new cover for a new story

[mmegaera]

So. "New Year's Eve in Conconully" has come back from archangelbeth, my copy editor. Next on the list, now that I've finished with the corrections (several of her notes making me laugh out loud -- there is no one more valuable to a writer than an editor who can make her laugh and realize she really needs to fix something AT THE SAME TIME), is a cover. And here's what I've managed to come up with so far. What do you think?




Next on the list, assuming the photo gets good feedback, buy it and insert it in the cover, write the blurb (that's Homesick's blurb I'm using as a placeholder on the back).

Then the formatting, then it's ready to roll!

Comments

[thnidu]

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OH! It's a clock! Of course...

[mmegaera]

Eep. It's that unrecognizeable???

[thnidu]

Well...

It's so close up that there's no suggestion of the 12 numbers or dots in a circle, or even the four points (3,6,9,12), that (to me at least) are a basic part of a clock face. The hands are there, sure, once you realize what they are; but again, they're so close up that you don't see them joining at the center of the face, which is another clock-face clue to me.

And I can make out at least three layers here:
• the cover text
• the clock face close-up
• some fainter stuff that looks like a "camera" icon and the letters "CanSt"
° and there's a line slanting up from the lower left that might be part of the faint stuff (it's about the same color), like maybe a lecturer's pointer, or might be something else entirely

— and that makes it harder to make out the clock.

I'm sorry to be a downer, but you did ask our opinion.

[archangelbeth]

Took me a while to get it, too. I think pulling out a little (so you can get the shape of the hands, even if no numbers are giving cues), and centering the clock-hands on the front cover segment? Right now, it looks like one will be on the spine, which makes it thoroughly unrecognizable. (Sorry!)

[mmegaera]

No, I appreciate the feedback. Might need to not cut quite so much of the image. It'll be interesting to see if I can do that without putting anything distracting (like lighter shades) behind the lettering. Which can be moved around, too.

The faint stuff is the result of this cover being made from a comp image of a stock photo. If I do end up going with it, I will buy the hi-res version of the stock image and the faint stuff will disappear.

[mmegaera]

Don't apologize. I was asking for feedback, honest.

So I'll play with it some more tomorrow. That's not a bad thing.

[thnidu]

If the Roman numerals XI and XII were more visible, that would really help, not just in making it recognizable as a clock but also in connecting it with the title.

[mmegaera]

Okay. I'll see what the image and my skillset will let me accomplish [g].

Thanks!

[thnidu]

See the comment I just put on the following entry.