This one’s pretty simple, gang.
I made a placeholder cover for my new murder mystery Double Blind, and now I need to go for reals.
These are the top four.
Which do you like best for my murder mystery thriller?
Make your selection and comment below.
(Please let me know what you usually read and/or if you read murder mysteries.)
Thanks!
It’s a good old fashioned Florida recount!
Buy the Double Blind paperback now for $12.99 or preorder the Death and Damages eBook, and read Double Blind and 19 other complete novels for just $0.99 on November 27!
Dan Alatorre 
Number 1 appeals most to me, Dan 😀
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Thank you!
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They’re all good – congrats to your cover designer. On balance I would go for number 2.
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Cool. Thanks!
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Three – where is he going and who or what could be lurking in the shadows? I like the alley in no. two, but it depends what you want the face of the woman to tell us – is she the heroine or the victim?
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That’s one of the reasons why I liked #2, my mind immediately wanted to know, “Is she one of the detectives or is she going to get hurt?” … She looks too pretty to be the serial killer, but who knows what goes on in Dan’s mind, *wink.
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Ha! Right!
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Hmm. Do I tell you? Because a reader wouldn’t get that until they picked it up… (although it’s elsewhere on this blog)
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#2, the one with the girl.
I used to read mysteries (like Koontz) but I don’t anymore, I prefer romance or lighthearted funny books.
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Cool. Thanks, Laura!
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Having read it, I like #3 best, but I think #2 would catch the attention of more people
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Interesting. Thanks, Claire.
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I would go with #1…movement and mystery conveyed. I’m not drawn to #2 and rarely choose a book that shows a person’s face close up (unless it’s a star from a movie version:) Good luck with your book!
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I have heard that a lot in the last 18 hours or so – that readers don’t want to see faces on the book cover. It’s curious to me, but I never factored it into a book cover decision! Thanks for sharing your insights.
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I like 4, which should immediately tell you NOT to use four. I have terrible cover sense.
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Got it. Not 4.
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On whole, I like the layout of #2 but not sure I like the image of the face. I wonder if you can duplicate and flip the lower image like the opening credits of “Bosch”? Just a thought.
I read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy, historical fiction, and literary fiction and a wide assortment of non-fiction.
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Isn’t it funny how the face messes it up for so many people? Thanks for the help.
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Love them all, but one and two the most. The thing wrong with two is the face, but only because it makes me think romantic suspense, though it might sell more books. Seeing I have already read the story, it doesn’t…number one fits best for me!
sherry @ fundinmental
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Thanks for the insights!
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I would choose cover 4
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Thanks!
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To be honest none of them are appealing and would stand out in a line up against other mystery books. You are unique with your own style. Your cover should reflect it. Dark Vision was a great cover and sold the reader on the idea of what was within. Your cover Savy Stories and Poggibonsi were covers that popped and grabbed attention. If I had to pick one of the four, it would be #1. My advice, try again.
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Aha – and that’s what I orthought. That’s why I picked the guy with the gun originally. To me, that cover said: cop story.
But then when you start looking at the murder mystery‘s, that’s not how they roll.
Cowboy romances have lots of shirtless six pad six pack ab guys in 10 gallon hat. Number
Romances have good looking characters on the front
High fantasy tend to have swords and Gothic looking gilded stuff
But just re-watched right readers apparently want a little mystery even in the cover.
There’s a difference between blending in so that you are a noticeable, and fitting in so that people who reach for a bag of potato chips don’t end up with a case a real a spool of barbed wire.
Then once they start to enjoy your product, they will love you or hate you or whatever. But the trick is to get them to try it first.
To that end, we concluded we need to look like what the reader expected us to look like, and not look like something else.
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You are correct, each genre has its typical cover and most of them are boring and unattractive. Color, style, correct fonts, and grabbing graphics are what attracts the reader no matter the genre. Yet, the cover should give you a hint of what you will be reading. Thanks for letting me voice my opinion. Good luck with your search.
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We agree. Let’s see if we’re right. Or wrong in this case.
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Dang. I accidentally hit send before I was able to spell check, and since I am on my phone I can’t edit that. Oh well.
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