Some constructive criticism; this is a story about a romancing a Civil War ghost but there’s nothing on that model’s clothing that suggests he’s even in the military much less specifically a Civil War soldier. So you don’t want to show his eyes so the hat (the easiest way to telegraph “Civil War”) is out so at lest photo-shop some sergeant stripes on his sleeve or something, otherwise he’s just some random 19th century guy with a musket.
Rob
10 years ago
This is a cover that could have easily been fixed with the following:
1. Picture of a Civil War Reenactor (has to be a good picture, too; no Instagrams R Us.)
2. Judicious use of the sepia tone and other filters in Photoshop.
3. Better fonts. Seriously – not only do those not work, they don’t even remotely evoke 19th century.
Bruce
10 years ago
This is a Civil War ghost romance? Here I was thinking someone needed to call the police while seeking a restraining order. A classic case of a cover failing to covey the genera.
Damn Ghost Privilege, how come they follow can a stranger home it’s all romantic and stuff while when a living breathing person does that it goes right to 911?
red
10 years ago
In the fine print: PDE5 inhibitors have not been approved for use by ghosts.
The loops of the some of the letters are filled with white; that was the only reason I noticed there was a title on the cover. Otherwise the black letters would be lost in the dark blue uniform.
Looking at it at 25% it would work better as a thumbnail if the color of the title and author lettering stood out.
And what is it with not showing the model’s face? Walk through a mainstream book store and what do I not see? A bunch of headless torsoes. If it costs more to show a model’s face, pay for it.
Every indie small press book cover needs to avoid headless torsoes, wolves and Papyrus font.
![cover[1]](https://lousybookcovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/cover149.jpg)
Some constructive criticism; this is a story about a romancing a Civil War ghost but there’s nothing on that model’s clothing that suggests he’s even in the military much less specifically a Civil War soldier. So you don’t want to show his eyes so the hat (the easiest way to telegraph “Civil War”) is out so at lest photo-shop some sergeant stripes on his sleeve or something, otherwise he’s just some random 19th century guy with a musket.
This is a cover that could have easily been fixed with the following:
1. Picture of a Civil War Reenactor (has to be a good picture, too; no Instagrams R Us.)
2. Judicious use of the sepia tone and other filters in Photoshop.
3. Better fonts. Seriously – not only do those not work, they don’t even remotely evoke 19th century.
This is a Civil War ghost romance? Here I was thinking someone needed to call the police while seeking a restraining order. A classic case of a cover failing to covey the genera.
Damn Ghost Privilege, how come they follow can a stranger home it’s all romantic and stuff while when a living breathing person does that it goes right to 911?
In the fine print: PDE5 inhibitors have not been approved for use by ghosts.
^^ HOWL ^^
Is that the graveyard from Bon Temps??
The loops of the some of the letters are filled with white; that was the only reason I noticed there was a title on the cover. Otherwise the black letters would be lost in the dark blue uniform.
Looking at it at 25% it would work better as a thumbnail if the color of the title and author lettering stood out.
And what is it with not showing the model’s face? Walk through a mainstream book store and what do I not see? A bunch of headless torsoes. If it costs more to show a model’s face, pay for it.
Every indie small press book cover needs to avoid headless torsoes, wolves and Papyrus font.
The title is dreadful, for the reasons you said. No thought has been put in to concepts like legibility.
So, uhm, I guess we’re not talking about a puppy here, eh?
You must be one of the people who remember Steven Kellogg’s “Can I Keep Him?” from 1976. Nope, “He Followed Me Home” is not about dog.