Is a tag line useful on a cover? The 2019 Stack Overflow Developer Survey Results Are InShort story cover: “a story” or “a short story” or not putting anything at allMy publisher copyrighted my book cover and interiorAre there copyright issues with a novella title if it's a famous line?Can the title of a book be slightly modified on the cover?Can I use an old painting of Lilith as my book cover?How can I (or can I?) create a Canva.com cover for a CreateSpace 6“x9” title?How do you advertise your work if you cover multiple topics or niches?Outsourcing people to make a coverUse of stock image on book cover
Do these rules for Critical Successes and Critical Failures seem fair?
Time travel alters history but people keep saying nothing's changed
Delete all lines which don't have n characters before delimiter
Right tool to dig six foot holes?
How are circuits which use complex ICs normally simulated?
Why not take a picture of a closer black hole?
Origin of "cooter" meaning "vagina"
Did 3000BC Egyptians use meteoric iron weapons?
Why isn't airport relocation done gradually?
Have you ever entered Singapore using a different passport or name?
Why did Acorn's A3000 have red function keys?
Why hard-Brexiteers don't insist on a hard border to prevent illegal immigration after Brexit?
Shouldn't "much" here be used instead of "more"?
Is there a symbol for a right arrow with a square in the middle?
Is a "Democratic" Oligarchy-Style System Possible?
What do the Banks children have against barley water?
How to notate time signature switching consistently every measure
How to answer pointed "are you quitting" questioning when I don't want them to suspect
Why is the Constellation's nose gear so long?
How to deal with fear of taking dependencies
Are spiders unable to hurt humans, especially very small spiders?
Is bread bad for ducks?
How to manage monthly salary
How to type this arrow in math mode?
Is a tag line useful on a cover?
The 2019 Stack Overflow Developer Survey Results Are InShort story cover: “a story” or “a short story” or not putting anything at allMy publisher copyrighted my book cover and interiorAre there copyright issues with a novella title if it's a famous line?Can the title of a book be slightly modified on the cover?Can I use an old painting of Lilith as my book cover?How can I (or can I?) create a Canva.com cover for a CreateSpace 6“x9” title?How do you advertise your work if you cover multiple topics or niches?Outsourcing people to make a coverUse of stock image on book cover
I am playing around with cover art ideas and have some that are quite interesting. I have added a brief tag line, not quite a subtitle, to the cover to indicate the genre. Frankly, the artistic photo of the guns that I am thinking of using should clue people in to the fact this is not a kid’s book and they ought to expect violence.
I have found myself adding (in much smaller font) a tag line. This is an example of one tag line:
A Gentleman Assassin Never Tells
Would the addition of a tag line that would imply genre or character improve the chances of it being selected, even momentarily? If the reader doesn’t open the book, it won’t matter how compelling it is. Or do tag lines just add clutter?
What kind of tag line would best serve this purpose?
marketing titles book-cover
asked Apr 6 at 17:22
RasdashanRasdashan
9,65311160
add a comment |
I am playing around with cover art ideas and have some that are quite interesting. I have added a brief tag line, not quite a subtitle, to the cover to indicate the genre. Frankly, the artistic photo of the guns that I am thinking of using should clue people in to the fact this is not a kid’s book and they ought to expect violence.
I have found myself adding (in much smaller font) a tag line. This is an example of one tag line:
A Gentleman Assassin Never Tells
Would the addition of a tag line that would imply genre or character improve the chances of it being selected, even momentarily? If the reader doesn’t open the book, it won’t matter how compelling it is. Or do tag lines just add clutter?
What kind of tag line would best serve this purpose?
marketing titles book-cover
asked Apr 6 at 17:22
RasdashanRasdashan
9,65311160
3
It sounds very "romance-y" to me.
– wetcircuit
Apr 6 at 17:27
4
I don't get romance the genre from it but it makes me think it's very old-fashioned and that may come with female characters who don't really matter and are there for the enjoyment of the MC. Whether it works in other ways instead depends on the rest of the cover and the actual title. But invoking "never tells" means readers will think of casual sex.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:01
1
Also, you might want to edit the question so your tag is an example and not the focus of the question. If it's more like the title of your question, it's general enough that it is less likely to be closed.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:02
@Cyn at the moment the rest of the cover is an artistic B&W photo of a gun, with the main title in red font. I remember reading somewhere that a bright colour is useful in drawing the eye to the cover.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 19:09
1
A good tag line on the front is very useful. A bad one puts me off.
– S. Mitchell
Apr 7 at 15:00
add a comment |
I am playing around with cover art ideas and have some that are quite interesting. I have added a brief tag line, not quite a subtitle, to the cover to indicate the genre. Frankly, the artistic photo of the guns that I am thinking of using should clue people in to the fact this is not a kid’s book and they ought to expect violence.
I have found myself adding (in much smaller font) a tag line. This is an example of one tag line:
A Gentleman Assassin Never Tells
Would the addition of a tag line that would imply genre or character improve the chances of it being selected, even momentarily? If the reader doesn’t open the book, it won’t matter how compelling it is. Or do tag lines just add clutter?
What kind of tag line would best serve this purpose?
marketing titles book-cover
asked Apr 6 at 17:22
RasdashanRasdashan
9,65311160
I am playing around with cover art ideas and have some that are quite interesting. I have added a brief tag line, not quite a subtitle, to the cover to indicate the genre. Frankly, the artistic photo of the guns that I am thinking of using should clue people in to the fact this is not a kid’s book and they ought to expect violence.
I have found myself adding (in much smaller font) a tag line. This is an example of one tag line:
A Gentleman Assassin Never Tells
Would the addition of a tag line that would imply genre or character improve the chances of it being selected, even momentarily? If the reader doesn’t open the book, it won’t matter how compelling it is. Or do tag lines just add clutter?
What kind of tag line would best serve this purpose?
marketing titles book-cover
marketing titles book-cover
asked Apr 6 at 17:22
RasdashanRasdashan
9,65311160
asked Apr 6 at 17:22
RasdashanRasdashan
9,65311160
edited Apr 6 at 19:12
Rasdashan
asked Apr 6 at 17:22
RasdashanRasdashan
9,65311160
asked Apr 6 at 17:22
RasdashanRasdashan
9,65311160
asked Apr 6 at 17:22
RasdashanRasdashan
9,65311160
9,65311160
3
It sounds very "romance-y" to me.
– wetcircuit
Apr 6 at 17:27
4
I don't get romance the genre from it but it makes me think it's very old-fashioned and that may come with female characters who don't really matter and are there for the enjoyment of the MC. Whether it works in other ways instead depends on the rest of the cover and the actual title. But invoking "never tells" means readers will think of casual sex.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:01
1
Also, you might want to edit the question so your tag is an example and not the focus of the question. If it's more like the title of your question, it's general enough that it is less likely to be closed.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:02
@Cyn at the moment the rest of the cover is an artistic B&W photo of a gun, with the main title in red font. I remember reading somewhere that a bright colour is useful in drawing the eye to the cover.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 19:09
1
A good tag line on the front is very useful. A bad one puts me off.
– S. Mitchell
Apr 7 at 15:00
add a comment |
3
It sounds very "romance-y" to me.
– wetcircuit
Apr 6 at 17:27
4
I don't get romance the genre from it but it makes me think it's very old-fashioned and that may come with female characters who don't really matter and are there for the enjoyment of the MC. Whether it works in other ways instead depends on the rest of the cover and the actual title. But invoking "never tells" means readers will think of casual sex.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:01
1
Also, you might want to edit the question so your tag is an example and not the focus of the question. If it's more like the title of your question, it's general enough that it is less likely to be closed.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:02
@Cyn at the moment the rest of the cover is an artistic B&W photo of a gun, with the main title in red font. I remember reading somewhere that a bright colour is useful in drawing the eye to the cover.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 19:09
1
A good tag line on the front is very useful. A bad one puts me off.
– S. Mitchell
Apr 7 at 15:00
3
3
It sounds very "romance-y" to me.
– wetcircuit
Apr 6 at 17:27
It sounds very "romance-y" to me.
– wetcircuit
Apr 6 at 17:27
4
4
I don't get romance the genre from it but it makes me think it's very old-fashioned and that may come with female characters who don't really matter and are there for the enjoyment of the MC. Whether it works in other ways instead depends on the rest of the cover and the actual title. But invoking "never tells" means readers will think of casual sex.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:01
I don't get romance the genre from it but it makes me think it's very old-fashioned and that may come with female characters who don't really matter and are there for the enjoyment of the MC. Whether it works in other ways instead depends on the rest of the cover and the actual title. But invoking "never tells" means readers will think of casual sex.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:01
1
1
Also, you might want to edit the question so your tag is an example and not the focus of the question. If it's more like the title of your question, it's general enough that it is less likely to be closed.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:02
Also, you might want to edit the question so your tag is an example and not the focus of the question. If it's more like the title of your question, it's general enough that it is less likely to be closed.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:02
@Cyn at the moment the rest of the cover is an artistic B&W photo of a gun, with the main title in red font. I remember reading somewhere that a bright colour is useful in drawing the eye to the cover.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 19:09
@Cyn at the moment the rest of the cover is an artistic B&W photo of a gun, with the main title in red font. I remember reading somewhere that a bright colour is useful in drawing the eye to the cover.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 19:09
1
1
A good tag line on the front is very useful. A bad one puts me off.
– S. Mitchell
Apr 7 at 15:00
A good tag line on the front is very useful. A bad one puts me off.
– S. Mitchell
Apr 7 at 15:00
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
I don't think the tag conveys the fact that there is violence, as Cyn's comment says, it sounds "old fashioned".
From "Gentleman" and "Never Tells" my mind jumps to sexual trysts some woman must keep secret. It doesn't jump to informing on a client (if that is even what you meant). And because it is tag line, I assume the story is about these sexual trysts. Perhaps that is why wetcircuit gets "romance." Throw in "assassin" and you get the entire James Bond franchise, a macho super-spy that always winds up in bed with a supermodel. Maybe that is why Cyn gets "old-fashioned". If that's what you've written, there may be mileage left in that trope, I don't know how it sells for new authors. But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen. If that's the vibe you want, you nailed it.
If instead your intent was to warn of violence, put a small splash of blood with a few drops on the cover somewhere. You don't even have to portray a victim; make the last few letters of your title overlay it.
And if you want a tag line, tease the plot; "An Assassin's Epiphany", or "Assassin No More", or "Spy. Assassin. Stamp Collector." or whatever your story is about. Well, maybe not those, come up with something clever to intrigue people!
answered Apr 6 at 19:15
AmadeusAmadeus
58.7k676188
2
Yes, James Bond was exactly what came to my mind. And yeah if that's what the book is like, then you nailed it.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 19:27
1
"But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen." +1 for this alone.
– bruglesco
Apr 6 at 20:42
The women in the book are his colleagues, friends and relatives. Two are potential romantic interests, but that is more their idea than his.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 21:41
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "166"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f44425%2fis-a-tag-line-useful-on-a-cover%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
I don't think the tag conveys the fact that there is violence, as Cyn's comment says, it sounds "old fashioned".
From "Gentleman" and "Never Tells" my mind jumps to sexual trysts some woman must keep secret. It doesn't jump to informing on a client (if that is even what you meant). And because it is tag line, I assume the story is about these sexual trysts. Perhaps that is why wetcircuit gets "romance." Throw in "assassin" and you get the entire James Bond franchise, a macho super-spy that always winds up in bed with a supermodel. Maybe that is why Cyn gets "old-fashioned". If that's what you've written, there may be mileage left in that trope, I don't know how it sells for new authors. But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen. If that's the vibe you want, you nailed it.
If instead your intent was to warn of violence, put a small splash of blood with a few drops on the cover somewhere. You don't even have to portray a victim; make the last few letters of your title overlay it.
And if you want a tag line, tease the plot; "An Assassin's Epiphany", or "Assassin No More", or "Spy. Assassin. Stamp Collector." or whatever your story is about. Well, maybe not those, come up with something clever to intrigue people!
answered Apr 6 at 19:15
AmadeusAmadeus
58.7k676188
2
Yes, James Bond was exactly what came to my mind. And yeah if that's what the book is like, then you nailed it.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 19:27
1
"But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen." +1 for this alone.
– bruglesco
Apr 6 at 20:42
The women in the book are his colleagues, friends and relatives. Two are potential romantic interests, but that is more their idea than his.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 21:41
add a comment |
I don't think the tag conveys the fact that there is violence, as Cyn's comment says, it sounds "old fashioned".
From "Gentleman" and "Never Tells" my mind jumps to sexual trysts some woman must keep secret. It doesn't jump to informing on a client (if that is even what you meant). And because it is tag line, I assume the story is about these sexual trysts. Perhaps that is why wetcircuit gets "romance." Throw in "assassin" and you get the entire James Bond franchise, a macho super-spy that always winds up in bed with a supermodel. Maybe that is why Cyn gets "old-fashioned". If that's what you've written, there may be mileage left in that trope, I don't know how it sells for new authors. But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen. If that's the vibe you want, you nailed it.
If instead your intent was to warn of violence, put a small splash of blood with a few drops on the cover somewhere. You don't even have to portray a victim; make the last few letters of your title overlay it.
And if you want a tag line, tease the plot; "An Assassin's Epiphany", or "Assassin No More", or "Spy. Assassin. Stamp Collector." or whatever your story is about. Well, maybe not those, come up with something clever to intrigue people!
answered Apr 6 at 19:15
AmadeusAmadeus
58.7k676188
2
Yes, James Bond was exactly what came to my mind. And yeah if that's what the book is like, then you nailed it.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 19:27
1
"But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen." +1 for this alone.
– bruglesco
Apr 6 at 20:42
The women in the book are his colleagues, friends and relatives. Two are potential romantic interests, but that is more their idea than his.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 21:41
add a comment |
I don't think the tag conveys the fact that there is violence, as Cyn's comment says, it sounds "old fashioned".
From "Gentleman" and "Never Tells" my mind jumps to sexual trysts some woman must keep secret. It doesn't jump to informing on a client (if that is even what you meant). And because it is tag line, I assume the story is about these sexual trysts. Perhaps that is why wetcircuit gets "romance." Throw in "assassin" and you get the entire James Bond franchise, a macho super-spy that always winds up in bed with a supermodel. Maybe that is why Cyn gets "old-fashioned". If that's what you've written, there may be mileage left in that trope, I don't know how it sells for new authors. But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen. If that's the vibe you want, you nailed it.
If instead your intent was to warn of violence, put a small splash of blood with a few drops on the cover somewhere. You don't even have to portray a victim; make the last few letters of your title overlay it.
And if you want a tag line, tease the plot; "An Assassin's Epiphany", or "Assassin No More", or "Spy. Assassin. Stamp Collector." or whatever your story is about. Well, maybe not those, come up with something clever to intrigue people!
answered Apr 6 at 19:15
AmadeusAmadeus
58.7k676188
I don't think the tag conveys the fact that there is violence, as Cyn's comment says, it sounds "old fashioned".
From "Gentleman" and "Never Tells" my mind jumps to sexual trysts some woman must keep secret. It doesn't jump to informing on a client (if that is even what you meant). And because it is tag line, I assume the story is about these sexual trysts. Perhaps that is why wetcircuit gets "romance." Throw in "assassin" and you get the entire James Bond franchise, a macho super-spy that always winds up in bed with a supermodel. Maybe that is why Cyn gets "old-fashioned". If that's what you've written, there may be mileage left in that trope, I don't know how it sells for new authors. But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen. If that's the vibe you want, you nailed it.
If instead your intent was to warn of violence, put a small splash of blood with a few drops on the cover somewhere. You don't even have to portray a victim; make the last few letters of your title overlay it.
And if you want a tag line, tease the plot; "An Assassin's Epiphany", or "Assassin No More", or "Spy. Assassin. Stamp Collector." or whatever your story is about. Well, maybe not those, come up with something clever to intrigue people!
answered Apr 6 at 19:15
AmadeusAmadeus
58.7k676188
answered Apr 6 at 19:15
AmadeusAmadeus
58.7k676188
answered Apr 6 at 19:15
AmadeusAmadeus
58.7k676188
answered Apr 6 at 19:15
AmadeusAmadeus
58.7k676188
58.7k676188
2
Yes, James Bond was exactly what came to my mind. And yeah if that's what the book is like, then you nailed it.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 19:27
1
"But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen." +1 for this alone.
– bruglesco
Apr 6 at 20:42
The women in the book are his colleagues, friends and relatives. Two are potential romantic interests, but that is more their idea than his.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 21:41
add a comment |
2
Yes, James Bond was exactly what came to my mind. And yeah if that's what the book is like, then you nailed it.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 19:27
1
"But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen." +1 for this alone.
– bruglesco
Apr 6 at 20:42
The women in the book are his colleagues, friends and relatives. Two are potential romantic interests, but that is more their idea than his.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 21:41
2
2
Yes, James Bond was exactly what came to my mind. And yeah if that's what the book is like, then you nailed it.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 19:27
Yes, James Bond was exactly what came to my mind. And yeah if that's what the book is like, then you nailed it.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 19:27
1
1
"But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen." +1 for this alone.
– bruglesco
Apr 6 at 20:42
"But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen." +1 for this alone.
– bruglesco
Apr 6 at 20:42
The women in the book are his colleagues, friends and relatives. Two are potential romantic interests, but that is more their idea than his.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 21:41
The women in the book are his colleagues, friends and relatives. Two are potential romantic interests, but that is more their idea than his.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 21:41
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Writing Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f44425%2fis-a-tag-line-useful-on-a-cover%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
3
It sounds very "romance-y" to me.
– wetcircuit
Apr 6 at 17:27
4
I don't get romance the genre from it but it makes me think it's very old-fashioned and that may come with female characters who don't really matter and are there for the enjoyment of the MC. Whether it works in other ways instead depends on the rest of the cover and the actual title. But invoking "never tells" means readers will think of casual sex.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:01
1
Also, you might want to edit the question so your tag is an example and not the focus of the question. If it's more like the title of your question, it's general enough that it is less likely to be closed.
– Cyn
Apr 6 at 18:02
@Cyn at the moment the rest of the cover is an artistic B&W photo of a gun, with the main title in red font. I remember reading somewhere that a bright colour is useful in drawing the eye to the cover.
– Rasdashan
Apr 6 at 19:09
1
A good tag line on the front is very useful. A bad one puts me off.
– S. Mitchell
Apr 7 at 15:00