Is it my cover's fault I don't get many read?

[MFontana]

Hi,

So I've spend a couple of years rewriting an old (kinda popular) webnovel of mine and relaunch this past week. I posted on my new page as well as the old one to get some of my old readers. But the views have been pitifully low.

In this sea of AI covers, I took time to work with an artist friend of mine to craft this cover.

Is the cover background? The general style? Or the fact it doesn't fit in the AI crowd that it isn't picked up more?

Some feedback on it would be appreciated! Thanks

Here the link: Isekai Ran

The only thing that I'd like to point out from a graphic design standpoint is the background.
As someone who is highly photosensitive, that background, specifically that distinct shade of red, hurts to look at. It's sharp and overly bright. Far more than it really needs to be. I'm not being figurative here, it literally hurts my eyes to look at for more than a couple of seconds, and because of this I can't actually look at, or appreciate, the rest of the cover's design elements. Because of this, I would say it is a poor overall design choice, but not one that can't be easily corrected or adjusted with the right software. (GIMP is a free image editing program like Photoshop, and works just as well).

The best advice that I have on the topic, is that you may want to soften that background a few shades to lessen the contrast with everything else on the website, and cover.
I'm not saying to change the color (red). Just soften it a bit.
So for example, if that current background red is 100%, I'm suggesting to soften it down to 85% or 80%. It will be much easier on the eyes, and may help with letting the rest of the cover elements stand out as they need to.

However, I can't speak for anyone else, or on anything else, in regard to the cover.

 

[JordanIda]

That honestly feels like the way it is, the indie writer space is suffering right now, especially for newcomers. I'm only here because I haven't made a cent, and while that bothers me, it hasn't bothered me enough to quit.

I started a rewrite of Twilight a couple years ago and took it in a completely different direction, but I still call it fan fiction, due to my use of Meyer's character names. (These days 9/10ths of fan fiction is erroneously marked original, and the idiots tell themselves the crap they've stolen is only "inspiration." Morons.)

Anyway, I had planned it as a five book series. I'm on the fourth book. Just pretty much on rails now, strictly a hobby for idle time. Fewer readers all the time, because I've pulled it off its original venues. Now it's just on AO3.

AO3 is supposedly the biggest fan fic site on the Web, but these days it's a ghost town.

I'll finish all five books, just to do it. But I doubt I'll be posting them anywhere. No point.

 

[JayMark]

I started a rewrite of Twilight a couple years ago and took it in a completely different direction, but I still call it fan fiction, due to my use of Meyer's character names. (These days 9/10ths of fan fiction is erroneously marked original, and the idiots tell themselves the crap they've stolen is only "inspiration." Morons.)

Anyway, I had planned it as a five book series. I'm on the fourth book. Just pretty much on rails now, strictly a hobby for idle time. Fewer readers all the time, because I've pulled it off its original venues. Now it's just on AO3.

AO3 is supposedly the biggest fan fic site on the Web, but these days it's a ghost town.

I'll finish all five books, just to do it. But I doubt I'll be posting them anywhere. No point.

Well, in that case, we could say anything written to a strict formula that's been done before is fanfiction.
99 percent of the romance novels on store shelves, where the authors changes the names and the settings, but essentially play through the same formula would be fan fiction.

 

[JordanIda]

It's a fine line, sure. These days, crossed far too often, in defense of Patreon links. One feeds on the other: the harder copyright owners crack down on fan fiction, the more "original inspired" fiction takes its place. To the detriment of the entire medium. Tell-tale sign is when sites like this take down a fan fiction novel, which reappears with minor edits and a new title, two or three days later. Original/inspired, with Patreon links restored.

What is really needed is a crackdown on Patreon and the bogus "donation" model, which reduces to criminal tax evasion in most jurisdictions.

Back to topic: I like the OP's cover. Some will like it. Some won't. I'm saying, it doesn't matter much. The pool has shrunken to a puddle. Lower your expectations.

 

[Sunrhae]

So I took into account all the feedback.

I changed the name back to Chasing Shadows (the name of the book rather than the saga) and resized the cover.
As for my blurb, I gave up and left it to my editor haha. I'll switch it later.

Thanks everyone!

 

[MFontana]

So I took into account all the feedback.

I changed the name back to Chasing Shadows (the name of the book rather than the saga) and resized the cover.
As for my blurb, I gave up and left it to my editor haha. I'll switch it later.

Thanks everyone!

View attachment 49015

Now that I can actually see it, I can appreciate the finer details. It'd definitely looking solid.
The only thing I noticed was in the signature version. The red background kinda blends with the reds and oranges of the woman's clothes.
It's a tiny detail, but from a design standpoint, you may want to consider solutions for it. Anything that could clearly break the two apart, even a little, would probably work wonders. Even something as simple as a drop-shadow effect behind her would work great to create a subtle contrast area between her, and the rest of the background.

That'd be my suggestion at least. Do with it as you will.

 

[Sunrhae]

Now that I can actually see it, I can appreciate the finer details. It'd definitely looking solid.
The only thing I noticed was in the signature version. The red background kinda blends with the reds and oranges of the woman's clothes.
It's a tiny detail, but from a design standpoint, you may want to consider solutions for it. Anything that could clearly break the two apart, even a little, would probably work wonders. Even something as simple as a drop-shadow effect behind her would work great to create a subtle contrast area between her, and the rest of the background.

That'd be my suggestion at least. Do with it as you will.

Right! I forgot to put the throne back so, yeah, she's blending in! Thanks for pointing it out!

 

[MFontana]

Right! I forgot to put the throne back so, yeah, she's blending in! Thanks for pointing it out!

That's not what I meant, but if it helped, then great.
What I was talking about was specifically this area (in the circle)

The background blends with the dress and it becomes hard to distinguish between the two, and a soft drop-shadow type effect in the area could help to create a bit more distinction between the background and the woman's dress.

 

[Sunrhae]

That's not what I meant, but if it helped, then great.
What I was talking about was specifically this area (in the circle)View attachment 49027
The background blends with the dress and it becomes hard to distinguish between the two, and a soft drop-shadow type effect in the area could help to create a bit more distinction between the background and the woman's dress.

I see. I knew this, it's actually on purpose. I thought of adding some distorsion effects or softly erase it a bit so it can it's almost into the background but it was weird.