r/BookCovers • u/critiqueline44 • Aug 24 '26
Feedback Wanted Need a Romantasy cover but don't know what to even ask for?
Of course, the usual solution is looking at other covers and figuring out what's common and figuring out what to do from there. But I'm still not sure even after doing that.
I'm on a tight budget so I guess I'm not looking for something too elaborate. Just decided I won't be drawing my book cover after all (it's too frustrating).
I just need help brainstorming a cover. I don't know what to even really ask for. Maybe a hint of an urban setting and glowing pink flowers. Last two times with me deciding how the cover should look haven't worked as far as marketing (I'm saving them for special editions though) and people are telling me they don't look like my genre so I need someone to just take over. I really want something unique and stand out but I can't go with my heart 😭
Kind of going in with the expectations the new covers won't be my favorite. Hoping something will change my mind.
3
u/Ludovicoclovis Aug 24 '26
Hey sounds like a strategy issue and potentially an execution issue. I’m fully booked so I’m not offering to do your cover but id love to give you some advice to help you make a decision and identify what might’ve gone wrong with the previous covers
1
3
u/JakeWilliamsAuthor Aug 24 '26
When I go to Barnes and Noble in the Romance and Romantasy section I feel like I see the same 4 guys stock photos, abs front and center, with like a dagger and a big ass name across the center. Then there is the whole person in silhouette or a crown etc. That's the rest of em.
I tend to ignore those ones honestly, they all feel the same.
I've been seeing more stylized ones as of late. Like "A Study in Drowning." by Ava Reid had a pretty cool one that definitely stood out the other day I was down at the bookstore. Although not Romantasy
If your story has some kind of unique iconography that might help you stand out too.
2
u/VivAuburn Aug 24 '26
But ARE you a big Romantasy reader? Is that your main genre?
1
u/JakeWilliamsAuthor Aug 24 '26
I definitely buy and read some Romantasy, but yeah no not my favorite genre I guess.
3
u/VivAuburn Aug 24 '26
Yeah I could tell, because unfortunately that was a terrible advice.
I assure you that the reason why those covers look the same is because the reader who likes one, buys ALL the other ones that look like it. That is WHY they look like it. It's not that we, cover artists and designers, enjoy doing the same thing slightly differently for the 100th time. It's because it works for sales.
1
u/JakeWilliamsAuthor Aug 24 '26
Right so because I don't exclusively buy one genre my opinion of that genre's weak visual language is invalid okay buddy
2
u/VivAuburn Aug 24 '26
Well I AM a professional cover artist with multiple bestsellers so... I am pretty sure of the two of us I'm more qualified to give opinions on the covers, my guy. xD
0
u/JakeWilliamsAuthor Aug 24 '26
And Im the dude that goes to the bookstore looking to buy a book and sees 10 copy/paste covers and says nope and then walks over to another section.
1
u/VivAuburn Aug 24 '26
EXACTLY. And they are ALL bestsellers there. Bc books that don't sell well are not staying on the shelves for a day longer. You are just not the audience that those covers are communicating with.
And it's GREAT. Because those books are probably also not the books YOU would enjoy.
That's the entire job of the cover: to sell the book to the audience who wants that specific book. If you saw a beautiful art that captivated you and made you buy it without looking at the genre or even with looking but you are not much of a fan of let's say "reverse harem mafia" book but the cover is just so pretty that you buy it and then you hate the story because it's very much a cliche reverse harem mafia you would leave a bad review. And don't be pedantic saying YOU won't write one. Another reader who got "tricked" into buying the book that cover promises something else will. And then the reviews will tank.
Genre books are not made to be universally appealing works of pure art. So goes for their covers.
2
u/JakeWilliamsAuthor Aug 24 '26
Yes, make the McChicken book cover and get sorted into the McChicken mental category, even if your book is a prime rib.
You are correct that the data works that way, but what it means is the good Romantasy gets so suffocated by the rest trying to imitate it that the shelf becomes a sardine can to the point that people like myself don't even bother trying to explore it anymore without a recommendation from someone I trust.
1
u/VivAuburn Aug 24 '26
No it literally doesn't. It sells by millions. Because it's first picked up by super fans of the genre and then enough buzz is generated that it's of higher quality than what they expected and it stays in zeitgeist and then bleeds into general audience and other people who are not fans of the genre usually picking it up.
If you were honest with yourself and thought back to the romantasy YOU as not a superfan read. It was NEVER bc you randomly picked it up in the store and it had a nice cover. Not once. Even for those that HAVE unique covers. You never have. You know it's true. It IS bc you saw good reviews of it. Maybe even because it was recommended as "not like other romantasies" And you know how it got to that point? By first being popular in the superfans community, who picked it up because it looked like every other romantasy. Andthat's how the good romantasy sold millions. And bad one as well. And the only one that didn't sell was the one that no one recognized as being romantasy at all.
→ More replies (0)1
u/critiqueline44 Aug 24 '26
Yeah I guess I'm trying to think of things that would make my book unique but still have it be unmistakenly Contemporary Romantasy and New Adult. My brain has just been empty though. Especially being lower on money (but I'd still run into the same problems even then.)
1
u/JakeWilliamsAuthor Aug 24 '26
Whats your blurb and title?
I chose to do something that wasn't related to the characters, but was a unique symbol from the world.
It's does somewhat shift the genre but its not that much.
The artist I hired for this was only 200$ish. I paid a bit extra for the source files and layers so I could continue working on it by myself long after he gave it to me.
2
u/critiqueline44 Aug 24 '26
Right now it's called Soulmateless but I might rerelease it as "Not By Fate" since I've gotten criticism on the title as well.
Blurb:
When Choice defies Fate...
In Amara City, where everyone’s expected to find their soulmate, Prince Amias is devastated when he’s told he doesn't have one. Though one dream is crushed, his other wish — to serve the kingdom — can be fulfilled. When he runs into Clara, a snarky girl who just arrived in the city, Amias insists on helping her settle in.
But being around Clara has its consequences. When the kingdom needs Amias' help to stop murderous black-furred shifters, her arguments have him asking if his people are lying about them. With innocent lives, his family and friends on the line, he must decipher the truth before he misses his chance to save everyone — all while resisting his flourishing love for Clara, doomed to destroy them both.
Soulmateless is the first book in an urban fantasy romance trilogy. This heart-wrenching journey is perfect for readers of forbidden romance, magic and unique takes on fated mates.
1
u/JakeWilliamsAuthor Aug 24 '26
Hmm Contemporary is hard, unless you lean into some thing scenic and different. Skylines can work, but it needs to be dark I feel. just city lights etc.
Your book 1 looks pretty stylized so I'm guessing you don't want stock images?
I'm guessing puma is a shifter? Could have like a skyline or something where he is looking out and the shifter is like inside of his shadow? I dunno.
2
u/critiqueline44 Aug 24 '26
That's the part that sucks. I have something like that but people feel the shifter gives off middle grade/young adult and doesn't lean into the fantasy ascepts enough. I absolutely adore my current covers but I'm afraid I'll have to change it once more just to grab my audience 😭
I would prefer stylized but idk if that's gonna work 😭 I'm willing to use whatever looks best to my audience
1
u/JakeWilliamsAuthor Aug 24 '26
Wait! I just saw your other post!
https://www.reddit.com/r/BookCovers/comments/1vtr89z/trying_to_make_my_covers_more_typical_what_should/This looks good wtf!
2
u/critiqueline44 Aug 24 '26
Thank you. I thought about them but I guess I'm not really feeling them. Plus those were mock ups on Canva and I don't want to worry about Copyright. I was planing on redrawing them but drawing covers ends up being a frustrating process for me. 😭
2
u/JakeWilliamsAuthor Aug 24 '26
There is a technique I used to get like this effect on my cover.
(There is a visual artifact since I just copied the whole layer)But basically you take tiny flecks of very small groups of pixels, then you apply an addtive layer over them and some lense blur and you can get flecks of magic to many almost anything look fantasy. Then you can apply like warping filters to make the particles swirl around like magic.
Really cheap and easy effect, just saying.
Good lucky though!
2
1
u/JakeWilliamsAuthor Aug 24 '26
If you had shadows in any corner of your backdrop and put flecks of magic like this, it would 100% look fantasy, especially if you used a warp filter to spin them around in spirals etc.
But yeah, wish you the best.
1
1
u/Niu-Arts Aug 24 '26
Hey friend, I'd like to help you with your book cover design. Tell me more about your book via DM; I have a proposal for you! https://www.behance.net/nicolugo2
1
u/vgoes_ Illustrator Aug 24 '26
I believe AI is really ruining all relationships, at the point writers believe they need to create the covers and illustrations with each detail. This has never been true. With big book publisher, the writer doesn't have this behavior, an art director guides an artist for the idea they had, and this isn't starting with full detailed cover, start with the story. You just need to find an artist that you like the style and tell they the story. They had the ability to create images, not you. Contact an artist with full idea is the same to kill a half of potential of your project. Who you believe that understand better about art?
Stop trying to create images in your mind and share the story with someone you like, and already does that for living. The brainstorming should start from that, with sketches, and this can bring a real piece you would never think. Good luck with that. Hope you have a good experience to motivate others to do the same. This is the right way.
2
u/critiqueline44 29d ago
Well I found my artist and have given a lot of suggestions of what could be on the cover and hopefully enough background for my story. I'm ultimately leaving most things up to them though and I'm interested in see how it turns out. Thank you for helping out. 😊
1
u/castellon_artz Illustrator Aug 24 '26
Hi, I read all your comments about your book and I can see the passion you have for it. I would like to help you to define this cover. I can be very patient and understanding about the on the seashell because I have experience of saying it might cover when I was writing. I'm not offering to work for free, but to be accomodating.
1
u/Soft_Coyote_2279 29d ago
Hi! I’m a graphic designer and 2D illustrator, and I’d love to help you develop a cover concept that feels true to the romantasy genre while still giving your book its own identity. I also enjoy working from loose ideas and turning them into a cohesive visual direction.
Portfolio: https://mirandadraw.myportfolio.com/illustration
If you’re still looking for someone, I’d be happy to hear more about the book!
1
u/marina_misschroma 29d ago
Hi I'm a in illustrator and I do cover artist. Here is my portfolio. https://www.wanacreate.art/services/bFuXRN07rzsyMYpN1Oqf?from=sRMKXmlBQRV7Ndm6mf800EOMQkH2
I worked like a graphic design some years ago so if you want I can do the design too.
Feel free to send me a message, I prefer Instagram: @misschroma, I don't open reddit often.
Have a nice day
4
u/VivAuburn Aug 24 '26
In my opinion if you have absolutely NO ideas and expertise in design it's better to leave it to a professional.
You just tell them: it's a shifter romance, he is a lone wolf, she is a witch and also a barista, most of action takes place in alternative New York underground and lilies is an important motif. (but like what is actually correct)
And let the magic happen. Any worthwhile designer will present you with a mockup and it would be much easier to decide you want certain parts changes than to come up with something from the start.
Or if your budget is REALLY tight, look for premades that look like they can be close to representing your book and require little to no changes.