mmegaera | Cross-Country’s cover gets good press

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I guess I know what I’m doing, after all. Out of curiosity, I submitted Cross-Country‘s cover to the Book Designer, a well-thought-of blog which holds an exhibition of covers for indie-published books with commentary every month, with the following explanation: “The
photo is one I took, on the travels that inspired the book. The dark is pulled from the color of the road. I’m strictly an amateur cover
designer, for my own books only because I don’t have a lot of money to invest, but I’d like to know what you think of this one.”

And he liked it. His exact words were, “Simple but effective, showing that even with some carefully chosen elements, non-designers can create workable ebook covers.”

Maybe “workable” isn’t the highest praise, but I think “simple but
effective” is very nice.

Anyway, here’s Cross-Country‘s cover, for you to decide yourselves. Do you like it? Does it make you curious?

Mirrored from Repeating History.

Crossposts: http://mmegaera.livejournal.com/479571.html

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

azurelunatic

I really like the font you chose. It's straightforward, and modestly attractive while still being clearly readable.

From:

thnidu

1. Yes, I do.
2. I can't answer that, because I know some of what's inside.
C. And seconding

azurelunatic's comment.

Edited Date: 2014-01-14 06:11 am (UTC)

From:

mmegaera

It's Calisto, which came with InDesign [g].

And thanks!

From:

mmegaera

Thanks. I hope it makes you want to read the rest...

From:

nishatalitha

I haven't read it it but I do like the cover. To me, it conveys a sense of expanse and journey. As a picture, the photo is rather gorgeous (the colours, the road going off into the distance) and I think ties in well with the dark green you chose to border it.

As to curiousity, if I saw it in a bookstore in a section that I was in, I'd probably pick it up and read the blurb. I pick up a lot of books though and the blurb needs to grab me. I am not good at describing how/why a blurb might draw me in though.

From:

mmegaera

Thanks. The dark color is actually gray (pulled from the asphalt in the photo), not that it matters.

Here's the blurb:

"After a childhood of summers spent in the back seat of a car, and four months before the turn of the millenium, M.M. Justus decided to follow in the footsteps of her heroes John Steinbeck and William Least-Heat Moon, not to mention Bill Bryson, and drive alone across America’s backroads for three months. Like the bear going over the mountain, she wanted to see what she could see.

The places she visited ranged from the homely to the exotic, from the Little Town on the Prairie to Scotty's Castle, from New York's Twin Towers to an 'alien' landing site in Wyoming. From snow in Vermont to the tropical heat of New Orleans.

After over 14,000 miles, history both public and personal, and one life-changing event, she finally arrived back where she’d started from, only to discover it wasn’t the same place she’d left behind at all."

I'd love to hear your thoughts on that, too. And whether it would pique your interest enough to want to read it.