FIVE VISUAL STARS FOR THE MASSACRE OF CHINLAC

Recently One of the CA at Muse it Up Publishing directed us all to a posting from a professional CA concerning what MAKES a GREAT cover and these were the CORE ELEMENTS...

SIMPLICITY

Keep it simple. Always. Remember that a potential reader is looking at that cover for only two seconds before deciding to click on it or not. Whater the cover has to say needs to be conveyed in less time than that. A sign of an amateur cover (and by association, an amateur author) is a cover that is too busy.

LEGIBILITY

Far more important than any image on the cover is legibility of the title. If you can't read what it says at the smalles thumbnail size, it won't get clicked on. In short if the image interfered with the title, change the image.

GENRE

The genre of the book needs to be conveyed in those same two seconds that the potential reader is viewing the image and reading the title. Certain genres are automatically represented by certain images, colors, fonts or styles. Stick with what works. A good cover designer will already know this.

EMOTION

This is the key ingredient for a great cover design that sells. This is what will convince a potential reader to click for more. The cover needs to convey an emoiton quickly and simply, whether than emotion is love, lust, suspense, fear, etc.

We have some incredible covers coming out so I want to showcase them and hold them up to the scrutiny of these guidelines and see where we are on the money and where we need to work a little bit harder to step up and make the publishing world take notice of our ZING!

Let's begin with...

So how do we rate this cover by Marion Sipe JUST added to our Muse List of upcoming Releases?

Simplicity? Well there's nothing elabortae or jarring to my eye, and the coloration is not extreme. Red, black, and white. The lines are not jarring, and the textures are not intricate either...so I think

Simplicity gets

A+

Legibility

My eyesight usually requires I get out my magnifying glass and still I must squint. (I royally HATE captcha because of that...don't you? And yet here I have no problems whatsoever reading EVERYTHING!) The title THE MASSACRE OF CHINLAC does not play hide 'n' seek nor does the smaller text telling me it's a novel or that it's written by DAN BRIGGS. I LOVE it when I don't have to squint. Makes me eager to further investigate this book.

GENRE...does the coloring and images tell me what the book will be about...Massacre sort of gives away it might have somethign to do with MURDER as does crossed BLACK spears and some kind of a carrion bird in striking white against a RED background...so YEAH we got GENRE covered.

EMOTION...

Got this one covered too.

So did Marion Sipe and Dan Briggs do thie jobs in chosing an appropriate cover that reveals exactly what we'll be getting in one quick thumbnail glance of this book? OH YES!

SO FIVE HAppy FLAMES FOR

THE MASSACRE OF CHINLAC