If the typography is the only problem, that’s fairly easily fixed. Here’s the artwork with the titles and byline scrubbed out. Any experts in the field, feel free to show the cover designer(s) How It Should Have Been Done. (Think of this as sort of the Lousy Book Covers variant of the popular YouTube series How It Should Have Ended.)
Join 14-year-old, Cynder Zappa, as she tries to figure out where she belongs in the world. Suspicious that her mother is practicing magic and may be a witch, she tries to stay clear of her mother’s realm of magic.
Not knowing anyone in her family, but her mother, Cynder sets out to find her father and the story behind her maternal grandmother. What secret is so painful that her mother cannot talk about it? Cynder refuses to follow in the footsteps of the women in her family.
Until now.
Cynder meets a fairy in the garden who directs her to the magic box for answers. Cynder cautiously goes to the box and finds many life changing discoveries.
She is thrown into a world that is dangerous and magical, and is compelled to help save an autistic boy that is in danger and cannot help himself. What special connection does she have with this boy?
Will Cynder find all that she is looking for in a family? Will she put herself in danger to know more? Will she learn to focus on other things in life outside of her own needs?
If you love a fast-paced, mystical read, download a sample or buy Cynder in the Garden of Lapis now. Book club questions and a bonus activity included.
Also:
#3884 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Teen & Young Adult > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Sword & Sorcery
#4141 in Books > Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Sword & Sorcery
#6211 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Teen & Young Adult > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure
So… Juvenile Fantasy with a primarily feminine target audience? I’d say the art’s about right for this genre.
A case where the cover is almost good except for the font. I thought it was paranormal of some kind, and I guess I was right, but unfortunately, if the story is as badly written as the synopsis I wouldn’t touch it.
(The image is from the thumbnail in Tuula’s link; the aspect ratio of the higher resolution one is too narrow for the book. Btw, I note that the paperback was nominated for an e-book award of some kind.)
Uh, I think the aspect ratio is supposed to be 5 X 8, though the paperback edition runs to 5.5 X 8.5 and some of the picture on that one seems to have fallen outside the bleed line.
Anyway, I like your font, but it strikes me that the N and D in CYNDER might be a bit hard to see on the thumbnail the way your revision has the title placed right now; and the plain white coloring’s a bit bland too.
The size of the paperback is listed as 5.5 x 8.5, so I just used that.
The font is too heavy and chunky at that size, but that’s where I quit.
This one has a lighter, taller title and the type color is a nice warm white (in print) instead of a neutral sort of taupe like the other one. The font is still not fantasy enough, though.
I think there’s too much going on at the bottom for the title to compete with. When I could make it stand out, it hogged all the attention.
I also wanted the cover to have a sort of nostalgic feel. The titles were almost always at the top, back then; and if there weren’t a subtitle, the title could be tucked behind the girl’s head. This image just doesn’t have much free space to put text in to start with, and the versions copied from the covers are cropped too tight.
Ye olde cargo cult cover template from 100 years ago still works about as well as it ever did, though.
Granted, the title font might be slightly illegible, but I think it really fits for this book. I could’ve also gone for more contrasting colors, but I like it like this, and besides, since it’s not actually my book, I don’t really care. I haven’t messed with the aspect ratio, again, don’t really care about that.
Wow, that is a fancy font. Granted, the fancy curl on the “C” in “Cynder” and the spacing between the “n” and “d” makes it look like “CCyn der” at first glance, but I gotta love that golden-orange metallic gleam and the bishie sparkle. I would put the “In The Garden Of Lapis” sub-title small caps in the same umber-to-white gradient as the byline, however; it needs to be a little easier to see.
Oops. I thought the n was just how the font was designed, but it was actually my fault, I choose the wrong kerning option in Photoshop. Stupid mistake on my part. Fixed it 🙂 . And while I was at it, I tried sub-title in the same color/gradient as the byline, but it got lost in the background. I’m not sure the almost-white is any more visible… Maybe green? Picking the right color is always my biggest problem :/
The C was my greatest concern, but fuck it, I love how the font fits with the curvy floral pattern in the background. It’s also a very girly font, and the book sounds girly. I think it fits.
PhD? Really? Some folks are so full of themselves. If you are a novelist, then I don’t care about your educational accomplishments. If this a non-fiction book in your area of specialization, then you got the wrong cover design, dude.
Tuula
7 years ago
Hmm. Artwork is from where? I could find just another appearance on Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/217791331956209275/ so at least it is not a well-worn piece of art, but I still wonder if rights were obtained.
If the typography is the only problem, that’s fairly easily fixed. Here’s the artwork with the titles and byline scrubbed out. Any experts in the field, feel free to show the cover designer(s) How It Should Have Been Done. (Think of this as sort of the Lousy Book Covers variant of the popular YouTube series How It Should Have Ended.)
Do we know the genre, at all, or are we taking wild guesses?
I can suggest fonts, but I freely admit–not a designer. AT ALL. (Such temptation you put in the way of we who cannot design.)
Well, let’s see…
Also:
So… Juvenile Fantasy with a primarily feminine target audience? I’d say the art’s about right for this genre.
A case where the cover is almost good except for the font. I thought it was paranormal of some kind, and I guess I was right, but unfortunately, if the story is as badly written as the synopsis I wouldn’t touch it.
OK, I’ll bite: http://imgur.com/fmnEI1B
(The image is from the thumbnail in Tuula’s link; the aspect ratio of the higher resolution one is too narrow for the book. Btw, I note that the paperback was nominated for an e-book award of some kind.)
Uh, I think the aspect ratio is supposed to be 5 X 8, though the paperback edition runs to 5.5 X 8.5 and some of the picture on that one seems to have fallen outside the bleed line.
Anyway, I like your font, but it strikes me that the N and D in CYNDER might be a bit hard to see on the thumbnail the way your revision has the title placed right now; and the plain white coloring’s a bit bland too.
Meanie.
The size of the paperback is listed as 5.5 x 8.5, so I just used that.
The font is too heavy and chunky at that size, but that’s where I quit.
This one has a lighter, taller title and the type color is a nice warm white (in print) instead of a neutral sort of taupe like the other one. The font is still not fantasy enough, though.
http://imgur.com/edlnq22
Ran across a font that seems to work a little better.
http://i.imgur.com/OIj874f.jpg
Nice, I like how the subtitle looks. But why are you avoiding the huge blank space at the bottom, and cutting over the girl’s head instead?
I think there’s too much going on at the bottom for the title to compete with. When I could make it stand out, it hogged all the attention.
I also wanted the cover to have a sort of nostalgic feel. The titles were almost always at the top, back then; and if there weren’t a subtitle, the title could be tucked behind the girl’s head. This image just doesn’t have much free space to put text in to start with, and the versions copied from the covers are cropped too tight.
Ye olde cargo cult cover template from 100 years ago still works about as well as it ever did, though.
http://imgur.com/u81pvSB
Alright, I’ll give it a shot:
Granted, the title font might be slightly illegible, but I think it really fits for this book. I could’ve also gone for more contrasting colors, but I like it like this, and besides, since it’s not actually my book, I don’t really care. I haven’t messed with the aspect ratio, again, don’t really care about that.
Wow, that is a fancy font. Granted, the fancy curl on the “C” in “Cynder” and the spacing between the “n” and “d” makes it look like “CCyn der” at first glance, but I gotta love that golden-orange metallic gleam and the bishie sparkle. I would put the “In The Garden Of Lapis” sub-title small caps in the same umber-to-white gradient as the byline, however; it needs to be a little easier to see.
Oops. I thought the n was just how the font was designed, but it was actually my fault, I choose the wrong kerning option in Photoshop. Stupid mistake on my part. Fixed it 🙂
. And while I was at it, I tried sub-title in the same color/gradient as the byline, but it got lost in the background. I’m not sure the almost-white is any more visible… Maybe green?
Picking the right color is always my biggest problem :/
The C was my greatest concern, but fuck it, I love how the font fits with the curvy floral pattern in the background. It’s also a very girly font, and the book sounds girly. I think it fits.
You think I could go pro? 😉
I do like the font flourishes that match the flora flourishes. It fits.
That’s exactly what I thought. I’d be willing to sacrifice a bit of readability in this case because the font really fits.
Oh, so close.
Maxwell Smart: “Missed it by that much.”
PhD? Really? Some folks are so full of themselves. If you are a novelist, then I don’t care about your educational accomplishments. If this a non-fiction book in your area of specialization, then you got the wrong cover design, dude.
Hmm. Artwork is from where? I could find just another appearance on Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/217791331956209275/ so at least it is not a well-worn piece of art, but I still wonder if rights were obtained.