So we already know some things about book covers in this modern era: Besides the usual menu of needing to represent genre and tone, they need to be legible (both title and genre/mood) as thumbnails, and they should be high contrast for visibility on mobile and black/white ereader screens.
Yesterday I realized another new criterion: They should look good in push notifications.
I was experimenting with posting on Tumblr and I kept getting push notifications as people responded to the new cover. And man, I think that’s a catchy push notification image.
You can see the full cover on the front page of this site but I’m not gonna lie, I’d really like you to click through to see it at a retail site. /grin/ Bait is a science fantasy novelette, incorporating both Western and Eastern folklore, about breeding mermaids commercially and how that might not be the best idea. It’s available September 20, 2016.
That *is* a nice push notification!
*Quietly goes off to google “push notification”…*
Ha! Sorry. Users of smart phones may receive notifications for all kinds of app events or activities, in this case when someone interacts with a Tumblr post.
Nice cover! And the hook? Awesome! I didn’t know you were publishing this, but I love it! :D
I love the cover design and the story!