Well, the owner of the pic I used in the last Hungry Child cover mockup has never gotten back to me about permission, which is a shame because that pic would have been perfect. Oh, well. Back to the drawing board.
I found a nice, moody picture of a road in the woods on Stock.xchng, and if I’m understanding the license correctly, I can definitely use this one. So here are four cover variations that I mocked up. Take a look, if you please, and then answer the poll at the end of the post. Feedback comments are also welcome. Danke very much.
Cover #1
Cover #2
Cover #3
Cover #4
I still like the original one best, but out of these 4 choices, #1 is the best 🙂
Thanks, Rebekah. #1 seems to be the clear winner.
I have to say, they all look visually interesting, but for what it sounds like you’re trying to capture, #1 seems the best fit.
Thanks for the feedback, Kalira!
I wonder if you couldn’t find another creepy child photo somewhere. A child brings that focal point–that interest. I looked online for a while, and I couldn’t find as creepy a little girl. Has it been very long since you contacted the owner of the photo?
I played with another photo, but it just wasn’t as good.
I know. There’s actually an excellent one on iStockPhoto, but it would run me about $40, and that’s just not in the budget right now. I’ve looked all over and I can’t find another decent creepy little girl pic.
It’s been a few days since I contacted the owner of the pic. I’m still hoping he’ll get in touch, but at this point I’m not holding my breath. 🙁
If you knew a skinny girl, you could take your own shot. Do you have any nieces? I’d be happy to work on the photo to creep it up.
Thanks for the offer, but I don’t know anybody who’d make a good model. My grandnieces are too little.
The great thing about that pic I originally wanted to use is that it was a period pic, and the little girl wore the kind of old-fashioned clothes I envision for my Hungry Child. I’m still waiting on feedback from my betas, so maybe I’ll luck out and the owner will get back to me before I’m ready to go to print with it.
Even if he doesn’t, the cover’s not set in stone. I can always change it later if I come across a better picture down the line. That’s one of the great things about e-publishing — you can still make changes if you discover something isn’t working.
I like the first one because the title and your name are right there. The second is too fuzzy, the third one is in sharper focus, but the placement of your name doesn`t seem to really work and the last one is okay, but it looks like a lot of other book covers. I say go for number one!
Thanks for the specific feedback, Sylvike. It helps. And number one definitely seems to be the winner.
Cover art
Honestly, none of the b/w make me want to read the book, but they did make me wonder why there was no child in the image. Of course, you explained that in your blog, but people who didn’t read the blog will expect to see a child on the cover. If you can’t find an appropriate image of a child, maybe you could use images the represent the child’s hunger. A long country road can represent many things, but it generally doesn’t evoke thoughts of hunger. Longing, searching–yes. But hunger is so much more.
Re: Cover art
Thanks for the feedback, Nancy.