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I was looking through the listings of recent stories the other day, and I saw a picture that to me, at least was very disturbing. Now in all reality the subject matter wasn't overly graphic, but it also at the same time is totally not my thing. so based on the scary picture, I stayed away. I will also admit there have been flashy graphics that have steered me to stories... and some poorly done ones that have made me stay away from the story as well.
In your experience, seeing images for a story, does that help the story, or hinder it? Or does it make no difference to you?
Seeing J-pegs with lots of artifacts, or bad color resolution, does that steer you away?
Comments
Don't judge a book by it's cover...
...but we all do.
Graphics do influence my choice of what I read. First impressions matter.
Kris
{I leave a trail of Kudos as I browse the site. Be careful where you step!}
I'm Not Very Visual...
...but I guess a picture that made it clear that the story wasn't one I was going to want to read might make me skip it even without going to the header for the byline, keywords and categories. (I'm thinking of one from around ten years that showed a woman leading a man in a dog collar on a leash, and a more recent adult-baby pic. If it needs to be said, I'm not making any value judgments here; they're just story types I'm disinclined to read.)
Hard to say whether a good picture could make me read a story. I'm inclined to doubt it, but I'm reasonably certain that I'm decidedly less visual than most readers/viewers of fiction. Since a picture regardless of merit does make the story's front-page teaser larger, I'm less likely to overlook the story, but that doesn't happen very often.
Eric
header pics
For that's what I think you are referring to, should reflect the content to some degree much like a book (or old school LP) cover (I actually use my book covers for the job)
They should invite you in to at least look closer even if you don't go on to buy into the story. Go into a book store, which books attract your attention? Not those in a plain wrapper i'm sure.
As to the subject/quality of the image - well that is down to many things, software, computer skills etc.
I sometimes have images in the text, they will reflect story specifics and are generally my own photographic / graphic endeavours. They are included to improve the readers vision of the writing not to replace words.
I don't find it so prevalent here but on another site it's quite prevalent to drop 'stolen' images into stories which do nothing to improve the story for the reader.
Madeline Anafrid Bell
A great cover image makes a promise to prospective readers.
From: "Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success" page 19 by Mark Coker
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a great ebook cover is worth 100,000 words.
Your cover is the first impression you make on a prospective reader. It’s the visual embodiment of everything your book represents. Great covers, through their imagery alone, can communicate genre, topic, mood and setting. A great cover image makes a promise to prospective readers. It helps them recognize your book as one they’ll enjoy reading.
At a glance, the reader will gain an instant sense for whether or not you’re a professional.
Even after the reader has purchased a book, a good cover adds to the reader’s enjoyment. Customers might click on the cover image to view it full-screen so they can enjoy the artistry, and to add deeper meaning to the book as they read it.
I think he says it all when he said, "A great cover image makes a promise to prospective readers."
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann
Graphics
I have started adding graphics to some of my stories. If nothing else, it grabs people's attention. Also, if it's a multi part story, it makes it easier to see the next part.
I like to choose pictures from my 200+ gig of photos, though it is often difficult to find something that relates. If I could draw, I would draw something indicative of the plot and use it.
EDIT:
In my Chakat story, I photographed my youngest son holding one of our cats. It went well with the story.