No, not “Cover Charges” — none of those are required to read this blog post. Do people still read blogs in 2020? I know it’s been a looooooong time since I’ve blogged regularly (sorry about that), but now that we’re under quarantine seems like a good time to start back up again.
I hope you’re all well and staying safe. I’m having a fun time juggling a one-year-old, passing her back and forth to my wife (who is also now working from home). Other than that, social distancing comes easy to a writer.
Onto the post!
Three new covers, coming right up.
#1 — PATHOGENS
The more astute of you may have noticed that PATHOGENS has a new cover.
The Old
The New
The Why
First, let me say that there’s a lot I like about the original cover. The detail work is stunning. That rat is amazing. The layers in the image are rich and deep. I also enjoy the throwback to Salvador Dali.
But, ultimately, I needed to change the cover for two reasons. First, I felt like the cover wasn’t closely related to INFECTED enough — and since these are “equels” (not sequels or prequels, but occur simultaneously), I wanted them better linked.
See how they’re a better fit now? And of course the original Dali photo for reference.
Additionally, PATHOGENS sales were the worst of the (at the time) four books. Since I’ve updated the cover, sales have gone up. What do you think? Which do you prefer?
#2 — MURDERED
Right now, I’m in the process of updating the cover for MURDERED.
The Old
The New
The Why
The impetus for this change was not in my control, actually. I started running Amazon Ads this year, and MURDERED was flagged for “excessive gore.” After a few back and forths with the customer service team, they clarified that the blood and (possible) corpse in the foreground was the issue — either change the cover, or lose advertising rights.
I decided to use this as an opportunity to “fix” a few issues I had with the cover. Or, I suppose, to apply lessons I’d learned over the years. First, was to get rid of the body. Okay, done. Now we have the gun atop the crate with the “pick me up” note featured at the start of the story.
Second, was to increase the size of the title. I asked the original artist to repeat the title on the police ticker tape, but in hindsight I shouldn’t have done. Additionally, the police tape was too muted — and after I added the CYP logo, didn’t fit the color scheme.
I added further police tape for my author name, adjusted the size and location of the images, and cropped out a “CYP” lamp, which was redundant given the logo.
What do you think? Which do you like better?
#3 — SPIED
A new cover for a new book.
What do you think? The cover for SPIED (still a work in progress, sorry), was “leaked” in late 2019 (by me, on Facebook& Instagram).
I’m a bit behind schedule on my Click Your Poison releases, but I’ll chalk that up to:
- I’ve moved from the UK back to the US.
- I’m now a father. Babies take time; writing requires sleep.
- I wrote side-project. A linnear, coming-of-age novel.
I’m very proud of #3 (and #2, obviously. #1 I’m actually pretty sad about), and I’m trying to take this novel to a traditional publisher to find a bigger audience. But of course, this takes time. So, please bear with me, stay patient, and more interactive goodies will come your way soon. I’m still working on SPIED — and others!
What do YOU think? Leave a comment below to join in the conversation.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to share and subscribe!
Author James Schannep 
First of all, congrats on becoming a father! Good luck getting the sleep you need. 🙂
Sorry about the move back to the US. I’m in the US too, so I know the pain.
Hope to hear good things about your linear novel. I’m sure you’ll keep us posted. Maybe not everyone reads blogs, but I find them a great way to subscribe to people so I don’t miss big news. I appreciate blogs that don’t post anymore often than when the author has reached a milestone of some sort. Those are the blogs I stay subscribed to, no matter how long passes between posts.
As for the cover changes, I can appreciate what you’ve done with Pathogens and Murdered. Good choices, I believe.
I’m looking forward to playing Spied, but that cover doesn’t intrigue me. Whatever those little figures are doing is mostly lost on me, except for the one holding onto the helicopter. I can see the face in the background fine enough, and it looks rather grim, which might be what you were after. When I shrink the image down to the size I’d expect to see in Amazon ads, I can still see the face, so that’s good. The little figures get even smaller and even less significant, almost to the point of not mattering to the casual observer, and making me think of annoying insects–gnats, maybe–more than people.
If I were to see this cover at a smaller size on Amazon in my recommendations, there are two major things that would catch my eye: the title and the author’s name. While I can still see the face in the background, it doesn’t make me think of spies and wouldn’t do much to entice me without the title and author’s name. I can make out the Click Your Poison logo even at the small size, and that might hook me if I looked at the cover long enough to squint and read the logo–even if I wasn’t familiar with the logo–because the logo is a great one that gives me an indication that the book might be something akin to Choose Your Own Adventure, which I am familiar with. But it’s really the author’s name that would keep my attention, already knowing what to expect from your books. If I didn’t already know what to expect from you and if I missed the smallish logo, I don’t think the proposed cover of Spied would make me click through to read the book description. If I were in charge of the cover, I’d be thinking “larger figure peering from behind something,” but that’s just me. Just giving my honest opinion, which you might be best served to ignore. 🙂
M.K., thanks for the well-wishes and for reading. I’m glad you like the changes to PATHOGENS & MURDERED, and I appreciate your candid feedback on SPIED. I’m not sure if I’ll make any changes yet, but I’m glad for your thoughts regardless. Cheers!
No fair. Tell me what it is!
Greg Schannep Pro Deo et Patria Ezekiel 36:26 YouTube: “Schannep Opening Prayer” “A Father’s Lost Letter”
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Tell you what what is?
Hey hope all is well and welcome back to ‘Murica. Congrats on your kid, it’s life changing. Can’t wait to read Spied!!! Any idea of when you think it will be available? And do you have idead for any Alien themed books?
Thanks, Ridge! I’ll make some new posts soon, but right now I’m looking at 2/2/2021 for SPIED. As for alien books…watch the skies…the truth is out there.