Hi all:
Sorry to bother you again today. I wasn’t planning on sharing another post today, but my cover artist, Ernesto Valdés, sent me three suggestions (well, the same cover in different colours) for my next book, Escaping Psychiatry 2. The Case of the Swapped Bodies and I’ve been checking the covers and sharing with some people for the last few days but can’t make up my mind. As I had already programmed a review for today that I had read as a member of Rosie’s team I didn’t want to change that, but I know this will be bothering me for a while. Any chance you could give me your opinion?
This is the description so far…
The Case of the Swapped Bodies (Escaping Psychiatry 2)
A woman shot dead. No enemies, no motive, only a story about how she swapped bodies with another woman in her computer. The other woman in the story, the owner of the swapped body, goes into labour and won’t talk.
When FBI Agent Dave Dean asks psychiatrist/writer Mary Miller for her assistance, she doesn’t know that The Case of the Swapped Bodies is not the only mystery in Port Haven. A hit and run, an armed robbery gone wrong and questions about family traditions, priorities and legacies come into play and complicate matters. The line between fact and fiction is more tenuous than anybody realised and suspense is on the menu.
This is the third book in the Escaping Psychiatry series and it poses new challenges for Mary Miller. And not all the challenges are professional ones. How do you carry on when you’ve survived the unthinkable?
Here the three suggested covers
Number 1
Number 2
Number 3
So you can take a more informed decision, these are the covers of the first two.
All help will be appreciated. I promise to share a bit more about the novel soon (I’m waiting on edits but if anybody fancies an early read I hope we should be able to get some copies ready soon), but this is going around my head (with a few other things…) Ah, and just in case, a quick reminder that the prequel is available free in most places.
Ah, and although this is something different, as the post is about the genre (more or less), I thought I’d take the chance to share this survey that Lit World Interviews are running about the genre mystery. Why do you like it? Check here and go answer!
Thanks so much for mostly checking and looking, please, let me know what you think, and like, share, comment and bring everybody! Oh, and don’t forget to reply to the survey!
I like the warm tones of Cover #3, Olga! Best of luck with it!
Thanks so much, Sarah! That’s my mother’s favourite.
As SR Mallery says, I think cover number 3 more suitable for this type of book. Good luck and may your book be successful.
Thanks so much, Colin!
Number one.
Thanks, John. That was my first thought. Then I started thinking about it more and more and got very confusing.
That is the problem with thinking. Way overrated. 🙂
It’s all Ernesto (the cover artist’s fault). He usually sends me a proposal and we work the details, but this time I guess he wasn’t sure himself. Mind you, it has generated plenty of discussion!
All Good. 🙂
🙂
Wow, Olga! This book sounds fantastic, complex in the best possible ways. You are one of the few who could carry off a story like that. I can’t wait!
The covers… Every computer reads colors a bit differently… but I like the third one best. The second (pinkish color to my tablet) I like least.
Wishing you huge success. Mega hugs!
Thanks, Teagan. I’m planning on sharing a little bit more of it when the edits are ready. Yes, I also think the second one’s colour looks a bit too pinky (even for me, and I like pink).
HI Olga, upcoming congrats. I can’t wait to read the first two books I have awaiting me on my TBR. IMO, I’m thinking Cover #1 matches the series with its colour scheme. 🙂
Thanks, Debby. I’m thinking of adding the prequel as an extra to the paper copy of this one (as I felt it was a bit short for a paper book of its own)…. I hope you enjoy them. The characters are the same but the stories are fairly varied. 😉
Looking forward to getting to them. 🙂
♥
This book sounds excellent! And I really think #1 is the right cover. Dark and mysterious–more so than the others, which is appropriate because it is the end of the series!
Best of luck with the book!
Thanks, Lorna! That was my first impression too. There might be more adventures to come…
Oh good!
Thanks, Lorna!
#1 looks like it fits best with the others and seems a little more alluring to me. 🙂
Thanks, Paulette! And good luck with your new book!
Definitely #1
Thanks so much! It seems to be the winner.
I like number 1
Thanks, Linda!
I like number one as well.
Thanks, Jo-Anne!
Number one 🙂
Thanks, Christoph!
#2 hands down. It drew me in immediately. The other two didn’t.
Thanks, James!
I like #2 too! That’s my favourite 🙂
Thanks Violet. That was the one I liked at first but when I looked at the other two I wasn’t so sure, although it’s true that the colours look different in different computers anyway.
Congratulations, Olga. I’d go with #1 for the colour match to the series.
Thanks, Sue! Unless the tide turns, it looks like the winner.
Good luck with the launch 🙂
Thanks, Sue. Still some time to go. 🙂
Guest spot open whenever you want one, Olga 🙂
Thanks, Sue! I’ll keep it in mind!
🙂
♥
Cover #1, however I’m not sure about the faded human target, it is really hard to see and so the black target blobs may look strange on the model’s face. Do you need it? Does it make the cover too busy? It will be even harder to make out in thumbnail size.
Thanks, Rosie. Bullets and guns have an important part in the story (and there’s a scene in a shooting gallery…). I hope at least it might make people curious to click on it and can tell the mood. The subtleties will always be lost in thumbnail, that’s quite true.
Number 1 for me. Exciting – well done!
Thanks very much, Joyce.
You’re welcome Olga. 🙂 Good luck with the book.
Thank you! 🙂
I’m going to disagree with everyone else and go for number two! I love the colour. 🙂
That was the one that caught my eye first but then I wasn’t quite sure how it fitted with the others… Thanks, Shelley!
I’d go with number 1, but add a splash of color to the shooting target lines (to echo the covers of your earlier books)
Thanks Barb!
Number 2 draws me in and the colour matches the background of “Beginnings”, but I think the colour of number 1 matches the other book. Sorry, that probably wasn’t much help.
Thanks, Wendy. That’s more or less what I think. 🙂
First it was 1 and then 3 but overall 3 has the edge for me…It was close 🙂
Thanks, Carol! It’s a close one for me too, that’s why I thought I’d ask!
Out of the selection, I would choose number one. I would have liked to have seen the ‘skull X-ray’ design continue though. Even if it is appropriate to the story, so many books have the face of an attractive woman on the cover,
Best wishes, and good luck with the book. Pete.
Thanks, Pete. I did think about that too, but it’s not really relevant to the story. And if the next story in the series is the one I’m thinking about at the moment (because things don’t work out as planned, and they definitely aren’t for me with this series), the next one will be not very skull related. To tell you the truth, one of the women in the story isn’t very attractive but…
I just saw the skull as a representation of psychiatry, and an ‘identifier’ of your series. Long-term, I suppose some people might think that it is the same book though, so changing might be the best plan.
Yes, I think you’re right (I probably think of it more with regards to neurology or neurosurgery, although we use imaging sometimes but tend to be less invasive), and yes, your point about people thinking it’s the same book is a great one. That is a worry with series, as it has happened to me sometimes that I’ve missed a book in a series thinking I’d already read it, until I’ve read the next one and realised something was amiss.
Hi Olga as I sat back from the computer number 1 stood out for me.. xx
Thanks, Sally. That seems to be the winner so far. And a group of Spanish authors in Facebook think the same too. I think the colour makes it chillier.
I think so too Olga.. and a great way to identify a great cover.. xx
Thanks, Sally!
Hi Olga and Sally, I like #1. @v@ <3
Thanks, Viv! Yes, that seems to be the general opinion and it seems to fit in better with the other two…
Hi Olga I ve just found your blog (reblog on Smorgasbord’s blog) and I like number 1 ! Hope this helps 🙂
Thanks, Suzanne!
Number ONE keeps the brand colour best (Blue) Olga 😀
Thanks, Chris!
Welcome Olga
With all due respect to the scads of people voting for #1, long-standing wisdom among traditional publishing companies dictates that covers rendered in blue tones perform the least well among readers, possibly because of the psychology that blue suggests coldness and can therefore be off-putting. My personal preference of this set would be #2 because it coordinates best with the other books in the series. Then again, the last time I offered solicited advice to a writer in regard to many aspects of his cover — book and series titles, as well as the cover composition itself, he went with all the choices I liked the least. ALL of them. So… what do I know? LOL. Good luck, my friend!
Thanks, Kim. I guess we’re all very contrary. But yes, I know what you mean. I don’t usually ask as I just decide but here I’ve changed my mind a few time over the last few days. 🙂
I like the steel, cold look of the first one. It pairs well with the bullet holes.
Thanks, Michelle!
I vote for #2, but suggest you make your name as large or larger than the title for the book.
Thanks, Lloyd.
You’re welcome. Have you read this post from Smashwords?
http://blog.smashwords.com/2013/05/new-smashwords-survey-helps-authors.html
Thanks, Lloyd. I’ll have a look.
I prefer #2, thank you for asking
Thanks, Annette! I might see how the most popular do and change after a while…:)
Seems like everyone likes all of them! I’m with # 3 because of its warm tones – more “body-like”! Good luck with this – I had a tough time!
Thanks, Noelle. You’re with my Mom!
I also like number 1, Olga. Good luck with the book 🙂
Thanks so much, Diane!:)
#1 for me Olga; the colour echo back to the earlier books and the somewhat sombre tones did it for me
Thanks, Geoff. So far it seems to be the runaway winner. I thought it would be closer.
I’m drawn to cover number 2.
Thanks, Laurie. That was the one I was drawn to first. Then looking at the other covers I wasn’t so sure. 🙂
I love number 1. The colours stand out and would make me pick it up in a bookstore or on kindle. 🙂
Thanks, Adele, and thanks for the reblog too. 🙂
I like number one best. The color stands out and catches your attention. <3 <3 <3
Thanks, Tess. I find it more haunting in that color… ♥
There’s that too. Wonderful covers. Not so easy making a choice. 🙂
Thanks, Tess. I’ll keep you all posted.
Cover 1. is in-keeping with the series. I wish you luck it looks to be a superb read. 🙂
Thanks so much, Ellen. My main aim is always to entertain. 🙂
No:1 😉
Thanks so much, Jack!
It’s dramatic Olga 😉 x
Yes, Ernesto has a very good hand with covers but this time he tried different hues and neither of us could decide. 🙂
Cover 2
Thanks, Lucinda. That was my first thought.
I liked cover #3 because I like the way it looks realistic but not “cold” like the first one, nor too much like a photograph in the second one. I guess sepia tone is my favorite one.
Of the two others, I see some sepia but the blue tone cover #1 may mix better. Up to you! Smiles, Robin
Thanks so much, Robin!
All three covers are lovely, but Number 1 does follow the color scheme of your other books in the series. Congratulations on this third book. They all sound interesting. 🙂 — Suzanne
Thanks so much, Suzanne. They’re part of a journey to me, as I wrote the first story in the series quite a long time ago now (around 18 years ago).
Think its the blue for me 😀
Thanks, Sacha!
They’re essentially the same cover. The only difference is the color, and that means #1 is the only one which will pull the most readers to the book from the shelf or online from a purely marketing perspective. All of the colors are too cool to really sell the book. Colors in the red to magenta spectrum traditionally draw the eye better. But of the three, #1 is the best to sell the book.
Thanks, Phillip. Yes, it is the same cover. I just wondered if people would feel very strongly about any of the three covers as I wasn’t sure myself. Thanks for the data!
Hello Olga! Your story reads fascinating. I’m leaning toward the first one. I find the blue tones more absorbing and eerie which draw me in. I hope I’ve been helpful.
Thanks, Vashti. It seems to be the winner, for sure. 🙂
Oh, dear, minority report, I preferred #2, liked the warm tones (but I’m into these colours at present. And thanks for the retweet of my most recent post, Olga!
My pleasure. To be honest the second one was my first thought although when I looked at the other ones I wasn’t so sure. I’m thinking about trying the different covers at least for the digital version and seeing if that makes a difference… Have a great weekend.
I have read the book, and I think that #1 is the best for it – the cool one. #3 might be a nicer color, but not for this book. And besides, most of covers are of this shade and you don’t want to get lost in the crowd 🙂
Thanks, Inese. I hope to have you as a reader when it’s out (and I hope it will be ready some time in the summer). I trust your eye for visuals as I know your talent. 🙂
Thank you Olga! Is it a brand new book? I thought it is the one I have already read.
Yes, it’s new. It’s the third book in the trilogy. This one is a longer novel, only one story (although a fairly convoluted one…) ♥
Wow! I must read it! I like Mary 🙂 xx
She finds herself in quite interesting situations… Thanks so much! 😉
The red in the 2 goes well with the theme.
Thanks, Cate. I’m wondering about trying different covers for the e-version and seeing if they make a lot of difference (and how right or wrong people were) 🙂
Just don’t get too bogged down in minute detail that others may not even notice. It’s what you want that matters the most. It’s your creation.
Yes, thanks. It’s good to get a sense of people’s opinion. Best of luck, Cate.
I’m back to say that I voted for #2 because of the color but I also liked #1. I do have another suggestion though, Would another color for the font help make the subtitle easier to read? To read it, I put on my reading glasses and got closer to the screen. Maybe a younger pair of eyes wouldn’t have to do that.
Thanks, Lloyd. I’ll announce it officially on Tuesday but even comments in other places have gone with the first one. It’s a bit difficult to work out the resolution and the colours from the blog, I suspect. I’m sharing a bigger version next week but of course I reduced the resolution otherwise the blog is very slow to load. But I’ll have a few tries.
Number two for me. Good for you for including your mother in this.
Thanks, Murielle. I happen to be at her place due to some health care problems (hers) and she enjoys vicariously all these things.
I like the first one. 🙂
Thanks, Tricia. You’re in the majority. 🙂
Number 1, Olga. By far the best, in my opinion 🙂 Good luck!
Thanks so much, Effrosyni. Yes, it’s the winner!
Olga. I like Book Cover the best.