Replies regarding book covers
silentstep on this post
I'm quite surprised to hear you say that the first image isn't dynamic! to me it feels very much so. either way I like it better as a book cover than the cornstalk, though I love the cornstalk photograph as a piece of art.
It is possible I have lost proper perspective, I’ve been looking at a LOT of dust storm images lately :D There are some that are more dramatic but generally they’re rights-managed or difficult to source because they’re used so often (which devalues the drama a bit anyway, honestly).Â
msbarrows on this post
Love the dust storm image, but I also think the corn would be usable if cropped to the upper right 2/3rds or so, with an off-center title in the white space. Also wondering if the first image would work better as a full wrap if it was flipped left-to-right, so the dust storm is on the front cover.
Yeah, people seem generally to feel that the dust storm image would work best if flipped. I’ll have to do some experimentation, but fortunately my old laptop with one of the last installation-not-cloud versions of Photoshop on it is still functional, so I can do quite a bit of remixing.Â
chromatographic on this post
Asthetically I like the first picture better but my inner goblin is yelling at me to choose the Corn.
WE CANNOT ALL BE @seananmcguire :D (What a world if we could.)
froofie on this post
Too bad you can't superimpose the giant corn into the dust cloud in the first photo, like a watermark or something.
I mean, in theory I suppose I could, I have the technology. I’ll try it out, but I think it might be too much...imagery, somehow.Â
ponderosa121 on this post
I’d try the corn if you were willing to do some cutouts on a big chunky yellow or red font. i think you could get a pretty striking look like Harlen Coben’s Run Away
I had a look, and that IS very compelling as a cover, although I’m not sure it’s an appropriate vibe for the material. I might play around with it though, I think I could get a real “sixties cover design for a book you have to read in high school” vibe going and I do love that aesthetic.Â
noriannbraindripshere on this post
The dust storm one would be easier to use I think, but oh I am so tempted to go full *graphic design is my passion* with the corn one... may do that for my Ao3 epub actually.
Feel free if you want to! I should say, there will be an epub version of the final draft for sale (usually pretty cheap, though I need to consult with Lulu on what they’re charging now), and there’s always a free PDF version, just so you know you’ll have some options.Â
drownedinlight on this post
I can see why you're having trouble -- I would say, not yet having the chance to fully read Six Harvests, if there isn't a storm similar to the dust storm in the picture, don't do that one, because people do judge books by covers, whatever others might say. If there is, it is more evocative than the corn stalk, though I do enjoy its tall eerieness
Well, there are three storms in the book, two of which hit the town, so there’s that at least. Actually, fun if irrelevant fact, this storm photo was taken on April 18th, 1935, which is four days after Black Sunday, the generally-felt worst storm of the Depression.Â
odense on this post
I love the dust storm one! it could go across the whole first spread, so you don't need to crop as much out :D I feel like it would totally handle a nice serif font, what are you setting the body with?? I like palatino linotype or georgia :)
I haven’t looked at fonts for the cover yet, but the body is being set with Garamond -- Garamond or Georgia are my go-tos but I’ve generally found Garamond is a little more readable, at least as printed by Lulu, which is my self-pub site.Â
Thank you to everyone who gave feedback! Looks like unless I see something I like better in the next day or two, it’ll be the dust storm, but I do think the corn would be workable too. I appreciate peoples’ thoughts!
