Which one grabs you?
Which one shouts mystery, fun, romance, Italy, and badass Asian Canadian heroine to you?
Yes, I am revamping my covers with a terrific new graphic designer, Lisa.
I’m looking for as many diverse comments as possible, so I usually try not to say too much, but in case you were wondering…
Jessica votes for the orange. “I would read that,” she said. Twice.
Matt votes for green. He thinks it conveys the mystery better, because the orange could be a fantasy instead of a mystery/romance.
Either one is an improvement on the previous cover, but please cast your ballot!
I’m doing something different by posting it on my blog. Normally, I go directly to Facebook, because their algorithms favour a direct post. Let’s see if we can beat their algorithm! Yay!
It’s already available for sale as an e-book here. It’s on sale for $2.99 instead of the usual $5.99, so grab it now!
The print version is coming…
I love the Killer School mysteries. They’re a hilarious antidote to the finger-biting realism of the Hope Sze medical mysteries. Fingers crossed that new covers mean more people will discover V and Dario, fighting crime and falling in love around the world!
This one right here is gorgeous. Don’t go to anything more cosmopolitan. This one feels mysterious, intriguing.
Ooh! Thanks, David Farland!
Facebook favours direct posting. I’m going to post both covers here straight. Comments, please! I know some of you are artistic, like Gordon Brogan. That’s right, I will start relentless tagging if no one comments. Oh, yay, Margaret Pumpelly Finnegan! Bless you!
I like the green. Definitely more badass than the orange.
I know. It’s dynamic and badass, which is great.
I like the first one much better
This one got the nod from NYT Bestseller David Farland. Agree or disagree?
Agree 100%
This one is more poetic, I feel.
I vote for the orange one, with the distant mountains/hills 🙂
I like the green, but maybe it’s because I’m reading it now with a version of that cover.
Well, bless you x 1000, Stephen Campbell!
Orange people: would you guess that this heroine is Asian? Does this look like a mystery?
I’m a green person, but I’m elbowing my way in – Yes, I’d guess the heroine is Asian – It does not look like a mystery cover to me …
The orange cover heroine looks more Asian to me than the green, and I get a sense of mystery and adventure.
Yes to asian, not necessarily a mystery though.
Thanks, Roxanne Glaude! Glad to see you’re back and commenting on Facebook!
It catches my eye and my imagination 🙂
I hear you. Sometimes less is more. But I want to stress to the green people not to be shy! I love vocal minorities too (obviously)!
Ruth Nahmiash Nix Right. That’s a concern. I admit my green woman is not too Asian-looking either, but at least she’s got a lot of black hair.
The heroine looks more Asian in the orange cover, but that green one conveys more mystery and grabs be more.
*me
Stephen Campbell Just saw this. It bothers me that you, Mr. Mystery Connaisseur, does *not* think orange conveys mystery. Do you think mystery readers would buy it?
Are there any romance readers here?
Linda Kim Yay, thanks for weighing in. That’s three greenies so far!
Target audience?
Caroline Fréchette: mystery/romance readers. The protagonists are adults. Obviously, if younger people picked it up, that would be great.
The green cover looks more like a children’s book.
I find the green one looks more MG/YA. So I would vote orange!
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The green one says fun, but also YA. If it’s not YA, then orange.
Thanks, Doug. Amazes me that a woman with a gun says YA/middle grade to people…what’s going on with the young folks nowadays? 😉
i vote orange. it’s classier & stronger of an image and i just like the layout better. i like the green, but it looks more like a graphic comic cover. plus, the silhouette allows the reader to use their imagination to substitute a face, forcing the reader to be more subsconsciously engaged.
Gordon Brogan, thank you for weighing in. Do you have any thoughts about whether it would appeal to a mystery and perhaps romance audience? Or if it could just cross over?
i think the orange has more crossover potential while the green cover is limited in appeal. it would turn off people usually uninterested in comics (as the graphic seems to suggest). and it looks like more of an action title. the orange cover, on the other hand, has more potential: mystery, drama, epic adventure (including romance), action. it also doesn’t look strictly YA like the green cover.
the green cover, however, goes for ‘fun’, ‘action’, and ‘humour’. if that’s what you’re shooting for, then that’s the green cover for sure.
Wow. Thanks for taking the time, Gordon Brogan. Much appreciated. Obviously, covers are a balancing act. You need that gut punch/eye draw, but you also have to fit in a genre box. Sounds like neither cover hit the genre box well (typical for me), but I’ll go for the eye candy for now. Thanks again!
I like the green one best. It catches your eye right away.
Thanks, Sharon!
I’m voting Team Orange, if I have to pick. I see adventure, intrigue, loaded back stories, mystery, and solace. I don’t see Italy or “fun” necessarily, from first look, except for the title. I might add some elements graphically, but it’s a stand-alone strong and bold image. It would easily catch my eye and interest me. Both would. Green shouts young readers and fun.
Thanks, Phil Preston! I agree that orange could be adventure. I’m not sure traditional mystery readers would feel the call, but I believe my readers think out of the box, so maybe they would. What kind of graphic elements would you add?
For those of you who don’t know, Phil and his wife own Mohawk Printing! I’m so lucky to have graphic design friends.
My consulting hours are between 12 and 2 every other Thursday.
ok seriously though 😉 so I looked at this as a book cover. I don’t know how it will be marketed and viewed. For now I’d say maybe she could be holding something, perhaps something dangling from her lower hand to suggest a part of the story. The mountains are lost in the glare. Could that be tone down a bit? Could something else be in the foreground with her on the other side in the grass. Specifically what…too hard to answer without having read this yet. I’m sure you have ideas. I think you have two strong covers regardless and could simply move forward. Is it strange to market in different listings with different covers?
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I’ll vote Team Orange as well. I would read that ;). I agree with previous comments that the green looks more YA/comic book, Orange says mystery/romance/adventure to me.
Thanks, Wendy Marie! I think you’re the first doctor who’s commented, which just goes to show how multitalented you are. 🙂
Well I didn’t say my opinion on this matter was worth anything 😉
I like the green
The green is way too young, screams “anime” to me, plus the exaggeratedly sexy pose grates on me (the contortion of the ankles in those high heels!) and I’m wondering where the other two Charlies’ Angels are to complete the ridiculous silhouette? The orange one is somewhat better, but the passive pose and lack of any Italianate architecture or landscape bugs me. Can’t the designer throw in a gnarled olive tree and maybe a bell-tower on the horizon? And yes, she reads Asian, because of the katana and the sleeveless tunic plus the long straight hair, but a more active pose would be better — maybe crouching like a stalking big cat sneaking up on prey? Sorry for the extensive criticism. I used to be an illustrator and printer, so I’m very fussy. 🙂
Orange. I agree that the green has a YA feel.
The silhouette on the orange cover reminds me of Pocohontas. I still like it better – looks more grown-up.
For an adult novel I prefer the orange although it does look like a fantasy cover with the character apparently out in a meadow wearing a sword.
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Orange
I like the image on the green cover, but could recommend that the background be in an orange/peach like the first cover, so as to form contrast against the dark blue of her suit 🙂 They’re both great designs, however (and don’t count out the ability of a good cartoon to sell books to big people, either!)
Green looks more like a great mystery romp. Orange looks like a more serious fantasy novel.
The orange cover! Intrigue and curiosity vs Green cover which suggests action pack. I prefer the Orange cover. Which ever it is, it will be GREAT.
Love the orange one. But the green one doesn’t turn me off either.
Green. The orange looks like Anime, which this is not. Love the kick-ass image on the green.
Like the orange. Green one looks too much like Kim Possible.
Orange cover with silhouette.
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Ahhh, I love my friends! I ran off to write and come back to find a multitude of intelligent comments. I’ll mull this over and tally up the votes/feedback. Thank you!
P.S. Mini-brag: I wrote over 3800 words with this app/thing. Recommended! https://www.mywriteclub.com/beta/word-sprints/#/Ink%20Slingers
And I just bought the book for only $2.69 as a Kobo VIP member! Can’t wait to start reading it!
Megathanks, Gayle Pea! Yay for Kobo VIPs!
I like the original front. A bit on the 60’s side, but very unique.
Thanks, Dave Wright III! Glad you liked it.
Although, the new one is very modern and may sell more copies!
Neither cover indicates anything Canadian. I suppose the word “Italian” is on the cover but for all we know, it’s an Italian school that isn’t actually in Italy. Neither looks terribly Asian either. Is the heroin Chinese, Indian, east Russian or what? This makes a difference. Perhaps you should learn to use Daz 3D or Makehuman and Blender to create a more realistic and detailed looking woman in an exciting pose with an appropriate background.
Thanks for your feedback, Richard. I suppose we could try heroin from any international source, but drugs don’t play a huge role in this book! Seriously, though, the Canadian part isn’t important to me. The heroine travels in this series. I would like to indicate her ethnicity just so the covers aren’t whitewashed. If I had the time and talent, I would like to learn how to draw.
Both covers are flawed. Keep in mind that the way most readers will encounter your cover is as a THUMBNAIL on Amazon, B&N, Apple, Nook, etc. So that’s how I looked at them. The only type that is readable on these two covers is the title and your name. The rest disappears or is a blur…so you might as well get rid of it. Also, in thumbnail, the silhouette cover looks like an inkblot. You can’t tell what you are looking at. On The second cover, you can clearly see the cartoon character (and NONE of the targets in the bg)…but it comes across as that, a cartoon character. Is that really the message you want to get across?
Hey, Lee Goldberg, thanks for stopping by. Some designers argue that small text is okay and is a part of traditional book design, so I’m okay with that. If people want to read more, they’ll click on it. I do hate to think of my orange silhouette as a blob. Green cartoon character, yes, I personally like that a lot, but it seems like lots of other people think it means a cartoon/young reader book, which it’s not. Appreciate your thoughts!
I would argue the designers are stuck in the past or thinking more about their art than your book sales. Traditional book design no longer applies. 99% of your book sales will be ebook…few are going to see it as a trade paperback…so the small print is wasted and is using up valuable real estate that can be better utilized with a strong, central image and to make the important text, your title and your name, larger. On top of that, very few ebook readers are going to click on the cover to see it full size…so there’s no point to the small print.
I get what you’re saying, Lee Goldberg. For sure the present and future are e-book covers, and designers will be more focused on beauty than on sales–and may not even see the sales, based on division of labour. I did ask for a bigger name and title and to add more of a mystery element. We’ll see what happens. Thanks for your insight. To anyone who sees this and isn’t aware, this is NYT bestseller Lee Goldberg. I don’t think I’ve ever had two NYT and so many designers comment on one of my posts before!
Orange is beautiful, but very traditional Canadian literature cover. Looks like required reading for an English lit class. Green is modern and fun. I think it would appeal to a younger demographic. Looks like a fun, fast adventure to read
Thanks, Tara Kirkpatrick! I also like the fun movement of the green, although it seems like most people like the aesthetics of the orange. Now, whether it’ll sell to mystery/tomance readers is another question!
Orange. Both are good. However, I would look for a third option that showed something iconically Italian in the back ground. It could even give a nod to the Assassins Creed genre if it was a cloaked figure pictured in a town or city with Renaissance architecture, etc. Of these two, definitely orange
My poor designer. I hadn’t asked for an Italian background, but that’s a good idea. I do want to add an Indian element for the sequel, though!
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I PM’d you, Melissa 🙂
Orange in end as the green was fresh but first thought when I saw it was Kim Possible, so nope!
You’re the second Kim Possible person! So funny.
haha
Definitely orange!
Love the first one!
Love the orange one! Definitely more intriguing.
Which cover? The Italian School for Assassins, revisited. https://t.co/rJxTP5wg4w
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I vote orange!
Linda, you are so great. Thank you.
Thanks, Sara Lynn and Jane Fantie!
I like the green, for the action element.
Orange all the way! I think if I saw the green one on an adult bookshelf, I would figure that it had been misplaced. Orange “speaks” to me immediately as does the slightly shadowy, mysterious figure!
definitely orange the green is to cartoon character
The orange one is too Lion King looking. I like the rendering of the character of the green cover except the face is too ‘Seven of Nine’ Star Trek Voyageur looking. Needs to have more Asian facial features. The body and garments are fitting but She looks like she is running away rather than pursuing and engaging. Changing the position of the hands and arms can address that. Hmm green certainly makes me me think about the colour of humour. It does not imply cold stealth.
Melissa let me know if my comments registered – gave it a lot of thought – will resend if they vanished as appears to be Thacker.
I got it, with belated thanks, Patricia Filteau. Thank you for contemplating and taking the time to tell me.
REVEAL. In case anyone is still looking!
oooh. it really pops. two thumbs way up! 10/10! 5 stars!
They both look like fun and seem to fit your needs, but I like the orange one best. 🙂
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My 2 cents worth (rounded to a nickel): I prefer orange.
The green reminds me of Kim Possible.
The orange sunset whispers intrigue, passion and what could be…
BAM!
The green one shows action and intrigue.