Help me choose, please! :-)

[Cudedog]

I'm asking for some help, please.

Since my book "Christmas Jones" is is basically, at bottom, a Western-themed Christmas story for children (LOL - as though you couldn't tell with a title like that!) . . . and with the Holidays coming along soon-ish, I have decided to try a bit of online advertising.

I have been pondering this for a bit - since the current cover of my book is not at all "Christmas-sy" or even "winter-ey" I have been toying with the idea of changing out the cover. I am getting a satisfactory number of "clicks" on Amazon - but these clicks are not translating into sales at a rate the number of clicks might suggest that they should. I have polished up the written description, have gotten a few really nice reviews on Amazon of the book - I am now wondering if it might be the cover that is holding me back.

Or maybe it is just a little on the early side for shoppers to be thinking about getting a children's Christmas book. I dunno.

SO!

Since all of you on here have always been so kind to me, I thought I might post some images to see what all of you think (keeping in mind this is a book intended for children at about the 4th-grade level). In the choices below, I can either also drop in the image of the boy - or leave it out. The reason I added it originally is so that it is an instant clue that this is a children's book (on any of the choices, I will likely use PhotoShop to drop out the cowboy's beard, and also to turn the bandanna red, as it is in the original cover. A red bandanna is a major story element).

In the current cover I have the boy image inserted into the cowboy image at a slightly different color ratio, to try to suggest that the boy is remembering the cowboy. Not sure if this works or not, but that is what I was going for!

The choices are (I will likely purchase my final choice of image from Shutterstock, as I have all of the illustrations in my book):

Please vote!

1. Stay with the original cover
2. Go with #2
3. Go with #3
4. Keep looking for something better!


original cover


#2


#3

#4 - Keep looking for something better!

Thanks, everyone! Much appreciated! Your kind input is always a MAJOR help to me.

Anne

[Irmi]

Anne, I like # 2.

[Bethers]

I like #2 also. I also like the beard. I'm not a fan of the boy in the original image. He looks phony to me. So if you intend to add a boy in, I'd prefer another.

[MandysMom]

I agree with #2, keep beard and with what Beth said about the boy!
Velda

[BirdbyBird]

I like the wintery feel of #2 and agree that the image of the young boy doesn't/didn't seem to add much to the original cover. The over all colors and the unisex sort of look just seemed out of place and for me does not make a meaningful connection to the picture of the cowboy..... Good luck regarding holiday sales!

[monik7]

I like #2, but without the boy, how will people get the idea it’s a children’s book? So I vote for #2 with a better picture of the boy with better colors.
Sandi

[JudyJB]

I also like #2 without the boy, but I would like to see a very small house way in the distance--sort of in the open. Maybe riding on the edge of the woods, but with an opening on one side indicating he is leaving a ranch????

[snowball]

It's a children's book so am thinking that a child is needed and I like #2 ... is it possible to dream like the winter scene with a new version of the boy? I am totally now sure of how to get across what I am thinking... we all know that rarely do the cover tell you much about the book however when it's way of I always wonder if they even read the book before doing the cover... that said I keep forgetting to get the book..meant to when you came out with it...
sheila

[BarbaraRose]

I also like #2.

[Cudedog]

BIG thanks to everyone who posted on this thread (hopefully, more will post as well!).

I have decided to go through the comments one-by-one, in order to post my thanks - and to ask further questions!

So here goes!

I have to share that my personal choice was #3 (LOL - or maybe even #4), because the photo shows more "movement" and thus "action" - although the contrast is a bit dark to make out all of the details in this photo. #2 - the overwhelming choice! - does not have as much "action", and the trees close by the rider seem to me to be "limiting his movement".

This all has been very fascinating to me!!

PS. If you don't want to read through all of my replies, scroll down to see a wonderful photo that I found that (unfortunately!) I can't use. And why I can't use it.

Anne

[Cudedog]

Anne, I like # 2.

Thanks for your input, Irmi. Much appreciated!

Is there anything particularly that catches your eye with #2? It is very helpful to me to know both the "choice" and the "why".

Thanks again!

Anne

[Cudedog]

I like #2 also. I also like the beard. I'm not a fan of the boy in the original image. He looks phony to me. So if you intend to add a boy in, I'd prefer another.

Thanks, Beth!

I have a question - you might not be able to answer this, but in what way does the boy look "phony"? Is it the difference in color saturation? The boy's facial expression? The size of the boy's image as related to the rider? I know you might not be able to "nail this down", because the feeling might just be intuitive for you - but would appreciate it if you could add a few specifics so that I can better understand your comment.

Thanks!!

Anne

[Cudedog]

I agree with #2, keep beard and with what Beth said about the boy!
Velda

Thanks, Velda! A few more specifics would be helpful to me, if you are willing. As in my reply to Beth, what makes the boy appear "phony" to you? Specifics are very helpful, so that I know what seems "out of place" or "phony". If I can understand the problem you and Beth are recognizing, I am more able to correct it.

Thanks!

Anne

[Cudedog]

I like the wintery feel of #2 and agree that the image of the young boy doesn't/didn't seem to add much to the original cover. The over all colors and the unisex sort of look just seemed out of place and for me does not make a meaningful connection to the picture of the cowboy..... Good luck regarding holiday sales!

Thank you for your comments, Tina! Are you able to be more specific about your color objection? Is it the difference in hue/saturation/color value between the boy and the rider, or something else? I am not sure what to do about the "unisex look" of the cover - any suggestions you might have would be very much appreciated!

Thanks again!

Anne

[Cudedog]

I like #2, but without the boy, how will people get the idea it’s a children’s book? So I vote for #2 with a better picture of the boy with better colors.
Sandi

Thanks, Sandi! I'll ask you this also. The more input I can get, the better I can understand the problems and, hopefully, correct them.

What bothers you about the picture of the boy? Is it that the color saturation/hue difference between the cowboy and the boy are different? The boys facial expression? The boy's hair color? The size of the boy image compared to the size of the cowboy image? The placement of the boy image? The image of the boy itself - do I need to find a photo of a different boy?

I know you might not be able to "put your finger on it", it might just be intuitive for you, but if you have something more, do please share!

Thank you, Sandi!!

Anne