Romance Novel Cover - No People

I don't think you need people. There are a lot of beautiful romance novel covers that have a single iconic image on the front - a fan, a flower, a necklace, high heels, that sort of thing.

Dallionz said:

My book is a Christian Romance but there is some mystery/suspense through the whole thing.

The main character is a police officer and so I want one of the images to be bullets scattered and then the other character is a photographer and I want to use a photograph of Texas bluebonnets because it's mentioned in the book and given as a gift in the end.

Does that work? Or do I absolutely need people?

Thoughts?

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This could work. Maybe add something to emphasize the Christian connection, such as a crucifix necklace? (Just reaching for things.)

A little too much going on for me. Compass. Flowers. Bullets.

Perhaps make one of the three images stand out. Try that, see what happens. Maybe a bigger flower image. Some bullets growing or something. Are you set on these three? Flowers, bullets and compass?

Right now the three images don't connect. They are three separate ideas. Maybe a frame of bullets.

Maybe use bullets for the hands of the compass?

ps: you might get a lot more help/ input in the art and design thread.

Have you tried to make a huge compass?

Dallionz you have too many elements scattered about the cover that detract from it. I do my own covers for my self-publishing so I know what a hairy pain in the butt it is, but here are a few tips to help you pull the idea from your head together to your book cover.

First- check out what does NOT work. Check out some of the catty websites where they make fun of bad romance covers and read the comments, see what about that particular cover didn't work. It won't always apply to your cover, but it does help to set up a bit of a background knowledge of cover design.

http://wtfbadromancecovers.tumblr.com/
http://awkromancecovers.tumblr.com/
http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinlarosa/things-fabios-really-thinking-on-his-romance-novel-covers#3vmbs8c

Second- Look at covers that DO work. Go to Amazon and take a look at the top 100 best sellers in Christian Romance. Usually you'll begin to see a 'theme' the more covers you look at and it can also give you an idea of what is popular and how the covers are composed.

Third- Consider hiring a cover artist. You can get a decent cover for under fifty bucks. The few self-pub covers that I've farmed out to cover artists usually run me 100-150 but that's because I'm picky as shit (Amber Moon was done by a cover artist I hired) and these cover artists are experienced and well established, something worth the extra money to me.

Your cover is your first, and some would argue, and best marketing tool for your book. Honestly, if your cover sucks people are less likely to take a look at it because they believe the quality of the cover reflects the quality of the book. Think of how many times you've picked up a book because you loved the cover, or how many times you've seen a crappy cover and passed. You're entering a very competitive market right now with a ton of new books being published every day. You need every advantage you can get to make the thumbnail of your book stand out.

If you decide to look into a cover artist I can recommend a few. At the very least having your first cover professionally done will give you the experience of working with a professional artist and you may be able to learn a thing or two about how you want your covers done.

I don't mind the overall layout, but I don't like the picture at all, and I'm not sure I like how it's integrated into the cover either. I'd lose the bullets as well.

Ann_Mayburn said:

First- check out what does NOT work. Check out some of the catty websites where they make fun of bad romance covers and read the comments, see what about that particular cover didn't work.

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Check out http://covercafe.com as well. They run an annual contest of romance novel covers, and there's always a "Worst" category.

This cover didn't work for me because of the picture of the bluebonnets. As LJD said, it doesn't seem well-integrated into the cover, and all the different elements make the cover look like a page from a scrapbook. Though I did google "heart-shaped compass" and get some pretty results...

If you re going with objects I would suggest printing out the picture, getting some bullets or some other item and putting them on top and taking a picture of that. Otherwise it has the quality of flat clip art.

The image you found on Etsy, did you ask the owner for permission to use it in a cover?

I'm thinking bullets might not be an ideal visual to combine with a tranquil field of flowers and the words Finding Peace.

.303 Bookworm said:

I'm thinking bullets might not be an ideal visual to combine with a tranquil field of flowers and the words Finding Peace.

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Finding Peace, subtitled "and putting a cap in its ass".

veinglory said:

Finding Peace, subtitled "and putting a cap in its ass".

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I just keep thinking of that ad Don Draper pitched with the deserted beach, the pile of discarded clothes, and the tagline "Hawaii: The Jumping Off Point." Basically, I'm the guy who immediately jumped to "Wait, isn't that the ending of A Star Is Born?"