I’m currently finishing my second collection of short stories. In fact, once I’m done editing the last story, the book will be ready!
However, I still need to design a book cover. Lorelei Logsdon recently informed me of this great website the other day, and I now consider it one of the the best resources of its kind.
Called Rate Book Cover, it allows authors to test possible book covers for reader feedback. Basically, you upload your book cover and that’s it. Visitors will rate it using one to five stars, and that will allow you to know instantly if a cover has traction with readers or not.
That’s not all, though! You can also browse the site to see what kind of covers people like. It’s like an instant trend-o-meter!
All this is available for free. There are two paid options: for a daily fee of 99c, you can have your cover Featured in the top-left corner of the home page, where everyone will see it immediately. As the site is already seeing over a thousand page-views per day, this is not a bad deal.
Also, for a one time $5 charge you have the option to place a “buy now” icon under your cover, linking directly to your book’s Amazon page. A nice touch is the ability to use an affiliate link here.
As for me, I uploaded a covers from my epic fantasy series, Pearseus; my collection of short sci-fi stories, The Power of Six; and my children’s book, Runaway Smile. Within a couple of days, they already had some 40 votes each. Sadly, the scores were between three and four. So, I now have to redesign all of my book covers! Sigh…
Other resources
If you’re looking for other places where you can test-drive your covers and get great feedback, you can try Help me choose my cover. Basically, you upload your covers and create a poll. Visitors can then vote on your covers. This is a great tool when trying to choose between alternative designs.
You may also create a targeted Google survey and send the link to your friends and followers, distribute it through your Newsletter/Email list etc. This will allow you to target a specific audience (your readers), although a lot of people who have never heard of you will also vote. This may seem as a problem, but you should keep in mind that you have just reached a lot of potential new readers!
Also, be sure to check out this great post on Freebooksy on How to Create a Best-selling Book Cover!
While I’m redesigning my book covers, why don’t you enjoy my children’s book, Runaway Smile for free?
Debra said:
Wow! This is awesome! I belong to a couple of online author groups, and of course everyone has their “professional” opinion, but these authors are in different genres and write different types of books. What better way than to go straight to a reader audience to judge your cover accordingly. Brilliant! And the extra bonus is that you don’t have to publish your book to discover your cover lacks the desired response. Thanks for sharing!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
A pleasure! I hope you find it as useful as I did 🙂
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Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life. said:
Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
Concerned that your book cover might not have kerb appeal.. there is a site that you can test it out on.. check out Nicholas Rossis post.
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yvettecarol said:
Thanks for the tip, Nicholas! Pity about having to re-do the covers, but you never know, it might end up giving the books new life.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
That’s the idea! 🙂
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Ali Isaac said:
Sounds a great idea Nick! And thanks for being so honest about your own results! I am quite scared at what could happen, lol, but bettter to know the truth and be able to do something about it. Despite what the saying tells us, we all DO judge a book by its cover, and its rare that we Indies can get the feedback we need until after we publish and we start to get sales and reviews… or not! I’m going to be brave and try this! 😊
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – good for you! Although I’m sure your covers will rock. I, for one, would give them a 5* in a heartbeat!
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Ali Isaac said:
You are too kind! I’ll let you know! 😊
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beetleypete said:
Your Pearseus box set is a 5-star cover Nicholas. Those voters have no taste!
One thing to consider, by way of caution. Rating sites like these (I am an Amazon Vine reviewer) are notorious for attracting negative voting from your competitors. They can vote against your covers, to allow in more favourable votes for theirs, and get all their friends and family to do the same. This may sound a bit far-fetched, but you only have to go on review forums to see this spitefulness and gamesmanship in action.
In short, don’t believe that all the votes are genuine. No need to change your covers either. After all, Penguin did quite well with some dark colours and plain text.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Susan Uttendorfsky said:
I agree with Pete, Nicholas. Don’t be so quick to change your covers if your book is selling well. 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Aw, that’s so kind of you! Thank you and welcome 🙂
I’m not sure what selling well means. They’re selling about 30 per month when I’m not promoting, and up to 300 when I am. I hope to be able to increase both numbers with the new covers.
As I was just telling Pete, I’ve hired a designer whose work I love to do a very specific mock up, which I’ll show you all as soon as it’s ready. Then, you can let me know what you think 🙂
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Susan Uttendorfsky said:
Thirty copies per month when not promoting is VERY WELL for an indie author. 🙂 Just FYI.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
*big hug* Just what I needed to hear, thank you 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Pete, I could kiss you for your kind words 🙂 Thank you – it’s a very sweet thing to say. However, I do have my eye on a designer I really like, and I’ve hired him to do a very specific mock up, which I’ll show you all as soon as it’s ready. Then, you can let me know what you think 🙂
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beetleypete said:
30-300 a month sounds pretty good to me. I have no real benchmark to base that on though, as I don’t know what other authors are selling in terms of numbers. And I don’t suppose it will rake in a fortune for you.
Nonetheless, I say “Well Done”.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
🙂
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The Story Reading Ape said:
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
This looks like a neat way to promo YOUR book – via it’s cover 😀
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Jack Eason said:
Reblogged this on Have We Had Help? and commented:
More from Nicholas 🙂
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John W. Howell said:
I think you ought to leave those covers alone. You may tweak yourself to insanity.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – wise word, John! 😀 And thank you – it’s a very sweet thing to say. However, as I was just telling Pete and Susan, I do have my eye on a designer I really like, and I’ve hired him to do a very specific mock up, which I’ll show you all as soon as it’s ready. Then, you can let me know what you think 🙂
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Fleur said:
Do I happen to know this designer?? 😀
Thanks for the website, very cool tool.
I agree, it’s hard to know who’s voting, but still can be valuable information.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
He’s a friend of my illustrator, and he’s currently working on our next children’s book, Musiville. His name is Alex – you can find out more about him and his work on 187designz.deviantart.com
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Connie Flanagan said:
Ummm… Is Alex working on your children’s book, or Dmitri? Alex has some cool stuff, but nothing really looks appropriate for a children’s book.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – Dimitris has illustrated it, and Alex is formatting it. Don’t worry, it’s in the exact same vein as Smile 🙂
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Connie Flanagan said:
The way you phrased it had me worried. 😀
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Charles Yallowitz said:
Reblogged this on Legends of Windemere and commented:
Looking for some cover feedback?
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coldhandboyack said:
That’s pretty cool, but the best part is another book of short stories.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
You rock, for commenting on that 😀
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coldhandboyack said:
I loved the last one, and am excited for the new one.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
*big hug*
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D. Wallace Peach said:
This is a cool site. I spent some time browsing to get an idea of what’s popular. I’m getting close to making a decision on a cover for my next book. This was helpful – made me rethink a bit. thanks for the tip.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
A pleasure! So glad you found it useful 🙂
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phoenixgrey85 said:
This looks like a really useful site. Thanks for the link.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Hope you find it helpful 🙂
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Yoshiko said:
Thanks for sharing.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
A pleasure! Hope you find it useful 🙂
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Let's CUT the Crap! said:
Wow. A great way for reader feedback. What will they think of next? Excellent. 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Very helpful, indeed! 🙂
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Let's CUT the Crap! said:
Yes, I agree.
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Audrey Driscoll said:
Thanks for sharing the link, Nicholas! Looks like a useful site.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I believe so 🙂
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Bette A. Stevens said:
Thanks! 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
A pleasure. Hope you find it useful 🙂
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mgill0627 said:
Thanks for the info Nicholas. I think you should just make a few tweeks to your covers, not change them completely.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
That’s sweet of you, thank you! Alex is already working on the new design. As soon as I have something, I’ll be sure to post it, and you can let me know what you think 🙂
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Effrosyni Moschoudi said:
This is an awesome resource! Thank you, Nicholas! Will definitely give this one a try 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
So glad you found it useful 🙂
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kathyrollinson said:
Nicholas. Have you seen the cover that Jo Robinson has done for Stephen Liddell for his latest book ‘101’ Most Horrible Tortures in History’? Here is the link to her blog jorobinson176
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Jo did that?? Very effective! 😀
Oh, the link is here: http://stephenliddell.co.uk/2015/05/06/101-most-horrible-tortures-in-history-my-new-book/
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Sue Coletta said:
There are some gorgeous book covers on that site. I must have weird taste because most of the covers I loved, others did not agree with my vote. For instance, Ed Ireland’s books (do you know him?) I loved his covers, thought the series blended perfectly, were nice and creepy. They really worked for me. And yet, AFTER my vote he only had 2 excellent votes. My point is, I bet there are trolls there too. Incidentally, I voted on yours, too. 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks! I’m not familiar with Ed Ireland, I’ll have to check him out 🙂
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Sue Coletta said:
I’m not either. I just liked his cover.
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Tara Sparling said:
I’d be wary of any website which allows anonymous people to rate an image without any other feedback… I hope you also have a more targeted focus group, Nicholas. I really like your covers, & you know how horrible I can be (especially on a Thursday). It’s still a great idea, though!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Aw, thanks, Tara! I’ll post my new cover here so you can all tell me what you think 🙂
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Tara Sparling said:
I’ll try my best not to do that on a Thursday!!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
*note to self: upload cover on any day but Thursday. Or/and send Tara a nice Merlot*
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Tara Sparling said:
There’s no or/and about it, Nicholas… Just ‘and’ will do.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
A girl after my own heart 😀
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Audrey Driscoll said:
I put all 4 of my covers up on the site. I got high ratings at first, which were chiseled down a bit by the time there were 20 or so; they averaged out at around 3.8. I actually think my covers deserve more like 4.5 🙂 so maybe there are a few trolls there. And as someone said a free-for-all rating site should be approached with caution. I quite often scan the covers at The Book Designer’s Monthly Ebook Cover Awards site; at least he offers some critique (but I haven’t submitted my covers there as yet).
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks for the tip! If you send me a link, I’ll be happy to add it to the further resources 🙂
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Audrey Driscoll said:
Here is the link: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/08/monthly-e-book-cover-design-awards/
I found the site quite useful for finding cover designers and for getting ideas about what elements make a good cover.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Awesome! Adding it to the post now 🙂
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Alex Hurst said:
Wow! This sounds like a great resource! Thanks so much, Nicholas. I’m going to have to check it out. 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Glad you found it useful 🙂
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D.G.Kaye said:
Wow! Thank you Nicholas. You are certainly one of the best investigative authors around! 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – thank you! 😀
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cav12 said:
I’m thinking of redesigning my short story covers. I will check it out. Thanks Nicholas 😀
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
So glad you found it useful 🙂
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Connie Flanagan said:
Congratulations on the impending completion of your second collection of short stories! Does it have a title?
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I’m thinking of Infinite Waters. What do you think?
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Connie Flanagan said:
I think that’d make an excellent title! 😀
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks! 🙂
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Connie Flanagan said:
I had a friend send me a link to vote on her final choices for her book cover at http://99designs.ca/book-cover-design.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
It’s nice how they allow you to vote on the covers!
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Connie Flanagan said:
She did chose the one most people liked, but she also talked to some teens about which cover they preferred as her book is for a YA audience.
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Connie Flanagan said:
Reblogged this on Everything Indie and commented:
Curious about the appeal of your book cover? Trying to choose between different potential covers? Read this helpful post–and useful comments–by best-selling Amazon author and blogger Nicholas C. Rossis.
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jenanita01 said:
As I am never quite happy with our covers, I shall be trying this out, keeping everything crossed, of course. Thanks for the info…
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
A pleasure! I’m glad you found the post useful 🙂
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Ruth Nestvold said:
Reblogged this on Ruth Nestvold – Indie Adventures and commented:
This is a great new resource for indie authors for figuring out how well your covers score with readers, Sadly, it looks as if I too will have to redo the cover I uploaded there for Chameleon in a Mirror, if the votes are any indication. 😦
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