I love being a self-published author. I love the researching and the writing. I also love working with those who help me to pull together the final book project. Here are two book covers graphic designer Chad Snyder created for my book, Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria. This book is the true story of a young, former slave girl's fifty-year quest to meet the queen of England - despite the daunting tasks of saving money for the 3,500 mile voyage from her home, finding a suitable gift for a queen, and withstanding the ridicule of those who learn of her impossible dream. Which book cover would you have selected - the purple or the green? Enjoy!Update: The comments are evenly split so far! As a self-published author, some of the considerations I made when deciding which cover to select included: 1) which cover would look good online. The book cover image on BN.com or Amazon.com is about an inch square. Will the title of the book be readable in that size? 2) which cover has pick-up appeal in the store? 3) which image captures the essence of the story? and, 4) as a quilt historian, I have to admit I wanted to show a bit of the pattern of the quilt she made (not sure that generated one more sale!). I also posed this question on my quilt history blog - the quilters there are also evenly split. Some see themselves in the image of Martha Ann sewing. Interesting, huh?!
23 comments:
They're both lovely. The purple seems more true/specific to the character, and the green has a strong sense of movement and adventure. For me, those would be the competing considerations.
The green. There's a lot more going on and it opens the imagination to what might be inside. :)
I like the green cover because it gives Martha some context to the story. I like the purple, too. But the green offers more story.
Don, Devas T.
I like the sense of the coming adventure in the first. You can get a sense of the journey she is about to undertake.
I love the second one.
Maybe because it's already part of our home.
Maybe because it's more gentle and creative and feminine and personal and unique.
But both are fabulous!
Kyra. What an interactive post. Tough but beautiful choices. The ship suggests the theme of journey.
The seated sewer allows us to see the quilt pattern .
And also to see Martha Ann in close up - her beautiful spirit shines through. Many thanks for sharing!
OOOh This is next to impossible!!! I can't make a decision on this one. I love both covers!!! It's like asking me to choose which of my children I love more he hehe he he! I can't wait till the book is out. It's a very important book. Best to you and Congrats as well.
OOOh This is next to impossible!!! I can't make a decision on this one. I love both covers!!! It's like asking me to choose which of my children I love more he hehe he he! I can't wait till the book is out. It's a very important book. Best to you and Congrats as well.
The purple one is too subdued and quiet. The green one looks more inviting as it speaks like "come on the adventure with me" - E :)
Elysabeth Eldering
Author of the Junior Geography Detective Squad, 50-state, mystery, trivia series
Where will the adventure take you next?
http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com
http://junior-geography-detective-squad.weebly.com
I like the green one because it is more detailed, people will wonder what is inside the book.
Nicole Weaver
http://www.melangeofcultures.wordpress.com
http:outskirtspress.com/nicoleweaver
I like both but I'd have to agree with the others about the green cover though.
And I got a second opinion from my 3 yr old, who, when asked which picture she liked, pointed to green one and said "that's so cool."
She likes anything to do with water and I think the ship caught her attention.
Hope that helps.
Hi Kyra,
I think both covers are great. But as someone who works with youth, I think the blue cover would be more non-gender specific. They're both beautiful. I think the lavendar/pink cover is so sweet, nice and soothing to the eye. But perhaps the blue would stand out more on the internet, as well as be more welcoming for boys who may want to read the title. Just my opinions.
And KUDOS! I did not know you were a self published author! You're doing an amazing job and your books look great! As a fellow self published author, I'm inspired!
DuEwa
http://www.rhymesviewsnews.blogspot.com
http://www.duewaworld.com
I like the green one, too, for the same reasons others have mentioned -- sense of adventure, historical context. Second one is lovely, but doesn't suggest a journey of any kind.
Hi Kyra,
I love the second one but decided to ask my 13 yr old daughter. She says if she saw the book in the library, she would chose the first one because..."the girl is leaving behind her family and it makes me curious to find out what adventure she is going on alone and the second one is sort of boring."(her words)
She is planning to go see the queen and the purple cover gives you no indication of this adventure. I think kids would respond more to the green cover and wonder what she is going to do. It gives you a better overall indication of what is going to happen. Just the quilting alone, only says "She is sewing." My vote is for the green.
Congratulations, Kyra! I love the first one with the boat. It looks like she is starting a journey.
The second cover (lilac) strikes me the most. The color is very soothing and calming and "patient", which Martha Ann would have to be to spend 50 years trying to meet the Queen of England. (Even though my favorite colors are blues and greens.) I also think the second graphic better reflects the story as well.
I like the first cover because it conveys an adventure. The second cover makes you think that women are supposed to be the domestic ones and sew ... not a very empowering idea for girls of this era!
Kyra,
DEFINITELY the green! It gives the viewer more of a sense of what the book is about. Plus it shows the time period. The purple looks WAY too modern, and it makes the story look more like it's about the making of the quilt, as opposed to the adventure of delivering it to Queen Victoria. I would buy the green, but not the purple.
Just my 2 cents.
:)
JC
The green cover shows adventure and makes the reader want to know what happened on the journey while the purple cover depicts a tame and passive note.
On the other hand, the purple cover looks cleaner, the title shows well and is easy to read. On the green cover, the title somehow gets lost and is heavily competing with the images.
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