Support for Indie Authors discussion

I would appreciate any thoughts or comments anyone has on this cover design. Thank you.



Here is the blurb which is not possible to read on the image (sorry, my goodreads uploading skills are weak):

"I think therefore I am."

But is it really that simple?

Prudence and Yannick know poverty, heartache, and injustice firsthand. When a young boy who has nowhere to turn appears in their life, they must choose what kind of people they truly are. Helping him is far beyond their means—abandoning him seems unthinkable. But, the choices they face have an ominous backdrop. Is there more to this than just what they see?

Explore your perception of existence in Thread. Dive into worlds of intrigue and mystery with this cross-genre collection of short stories. Trace the thread of reality as it weaves through the fabric of surrealism.

The image seems stretched. Is that an insert problem?

Are you using a mobile device? It looks terrible on my phone, good on my computer. But that doesn't rule out an insert problem either way...I don't know what I'm doing with that.

Okay, I manage to pull the image up. I like it, though I can't read the back blurb.
Just a couple of small things:
The author name is hard to make out at thumbnail size, and the "and Other Stories tagline" isn't readable at all. The title is small but I think the understatement works with the artwork.

Aside from the quality (rather grainy when I view it) of the image inserted, I like the cover. The flow from back to front is nice. And the minimalist look of the B&W really works, methinks 🤓

I love the image you've used for the cover, but like the others said, your font is very hard to read. I can't read the back blurb at all.

The image alone would make me pick the book up.

As with everyone else, I like the overall design quite a bit. I like the subtlety. Visually, it reminds me of the video game "Limbo", which is really gorgeously rendered.

However, at the small size you've provided, the blurb text is incredibly difficult to read (though I had no trouble reading the rest of it).

I would absolutely be intrigued enough to pick this up and thumb through it in a store. Nice work!

I would agree with the comments given so far - it looks good (nice image!) and it would be worth increasing the font size for the author name in particular. You have a nice amount of black/dark space at the top and bottom which would allow for a larger font without impacting the main image, I think.

Genre-wise, if I was picking this up I would be expecting adventure, or something a bit magical, or perhaps something with a scary/horror theme to it. I'm afraid I can't read the blurb to see if this is correct or not, but those would be the types of things I might expect from a book with this cover.

As for whether I would pick it up or not, I'm with Dan: it's interesting-looking so I would be intrigued enough to have a look at your blurb. Good job.

Hope this helps.

The only thing I would change is make the title bigger so it is more easily seen in a thumbnail. Don't change the font, or position, just the size.

Otherwise it is an excellent cover. It makes me want to know more.

It's very intriguing if you can work out the blurb font issues. I love the swirl that crosses over to the backside.

Like everyone else here, I'm not sure what the book is about but to me it has like an X-Files kind of feel to it. (Which I LOVE!)

thank you everyone for your input. I added the blurb text in my original post. I apologize for the image not being very clear, I need to find a better way to post images on here.

A couple of thoughts, Eric. Take or trash as you see fit. If you make the white overflow on the back the same shape, but not as wide, you would free up some black space for your blurb.

Love the overall concept, though. Don't love the blurb. It is brilliant right up to the line abandoning them seems unthinkable. First, I would change seems to is.
I would find another way to say ominous backdrop. That doesn't make sense. Face is going forward. A backdrop is behind.
From 'is there more' to 'mystery', you don't actually say anything. It's fluff.
'Trace the thread' on is a great way to end it.

Hope that helps.
Cut t

Oh, that's nice. I couldn't see it well the first time, so I'm glad I came back! I like everything the way it is. The only thing I would mention is that in thumbnail, only the front will show so a lot of the effect from the nice sweeping back cover won't be there. Still, it would draw my attention.

Got point M.L. Very little of that sweeping motion would be seen on a thumbnail or just a front view of the cover but I still think enough of it starts on the front and is unique enough that it will intrigue readers.

The cover tells a story all by itself and this one makes me want to at least read the blurb.

I like the cover, but as a number of other contributors above have mentioned, the image seems to be rather thin and stretched - horizontally compressed - and the font on the back is a little on the small side. The artwork is effective and eye-catching though.