Tickety Boo Covers Feedback Forum...

I firmly believe the Indigo Heartfire cover is barking up the wrong tree, Gary.

I've had a read of the free portion, and had a look at the reviews. What comes out that this is a Big London Romance with a dash of Urban Fantasy. Truly Madly Deeply are my thoughts, but the reviews have mentioned 4 Weddings and their ilk. Whether this was the original intention/vision or not, this is what the reviews are telling you.

It needs to be shown on the cover.

My thoughts on it would be a recognizable London scene, maybe an aerial shot, with a Tinkerbell style fairy (bright point light) on it.

You need the London, on the cover, or at least the recognizable real world. Then slap a dash of magic on it. That will be help readers see, at a glance what kind of book it is. They can then move to the blurb... and then to the free taster... and then hopefully buy.

At the moment, no one can really get an inkling of what this book is, what its about etc etc so will simply go find something they can easily identify with.

Sorry, Gary, in terms of honest feedback from me... not a fan at all.
 
It doesn't mean anything to browsers though. It's just a beach, (or just a fairy).
 
I think you need people in it. At the moment it's fantasy with maybe a hint of romance, when it should be the other way round. I think the main male and female characters, with a smaller fairy between them or suggesting a link between them, would be good. But I like Ralph's idea of referencing London -- nothing touristy, but something distinctive. I'm not a fan of the floweriness; I don't think that's really the feel of the book.
 
Gary Compton said:
What did you think of the original cover, HB?
Click to expand...

The purple beach and moon one? I thought it was quite an attractive image, but it didn't tell me anything about the story, apart from that it was a romance, or really sell it to me. But I'm not a romance reader anyway, and listening to the opinions of someone who's not in your target market might not be the best idea. I do like the idea of a more chick-lit type cover, though, with people in an urban setting.
 
I did do this originally many moons ago. It is the practice where Robert works. It didnt get passed this image.

IndigoHeartfire-2.png
 
Subject to the coloring being sorted, that is much better. I still don't think distinctive enough though. These are the words I would suggest the cover needs to evoke:

Romance
London
Comedy
Fairy
Indigo
(Someone who has read the book rather than just the free sections might offer more)

The beach only has the last, the Fairy the last two.

A couple directly kissing is a bit Mills and Boon (Unless you want me to model it with Alexa Chung as per another thread)

That being said:

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-f...tish-phone-box-retro-style-dark-image35375047

from Ratsy's post is close to what I imagine. With a Tinkerbell fairy somewhere, elements can be shaded to Indigo too (I think just elements, not the whole thing - perhaps just the phone box?). This one also, looking at the top rated books in the category, seems to fit the current trend for romance.

Another option is perhaps a couple laughing with each other? Might cover the comedy and romance then.
 
OK - here we go:

Romance - strolling couple holding hands - tick
London - Iconic scene at Houses of Parliament - tick
Comedy - Smiling couple - tick
Fairy - Fairy - tick
Indigo - Indigo fairy and dress - tick

Indigo Heartfire-merged.jpg
 
Fairy does work better as overlay part of title in a sense.
That's the best yet.

(Edit: Her face tone seems a lot paler than her shoulders & arms and chest?)
 
It's getting there but that fairy desperately needs to go - it's like something from clash of clans bolted onto the cover. Very nice in its own context... But it's completely out of it here.
 
I have to agree that the fairy doesn't go with the new cover, which I otherwise like. I do like the fairy, as you know, but it's a picture you simply can't combine with photos, because it has a completely different look.

But I disagree that the cover needs to evoke London, because as settings go, London is not really an important element of the story. Having read the whole book, I can say that the story could have happened just about anywhere. Take away the British spellings and a few minor details, and it could easily have happened in San Francisco, for instance. In some stories, especially science fiction and fantasy, the setting can be said, in a very real sense, to be one of the characters. And to some extent that is true here, but it's true of the clinic, not the city. The clinic is the kind of place you could probably find it just about any city in the UK or the US. (But the clinic wouldn't make a good cover. )

So yes, a romantic looking cover of two people walking along in London is fine, but it would be equally fine if they were walking along in a city that couldn't be identified. London just doesn't matter, except that it is picturesque and is a good choice in that way.
 
So are you voting for the fairy one (without the couple) as I have read the whole book and I think it is different and fits. All the romance covers seem to have a half-naked person on it.
 
Sorry I dont like it. :(

Apart from anything the shadow would not all be on front cover.
 
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