A while back, when I first got the cover art for Winter Mage.. I suspected I had an issue. I was convinced that I shouldn’t worry. Seven months later, struggling to get ads and sales working– I went back and revisited the cover. I conferred with a lot of marketing groups and author groups that I trust for experienced feedback. They all agreed. The cover had issues. In terms of its quality, it is an extremely well-executed design. But- that doesn’t mean it is a good cover.. A good cover does the hard work of connecting to the right readers. The original cover, the character looks 14 at most, and the brightness and clothing make that even more accentuated.

So– I pulled out an AI image generator (I only use it for mockups and testing things).. My artist is an illustrator who paints all the covers:). Anyway, I made a few examples to create a contrast and offer alternatives for the artist. At first, they resisted and complained, but then did agreed to redraw the main character. The background is fine and works– so it isn’t a total rework:)

Anyway- let me know what you think, especially when you see the old ones side by side with the mockups (note– none of those are potential finalists.. or perfectly accurate)