there is a forum dedicated to cover art.)

On a personal note, I hate scrolling up and down to see a cover. It's difficult to get the overall feel.

Do you get any input, I mean if you say something will they change it out?

leifwright · Jun 20, 2016

Southpaw said:
Dude, your cover is too large for the forum. Shrink it to 400 x 400 and reduce the ppi. (And there is a forum dedicated to cover art.)

On a personal note, I hate scrolling up and down to see a cover. It's difficult to get the overall feel.

Do you get any input, I mean if you say something will they change it out?

Size is now changed.

I'm not sure how much input I will get. When they sent it to me, they said "I welcome your thoughts and comments."

So I'm not sure if they'll change something if I mention it or not, but I figure that's an open door and it can't hurt to mention things.

Southpaw · Jun 20, 2016

That was fast, thanks.

I was thinking it was okay until I saw it as a whole piece. I like the colors and stuff, but oddly I don't care for the font used for 'Robby'. I can't really tell you why. I know that isn't helpful at all.

As for the image of the face. Ask them if that is a placeholder because it might not be (I agree it needs to be de-pixelized0.

Carrie in PA · Jun 20, 2016

Loverofwords said:
I like the "R-Word" font, but I think the "Robby the" font could be different. I'm not sure it needs to be bigger necessarily, though maybe a tad. IMO, I'm not a big fan of faces on covers, but I don't mind it on yours because it's mostly hidden in shadows. But overall it looks like a neat cover and the I like the red and gray colors.

This, exactly. I *really* don't like the font for Robby/the. Perhaps a serif font would look better?? Sorry that's not particularly helpful!

beckyhammer · Jun 20, 2016

I'm indifferent to the fonts, but the overall design is a bit busy - too many elements muddled together in the dark.

veinglory · Jun 20, 2016

It's too dark to make any sense in thumbnail

leifwright · Jun 20, 2016

Southpaw said:
That was fast, thanks.

I was thinking it was okay until I saw it as a whole piece. I like the colors and stuff, but oddly I don't care for the font used for 'Robby'. I can't really tell you why. I know that isn't helpful at all.

Actually, it's quite helpful, because I was having the same reaction.

Southpaw said:
As for the image of the face. Ask them if that is a placeholder because it might not be (I agree it needs to be de-pixelized0.

I will definitely ask, because if the book comes out with that image, I would be horrified.

leifwright · Jun 20, 2016

veinglory said:
It's too dark to make any sense in thumbnail

Try this one: [REMOVED. See first post]

jjdebenedictis · Jun 20, 2016

I'd like to see "the R-word" in a thicker, more ragged looking font. I like the general idea of the font chosen--a hand-written scribble--but it's too tidy-looking, imo. Should look like it was written with a thick crayon.

Loverofwords · Jun 20, 2016

beckyhammer said:
I'm indifferent to the fonts, but the overall design is a bit busy - too many elements muddled together in the dark.

Yeah, I kind of agree with this now that I've taken a second look. There's a lot going on.

mrsmig · Jun 20, 2016

veinglory said:
It's too dark to make any sense in thumbnail

leifwright said:
Try this one: http://leifwright.com/images/robby_concept_big.jpg

I think veinglory's point is that in thumbnail size (the size most frequently used at sites like Amazon), the design would be impossible to make out because it's so dark. I agree. I shrank it down to a thumbnail and not only did the details disappear in the murk, it was difficult to make out anything but the word "Robby."

Matt T. · Jun 20, 2016

I agree with the other comments that it's rather busy and that it's pretty dark right now. When I look at it up close, such as in that high-res version you linked to, it's easier to pick out the individual parts in the darkness, but it isn't the kind of thing that would grab my attention when I'm scrolling through books on Amazon and the image is the size of a postage stamp.

Putputt · Jun 20, 2016

I'm not a fan. Here are the things which would make me pass on the book based on the cover:

-It seems like a slapdash cut-and-paste job. The images are kinda just stuck on and the end result feels busy and yet vague. There isn't much unity, it feels like a bunch of random images pasted together.
-The overall color scheme isn't grabby enough. Someone pointed out that as a thumbnail, it would be too dark, and I agree with that.
-Both fonts don't work for me. The "ROBBY" font isn't big enough, and the "R-word" font seems a bit too thin. Again, when you shrink the cover down to thumbnail-size, the fonts just don't work.

Overall, I don't think it's BAD, but it feels like it was done without much love or thought, and honestly I wouldn't click on it if I were to see the thumbnail on Amazon. :-/

leifwright · Jun 21, 2016

Thanks for all the input. I'm going to pass it along.

I shrunk it down and didn't have any trouble making everything out, but that may be just my monitor, and the truth is, what I think when I shrink it down doesn't matter nearly as much as what YOU think when you shrink it down.

So I'm going to pass that along, too, because everyone is right: what it looks like on Amazon matters.

Latina Bunny · Jun 21, 2016

I'm also going to echo everybody about the darkness and muddiness of the cover. I had to zoom in and squint on the thumbnail image.

I would think the face needs to be lit up more. Or perhaps the badge could be more brighter. They're both a little hard to see. The badge is a bit muddy to make out.

The protagonist with the wheelchair definitely needs to pop out more as well. I think the protagonist blends too much with the cover, so perhaps the background color could be either brightened, or perhaps changed to another color scheme. I feel like putting up the "brightness" or "contrast" with this cover could help.

Maybe it's because of the combination with the two-toned color scheme, but the cover feels...a bit crowded? Busy?

I think one of the elements should be taken away, (either the badge or the shadowy face), to make the cover feel more cleaner.

Just my humble opinion, of course.

neandermagnon · Jun 21, 2016

I'm going to go against the grain and say I (mostly) like it. I like it enough that I'd grab it off the shelf and have a read, and your story explanation from your post has got me hooked. I'm now at the stage where I'd read the first few lines and if they make me want to keep reading, I'll buy it. So it's done the job.

I don't really like the face. It reminds me of those memes with 80s photography and the face superimposed on them to look creepy. It's more subtle than the memes but I'm not sure if it belongs there. There seems to be empty space in that section of the cover, or at least that the face and detective badge are competing for the space rather than being centre stage. Maybe this is why it seems to lack cohesion.

Maybe if you make the silhouette of Robby bigger, and the text bigger, and just have that as the cover and don't try to squeeze in the detective badge and the face. The cover doesn't have to show the whole story concept. It shows Robby and the blurb mentions the detective.

evangaline · Jun 21, 2016

To add my two cents to everyone else: I like the colors, but to me, the cover is too busy and at thumbnail size, you lose the detail. I'd keep the muddied background but lose the face and the badge, make the wheelchair a little larger and move it up a tad, and change the font for 'ROBBY.' It feels too clean and pristine.

JoeSlucher · Jun 21, 2016

Another voice here saying that it's too dark. The problem is it's too low contrast. It can have lots of black but there needs to be something bright to set it off. As others have said, it will not be a very interesting thumbnail.
I'm not sure how much control you have at all over the cover so I'm not sure what my thoughts are worth but I think a simpler graphic style that really pops might work best rather than cobbled together photo collage. I like the hard silhouette of the guy in the wheelchair and something bright in there like his eyes/glasses,etc could be striking. Kind of like this cover. Silhouette style 1 Or maybe use a larger silhouette of the wheelchair character or badge as a containing shape for everything kind of like Olly Moss does so you have one big strike image but also all the little details you want. silhouette frame/Olly Moss style.
Since all of this dark stuff surrounds the handicapped character maybe his silouette could be completely white while all of the other elements stay as dark as they are. So it's like he is surrounded by darkness. Then throw something inside his white shape to pull attention there.

kevinwaynewilliams · Jun 21, 2016

I'm having such trouble with the title I'm having trouble getting to the cover. The only aspect of this cover that is giving me any clue as to what kind of book I'm dealing with is the police shield.

leifwright · Jun 21, 2016

kevinwaynewilliams said:
I'm having such trouble with the title I'm having trouble getting to the cover. The only aspect of this cover that is giving me any clue as to what kind of book I'm dealing with is the police shield.

I think that's because it's more than just the police shield can convey. It's the story of a woman's struggle in a male-dominated profession (that may be the biggest storyline, though it competes with the others). It's the story of a man who has been discounted and abused because of his inability to speak up. It's got themes of child abuse, spouse-killing, a truckstop serial killer, a woman coming to terms with her sexuality (and the male best friend who wishes she'd reconsider). It's a broad story, and I'm kind of impressed at how succinct the cover image ended up being.

JoeSlucher said:
Another voice here saying that it's too dark. The problem is it's too low contrast. It can have lots of black but there needs to be something bright to set it off. As others have said, it will not be a very interesting thumbnail.
I'm not sure how much control you have at all over the cover so I'm not sure what my thoughts are worth but I think a simpler graphic style that really pops might work best rather than cobbled together photo collage. I like the hard silhouette of the guy in the wheelchair and something bright in there like his eyes/glasses,etc could be striking. Kind of like this cover. Silhouette style 1 Or maybe use a larger silhouette of the wheelchair character or badge as a containing shape for everything kind of like Olly Moss does so you have one big strike image but also all the little details you want. silhouette frame/Olly Moss style.
Since all of this dark stuff surrounds the handicapped character maybe his silouette could be completely white while all of the other elements stay as dark as they are. So it's like he is surrounded by darkness. Then throw something inside his white shape to pull attention there.

I think decluttering may help the image a great deal. I've passed that along to the publisher.

neandermagnon said:
I'm going to go against the grain and say I (mostly) like it. I like it enough that I'd grab it off the shelf and have a read, and your story explanation from your post has got me hooked. I'm now at the stage where I'd read the first few lines and if they make me want to keep reading, I'll buy it. So it's done the job.

I don't really like the face. It reminds me of those memes with 80s photography and the face superimposed on them to look creepy. It's more subtle than the memes but I'm not sure if it belongs there. There seems to be empty space in that section of the cover, or at least that the face and detective badge are competing for the space rather than being centre stage. Maybe this is why it seems to lack cohesion.

Maybe if you make the silhouette of Robby bigger, and the text bigger, and just have that as the cover and don't try to squeeze in the detective badge and the face. The cover doesn't have to show the whole story concept. It shows Robby and the blurb mentions the detective.

I think you're right on all counts, and having read a lot of your critiques, I'm flattered that you'd give my book a chance.

Thoughts on cover concept

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