I'm getting close to actually publishing my 7 year procrastination-fest, and find myself running into a cover image crisis. For background, to break it down REALLY simply, the general premise is that there are two Earths, one full of perverts and the other full of suuuuuuuper hot dream hotties, and they get connected by a dimensional portal. The image I've had as the cover for the last year-ish is this one. Great. My story is centered on a portal, this picture is a portal, tada. But...I know cover images are supposed to essentially be clickbait, and this one isn't going to get anybody's motor running, unless they're into clouds. I could go with one of my character renders. You can see them in the link in my signature. They're pretty good, if I say so myself, but there is the problem that my story doesn't have main characters...not really. I suppose I could just pick one anyway. There are a couple of average-looking male protagonists that I don't even bother describing, but if I did bother to make a picture of them, they're not going to drive any clicks. Of I could just pander completely, paste in a picture of bouncy tits or something that isn't even relevant, but hey...clicks, right? I dunno. Thoughts?
You have to consider the device that the reader is reading on too. The cover image is likely to become something literally the size of a thumbnail, therefore it makes sense to check it out at that size first. It will also feature in the selection of new chapters at that size where readers may choose it from every time you add a chapter to your story. While I admire your first image, I think if you reduce the size sufficiently, the clouds will become less noticeable, and your portal look a little harder to comprehend. I would suggest looking at something that conveys the same meaning at whatever size (eg your character renders)
Yeah - you're right - it still looks pretty good at that size. And I can see what's going on. Excellent!
It is a really pretty picture, but as the cover image of an erotic story it doesn't immediately made me want to take a second look. What are the main sexual themes of your story? For my own writing, I try to pick out something that's most likely to attract the people who are into the fetishes I focus on in my story.
OK, how's this. 80% clickbait, 0% portal (though technically, she's a CEO and appears in office scenes, so it's not a lie...it's just not the story GENERALLY). Quick render of my favorite character, even though she won't even show up in a published chapter for...weeks, at least, post-publication. The fetish for the story is ENF and mdom/fsub, so the image is of her half naked and embarrassed in a work-setting. Real size (icon): Real size in story: I still kind of wish I could get a portal into the picture...somehow
Prefacing this by saying the original picture was inoffensive, this seems like an ideal sort of picture to get the themes of your story across. I don't think I'd worry about it not explicitly being a scene in your story if it matches the themes.
The image icons are super small so while the first image makes a better cover page I am not sure if it would draw as many views because its not as bright but this is just the ramblings of a mad man. A big yellow smiley face would catch the eye faster then some of thumbnails on the main page so less is more when viewed as an Icon on the front page. I actually changed my cover image to my current story because it didn't really stand out and I couldn't find it at a simple glance just scrolling through to see if it was still up on the main page.
So I read portals, two earths, bouncing tits, and clicks... so I thought I'd be a good citizen and slap something together in Photoshop based on what my brain generated as a potential CHYOA-worthy cover. Because I too like to procrastinate. Also, it's square, which seems to be ideal to prevent weird cropping for the front page. Use it, ignore it, let it inspire you, just get a kick out of it, or whatever.
That's really very good, so please don't take this wrong. My story is about ENF and humiliation (I know, I repeat myself), and that image does not give off that vibe. That said, the idea is kind of brilliant, and the artistic implementation is great. I was INDEED inspired, then discovered that while basic characters are easy to make in 3D (especially with the game software I used after deciding daz3D was too much of a pain), I lack the skill and/or time to figure out how to get the right near-globe shapes necessary to replace them with actual globes.
Haha. No offense taken. Making random CHYOA cover images is a weird procrastination thing I've fallen into lately instead of writing. Could I write the half dozen or so stories associated with the covers I've made? Yes. Will I? Probably not. Me: Oh, that's kind of a sexy image. What if... [insert vague story idea]. *Makes cover image. Realize I don't have a fully fleshed out story idea or I'm not really that invested in the idea. Files image away.*
