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Rise of the Tempest - cover

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
First, let me say that cover is beautiful. I even like the fonts.

Something about the border makes me think it looks like the cover of an RPG for children (please tell me that's what it is!). It makes me expect a big hardcover D&D-shaped book. I've no idea if it would feel that way seeing a printed copy, or if that's necessarily a bad thing.
 

Telcontar

Staff
Moderator
Agreed, striking and beautiful. The colors are gorgeous. Only possible flaw I can see (because I think in eBook terms these days) is if you reduced it to grayscale and made it a thumbnail - there wouldn't be anything to really catch the eye, I don't think.

However, in this case, I don't think that issue should worry you. It's great.
 
First, let me say that cover is beautiful. I even like the fonts.

Something about the border makes me think it looks like the cover of an RPG for children (please tell me that's what it is!). It makes me expect a big hardcover D&D-shaped book. I've no idea if it would feel that way seeing a printed copy, or if that's necessarily a bad thing.
Unfortunately it isn’t a RPG for children :D However, the book starts with “If you do not possess a child-like heart, please close this book and go out and play.” I hope that will suffice. I went for the cartoony look because I like the classical styled fantasy novels, like Dragonlance and Terry Pratchett. The story is slightly humorous and is not to be taken too seriously – I hope the cover will express that to some degree :)
Still, thank you for you lovely comment – It made me laugh and made me think of old days where I played AD&D.

Agreed, striking and beautiful. The colors are gorgeous. Only possible flaw I can see (because I think in eBook terms these days) is if you reduced it to grayscale and made it a thumbnail - there wouldn't be anything to really catch the eye, I don't think.
However, in this case, I don't think that issue should worry you. It's great.
I think you’re right about the thumbnail issue. That’s something I have to work with. I expect the majority of the sales are to come from Ebooks, so a good thumbnail is critical. I can see amazon’s thumbnails are 160px in height.
Thank you for pointing this out, and thank you for the comment. :)
 
Hello again, just a minor update.

I've been restructuring the layout with the thumbnail in mind. Apart from the layout, I’ve changed some text color, and added a black bar behind the white text. I wanted it to stand out. I’ve also made the frame and the characters slightly larger. However, they are still a mess in 160px height, but looks almost okay at 240px height.
Personally I think it’s less pretty this way, but it gives a far better thumbnail.



Cheers :)
 
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Hi,

I agree with the others, the cover is superb. My only worry is that it screams either child / young adult or comedy fantasy. If that's not what your books about you'll miss your target reader.

Cheers, Greg.
 
Hi,

I agree with the others, the cover is superb. My only worry is that it screams either child / young adult or comedy fantasy. If that's not what your books about you'll miss your target reader.

Cheers, Greg.
Thank you for the comment. :)

I would say the book’s genre fits young adult - Or those who are still young at heart. Also, I've focused on the humorous aspect, making the story informal and a bit corny at some points. I felt the cover needed to reflect that.

Actually, my inspiration for the cover design was Terry Pratchett. His covers are cartoony, casual and a bit weird. Still, he’s one of the most popular writers in the UK, and I believe there is a market for these kind of novels, even for younger readers.

I agree the cover could be confused with a children’s book, however, I hope the title itself would shun away that thought. :)

Again, thank you for your input. :)
 
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