April 28, 2012

14
Honest Opinion – What Do YOU Think? Please RT

I’ve been dealing with a major dilemma lately and I’m still not sure what I should do about my covers. So, I want YOUR honest opinion, whether brutal or gushing, to help put this decision to rest once and for all.

I have to admit, I’ve had A LOT of unexpected  and unprovoked compliments on the cover for TMM, and so far have only read two negative opinions on it. At first, I thought that since there have been more positive comments than negative that it’s a no-brainer, but being a typically indecisive and pessimistic person, I will worry over this forever.

So, the dilemma is: Should I pay a professional to make a new cover for THE MAYFAIR MOON?

First off, I wanted to do a theme for THE DARKWOODS TRILOGY, like you see above. It’s a simple theme as you can see. Also, I wanted to do something different than what most of the YA covers out there are doing and not use actual people on my covers to visually depict my main characters. Nothing wrong with other covers like that – I just wanted to be different. But in YOUR opinion, is that a risky move? Do you think that by being somewhat different, my cover(s) might be passed up by YA readers because they don’t look like other covers out there? Also, do my covers LOOK YA, regardless of not having teenagers on the cover?

What do YOU think about this? I NEED YOUR HELP! And the more people that reply in comment, the better! So, if you don’t mind, retweet this post to your friends, do whatever you think might bring more opinions.

Thanks! :-)

 

NOTE: If it helps you decide, THIS is the kind of quality I will be getting by changing the cover!

 

–

 

Opinion Count (gathered from Twitter, Goodreads & comments below):

Keep It! – 6
Change It! – 0
Either Way Is Good! – 1

14 Comments
BY: Jessica Redmerski
ON: 2012-05-09 06:56:47
Reply

LOL – no worries. Honestly, I didn’t even notice it myself! :-)

BY: Mel
ON: 2012-05-09 00:46:11
Reply

Oops, I just realized I spelled Mayfair wrong, that’s what I get for typing on my iPod lol. Sorry:)

BY: Jessica Redmerski
ON: 2012-05-05 12:10:36
Reply

Thank you, Mel! I’m so glad you liked it. :-) Looks like despite the majority of replies telling me to keep the covers I have, I still want to go with my heart and have new ones made. I kind of want to test a theory I have as well, so it’ll all be a trial experience that I’ll tell everyone about when the ‘results’ are in. I’m going to be an Indie author guinea pig. LOL

BY: Mel
ON: 2012-05-05 11:58:09
Reply

I adored The Mairfair Moon, so I will be buying the next two books in the trilogy regardless of the cover. Personally, I think the current covers are nice, but if you choose to use the professional artist I’m sure the new covers will be lovely, because her art is very impressive:)

BY: Jessica Redmerski
ON: 2012-04-29 07:53:04
Reply

Thank you MaDonna and Pixie! :-) Your opinions are really important.

BY: Pixie
ON: 2012-04-28 21:03:21
Reply

Hey Jessica :)

I really like the covers as they are now. So my vote goes for keeping them. Like others above have said, they stand well for the YA genre, despite no characters on the covers (it makes them different!), and they have a cross-over appeal which is even better for marketing. Although Michelle definitely has the talent and would very likely make you excellent covers if you were to change them, I’m being completely honest when I say that I think they’re great as they are. :) They’re simple and effective. I would totally pick something like this up from a shelf and look into it more from the covers alone.

Love,
Pixie

BY: MaDonna Lemmen
ON: 2012-04-28 20:30:13
Reply

I really like them too. It’s a nice change to see something different that still grabs you. I do love the white writing on the first one, it pops out more :)

BY: Mark
ON: 2012-04-28 16:08:20
Reply

I still think you should keep the covers you made yourself, as opposed to the one by Michelle Monique.

BY: Jessica Redmerski
ON: 2012-04-28 13:07:27
Reply

Reply to RK Charron: Thanks for your input. You’re right about what needs to stand out more. Also, the artist I have chosen is legit, has a great client list and I even picked up a hardback in B&N the other day, which the cover was done by her. So, she’s good. :-)

And thank you Krisper and Mark. :-)

BY: RK Charron
ON: 2012-04-28 13:03:38
Reply

Hi Jessica!

The covers look YA & like Krisper said, will have cross-over appeal. Simple yet effective covers.

I would make the first near-black though and make “KINDRED” and “THE BALLAD OF ARAMEI” pop more (stand out more) on the covers. Those are the only criticisms I have though.

If you do decide to go the professional cover artist route I would ask on Twitter for recommendations for there are MANY well-known authors on there who know which are the best artists and whom to stay far away from.

All the best,
RK Charron

BY: Mark
ON: 2012-04-28 12:53:17
Reply

I think the covers are fine the way they are.

BY: Krisper
ON: 2012-04-28 11:42:30
Reply

Keep them! I like them and feel they make them stand out more. Having the typical YA type covers I think would limit its appeal to a more wide ranged audience. The covers you have feel more artistic, more mature, and I feel lead to more cross-over appeal.

BY: C.B. Jester
ON: 2012-04-28 09:56:06
Reply

I like the covers the way they are. There is an artistic feel to them that is not found in the common YA novels of today. I would suggest keeping them. The covers actually remind me a bit of George R.R. Martin A Song Of Ice and Fire original covers. Good color scheme. I like them!

COMMENT
CAPTCHA Image
*