Which cover makes you want more to click on the story?

[KiraMinoru]

He's made like five of these threads though. At some point you just have to face the reality that the cover may not be the only reason you're not getting reads.

But the problem is every initial point of entry on the story having issues for the SH demographic. Simply put, it just wouldn’t pick up traction on this site at least unless it has a complete overhaul/rebranding.

The cover being traditional turns away a lot of your average readers on SH. As is known by just about anyone, the magical formula for success on this site is an anime style cover. Other sites it’d be a different story altogether. What works here won’t neccesarily work on other platforms due to target demographics.

The title not having any hot keywords is another problem. In fact some of the words in the title may make people on this site even less inclined to want to check it out.

The synopsis missing any sort of distinctive personality of the author/characters or attitude in general makes it feel dry, overly neutral.

It also has some genres that may be an instant no for a bunch of readers. Tragedy in particular. Also missing every currently hot genre that people on this site actually care about.

It lacks a bunch of tags that most people search out and has a bunch of tags a lot of people would probably care little for and never even search for. Basically it lacks efficiency.

Combine the tags and genres problem with a shaky release schedule and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. A lot of users search for fictions by most recent releases of a particular genre or tag.

 

[Jayrayme6]

But the problem is every initial point of entry on the story having issues for the SH demographic. Simply put, it just wouldn’t pick up traction on this site at least unless it has a complete overhaul/rebranding.

The cover being traditional turns away a lot of your average readers on SH. As is known by just about anyone, the magical formula for success on this site is an anime style cover. Other sites it’d be a different story altogether. What works here won’t neccesarily work on other platforms due to target demographics.

The title not having any hot keywords is another problem. In fact some of the words in the title may make people on this site even less inclined to want to check it out.

The synopsis missing any sort of distinctive personality of the author/characters or attitude in general makes it feel dry, overly neutral.

It also has some genres that may be an instant no for a bunch of readers. Tragedy in particular. Also missing every currently hot genre that people on this site actually care about.

It lacks a bunch of tags that most people search out and has a bunch of tags a lot of people would probably care little for and never even search for. Basically it lacks efficiency.

Combine the tags and genres problem with a shaky release schedule and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. A lot of users search for fictions by most recent releases of a particular genre or tag.

I don't aim for success on this site tbh, I'm getting reads on other site. I just wanted to see people's opinions on cover since other websites don't include poll function and yeah I'm working hard on the story like every day..

I've got 31 chapters rewritten so far... I guess I'll stop posting here, might have to rework on the blurb yeah...

I've already changed a lot of my story yet to target YA demographics and rewritten it completly to improve quality. People here are assholes too like LLOYD, doesn't incite peeps to put effort into this website. I've got 100k words rewritten, worked my ass but « I'm not working on the book»

 

[ASHARA]

The first one looks more awesome. If you're going for a fantasy or mystery ambiance then that one's the best.

 

[KiraMinoru]

I don't aim for success on this site tbh, I'm getting reads on other site. I just wanted to see people's opinions on cover since other websites don't include poll function and yeah I'm working hard on the story like every day..

I've got 31 chapters rewritten so far... I guess I'll stop posting here, might have to rework on the blurb yeah...

I've already changed a lot of my story yet to target YA demographics and rewritten it completly to improve quality. People here are assholes too like LLOYD, doesn't incite peeps to put effort into this website. I've got 100k words rewritten, worked my ass but « I'm not working on the book»

The key to being an author lays in the art of deception. Your story may not have what they’re looking for, but if they think it does, they’ll begin to read. Just don’t make any promises or guarantees you don’t intend to fulfill and they can’t fault you for that. How the reader interprets your words is up to them.

For example, mad king may in fact be mad queen. Maddened ruler may be a preferable title to address them by. Simply never revealing the gender of someone can let someone’s imagination fill in the gaps the way they want the story to be.

Rather than outright telling people it’s a “tree man,” you could also leave it vague in the beginning. First focus on getting people to like the character through their wittyness rather than what they actually are. This way they’ll grow attached to them and by the time they find out it was a tree man the entire time it’ll be too late and they won’t care nearly as much about that detail because they’re already attached and invested in the character.

 

[Jayrayme6]

The key to being an author lays in the art of deception. Your story may not have what they’re looking for, but if they think it does, they’ll begin to read. Just don’t make any promises or guarantees you don’t intend to fulfill and they can’t fault you for that. How the reader interprets your words is up to them.

For example, mad king may in fact be mad queen. Maddened ruler may be a preferable title to address them by. Simply never revealing the gender of someone can let someone’s imagination fill in the gaps the way they want the story to be.

Yeah, we'll see.. Thanks for the tips, will go with this cover and stop asking scribblehub... I'm done.

 

[Lloyd]

I don't aim for success on this site tbh, I'm getting reads on other site. I just wanted to see people's opinions on cover since other websites don't include poll function and yeah I'm working hard on the story like every day..

I've got 31 chapters rewritten so far... I guess I'll stop posting here, might have to rework on the blurb yeah...

I've already changed a lot of my story yet to target YA demographics and rewritten it completly to improve quality. People here are assholes too like LLOYD, doesn't incite peeps to put effort into this website. I've got 100k words rewritten, worked my ass but « I'm not working on the book»

I'm just a real human bean. Sorry you can't handle facts and logic. They don't call me the Kanye of Scribblehub for nothing.

 

[BoneyKoney]

1st one is cool but it feels super cliché or something. I'm not sure how to put it into words but it feels like a cover I've seen like a hundred other times. 2nd one probably isn't much different in that regard but I like the art a lot more. So #2 for me.

 

[SternenklarenRitter]

I'm actually least likely to click on the hooded figure. Despite the forest, that picture makes me think of gritty medieval slums, bloodthirsty backstabbers, and endless political machinations. I am most likely to click on the castle, but that is entirely due to the font. The crickle-curly font is mysterious and inviting, comfortable and welcoming to me. For the picture alone I would have picked that handsome crow. However, I suspect I am not in line with your target demographic. I align align slightly more with ladies in that I prefer characters and relationships to plot, and I skew both older and younger than a typical teen target, prefering simple brash and pure heroism to selfish and complex but ultimately good anti-heroic shenanigans, as well as being engaged by philosophic digressions and complex slow world building. Also, I am the sort of introvert who finds the "neglected school building at night" and other liminal spaces to actually seem more inviting and welcoming than brightly lit school hallways or sunny city streets filled with hordes of humans. Take my opinions with a pile of salt.

 

[Jemini]

The one with the hooded man. Although, from an artistic perspective, I have a suggestion to take it up a notch. Just a slight improvement.

You should angle the wolf a little so it looks like it is walking around from behind the man, show a little more of it's flank to the viewer. This will create a little bit of a line that draws the eye across the image, an oblique angle that is created by the crows flying off, goes through the man, and ends with the wolf.

Right now, the wolf just looks kinda out of place. This is because it's body draws a straight line parallel to the sword. If it became part of an oblique line that continued the line from the crows then it would seem more like it's a real involved part of the picture.

 

[AliceShiki]

I don't aim for success on this site tbh, I'm getting reads on other site. I just wanted to see people's opinions on cover since other websites don't include poll function and yeah I'm working hard on the story like every day..

I've got 31 chapters rewritten so far... I guess I'll stop posting here, might have to rework on the blurb yeah...

I've already changed a lot of my story yet to target YA demographics and rewritten it completly to improve quality. People here are assholes too like LLOYD, doesn't incite peeps to put effort into this website. I've got 100k words rewritten, worked my ass but « I'm not working on the book»

I just wanted to say that I agree with the opinion that you should rework your synopsis... Your novel isn't my genre, so I'd never read it, but like... Even if your novel had a cover/title/tags/genres that I loved, I'd definitely give up on it as soon as I read the synopsis... It's just too... Bland.

Rather than a novel synopsis, it feels like what you'd tell a friend when explaining to them what your novel is about when you are feeling too lazy to actually give them a proper explanation.

 

[Habtamu]

the obvious one.