Which thumbnail is best?

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Calliea

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Hey, I'm dabbling around in colors for my cover, and I've arrived at 3 versions to pick from. Since it's the thumbnail that's usually viewed and a win/lose, I'd like to ask which one of these three looks the best to you? Which one would you feel like clicking on? :)

r25jqs.jpg
 

wweisser

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I like the contrast better in the first one. The third has a bit of it too but I don't find the top/bottom color split as appealing.
 

girlyswot

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To be blunt, I don't think any of them work well as thumbnails. I can't read the first word of the title let alone the author's name and I can't make out what's supposed to be happening in the picture. Sorry.
 

Calliea

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Many books have titles/names that are very small (seen much smaller than this), I guess it's just my preference and that's why I did it this way. I prefer for the image to take the space, not be a background to the subtitles :)
 

Marlys

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I agree with girlyswot--both title and picture are difficult to make out.
 

Polenth

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The first for colour. But the text is a problem. You've prioritised what I assume is the title, but the next biggest is "The Symmetry of Blue". Is that a series name? And is that the author name in tiny text at the very top? You could shift things around to make them clearer without having to make them huge. And change the font size order a bit, so author name is the next biggest. It'd make more sense given the layout to put title at the top, with series in small text under/above it, and author name at the bottom where you can make it bigger. If that's a tagline at the very bottom, might as well remove it and make more space for the important text, as it isn't readable at all.

I go against the grain in that I don't think the words always need to be readable in thumbnail, but usually you'll find there's a distinctive visual element that stands out at that size. This isn't that sort of cover, as the picture is complex and hard to make out when small. Making the text small too is going to mean people are squinting, as there isn't an element they'll latch on to.
 

scalesandfishnails

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I'm actually fond of the third. The split in colour gives it depth.
 

Calliea

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I'll see about making the 'Sinhail's Endgame' part bigger, rest is less important. Not only because that's the "trademark" thingie with its own font, but also because it's important as a design element in the next one. But there's only as big as I can make it without it looking stupidly close to the sides :eek:

Though when it comes to the author's name, I really don't agree that it should be the biggest part. When the author is a known person and the thing that draws readers in - yes. But when it's not the case, it doesn't really matter, I find.

Thank you for the replies :)
 

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I too like the first one best. I think the last one has a neat effect going on, with the split in color, but is better as an art piece than a cover.
 

Ken

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they're all too dark
the top of the cover is fine, but the btm is hid in shadows
can't tell what's what ? / should be lightened up
 

Polenth

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Though when it comes to the author's name, I really don't agree that it should be the biggest part. When the author is a known person and the thing that draws readers in - yes. But when it's not the case, it doesn't really matter, I find.

I didn't say biggest. I said next biggest, as in the second biggest after the title of the book. Or at least, big enough to read clearly. That's pretty standard among authors who aren't famous, as the title will sell it, but the author name is readable so that readers remember it.

In your current design, you've gone for the extreme of making it the tiniest text you can possibly manage, as though you don't want people to know you wrote it, and you certainly don't want them to remember your name and buy your other work. Much as making the author name the biggest thing on the page has meaning ("I'm famous, look at me!") so does making it the smallest ("I'm so embarrassed that I write stuff like this, ignore me.")

Which might be the vibe you're aiming for, but I'm guessing not.
 

Calliea

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I didn't say biggest. I said next biggest, as in the second biggest after the title of the book. Or at least, big enough to read clearly. That's pretty standard among authors who aren't famous, as the title will sell it, but the author name is readable so that readers remember it.

In your current design, you've gone for the extreme of making it the tiniest text you can possibly manage, as though you don't want people to know you wrote it, and you certainly don't want them to remember your name and buy your other work. Much as making the author name the biggest thing on the page has meaning ("I'm famous, look at me!") so does making it the smallest ("I'm so embarrassed that I write stuff like this, ignore me.")

Which might be the vibe you're aiming for, but I'm guessing not.

It kinda depends on the thumbnail size too I guess, but I'll try to make it bigger if it fits. With the series title and subtitle it gets tricky.

Well, it's a pen name, it's already a hideout :D In serious though, I get what you mean by vibes. I didn't really go by vibes but by what fit where. I'll think about it some more. Although just going to Amazon's fantasy most popular I already saw covers I couldn't read the titles on :p Which I think is worse than being unable to see the name.
 

Moldy

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, as though you don't want people to know you wrote it, and you certainly don't want them to remember your name and buy your other work. Much as making the author name the biggest thing on the page has meaning ("I'm famous, look at me!") so does making it the smallest ("I'm so embarrassed that I write stuff like this, ignore me.")

Which might be the vibe you're aiming for, but I'm guessing not.

I don't think this is the vibe a small/unreadable author's name text gives. With self-pubbing, it's entirely possible to leave an author's name off the cover entirely or publish it under "Anonymous" or anything you like, so the shame factor really isn't there.

It's also unlikely that anyone so uncomfortable with others reading their work would self-publish in the first place.

So I would just assume that they either don't care about building a brand, or don't realize the importance/use of a readable author's name on the cover. Or they're bad at typography or Photoshop :)
 

girlyswot

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I don't think this is the vibe a small/unreadable author's name text gives. With self-pubbing, it's entirely possible to leave an author's name off the cover entirely or publish it under "Anonymous" or anything you like, so the shame factor really isn't there.

It's also unlikely that anyone so uncomfortable with others reading their work would self-publish in the first place.

So I would just assume that they either don't care about building a brand, or don't realize the importance/use of a readable author's name on the cover. Or they're bad at typography or Photoshop :)

For me, the single biggest thing I am aiming for with my covers is to not make my readers wonder whether my book is self-published. Not that I am ashamed or embarrassed about self-publishing, but because I want my books to look like a professional product, indistinguishable from everything else in the professional marketplace.

You asked about your covers in thumbnail format and I stand by what I originally said - they don't work as thumbnails. Polenth is exactly right: there is no element big or clear enough to catch the eye at that size. The image is indistinct and the type is too small. You don't have to have everything readable but you have to have something which stands out enough to be memorable.

Here's what I would do: move the title to the bottom of the cover and split it over two lines. That way you can make both words significantly larger and it will draw the eye, without hiding anything much of the artwork from what I can tell. That also gives you room to make your author name larger (though not as large as the title). And it connects the title more clearly to the subtitle and the tagline.
 

Jerboa

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I prefer the first pic. But agree with those who said it's quite difficult to make out. I thought he was carrying a woman.
 

taeray

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First or the third for sure and sadly, I agree about the text. I can understand wanting to really showcase the image but the text should still pop off the page.
 
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