Red White & Blind

Many thanks for your thoughts, suggestions, and wisdom! Your votes for the book’s subtitle varied even more widely than those for the cover. Looking through the results, and talking to a range of people—including some of the Alpha and Beta Readers who read the full book—the first thing I realized was that I had to keep the subtitle short.

The second thing I realized was that I needed to combine both a tiny summary of the book and a brief focus on the book’s ultimately positive analysis about where our troubled media landscape is headed.

It was a bit like composing a haiku.

I couldn’t include censorship, propaganda, and disinformation in the subtitle. I couldn’t even have two of those buzzwords. I needed to choose one.

This first half of the subtitle came down to a dilemma between censorship and disinformation. Both concepts are central to the book’s premises and receive deep analysis. Your votes helped me to see that one of these words is more compelling to Americans in 2022 than the other. I believe I landed on the one with the widest interest: Disinformation.

I’d be honored to have your help with one more part of this forthcoming book. First, thank you for voting on the cover of the book. It’s now set, and I think it’s a beauty.

Choosing a subtitle might not be as exciting or as sexy as the cover of the book, but these little words that follow the title might be even more important in determining who finds the book

• Search engines index the subtitle.
  
• Humans looking for a book like mine won’t likely search on the words “red,” “white,” or “blind.”
  
• The subtitle should also be a concise but accurate summary of the contents of the book.
  
• Finally, and maybe most important, the subtitle should be an attractive pitch for the book.

Yes, in the words of RUN DMC, choosing a subtitle is tricky.

Don’t judge the book by it, but I’m revealing the cover today to my new book, Red, White & Blind.

My deep gratitude to all of you who reviewed the potential book covers in my previous post! Special thanks to you if you voted for your favorites and commented as to why you liked the ones you liked. That was very helpful. Thank you!

It came down to a two-horse race. The runner-up was one that many of you liked, the red cover with the dripping paint crossing out the title. And the winner was…

Go Watch the Cover Reveal >

Now that you’ve seen it…

What do you think? Do you like the imagery of the eye behind the blinds? What does it evoke for you? Does it pull you in? Scare you off? Is it memorable?

Please let me know in the comments on the video or here on my blog. It’s very helpful.

Special kudos to Kevin Christaldi in Oregon who pointed out that the pulls on the blinds shouldn’t be red lest they appear to be drops of blood in a thumnail image. Kevin, do they look better now? Or do they look like tears now?

The next poll, coming up, will focus on the subtitle. I’ve spent a lot of time hammering it out, but it’s still subject to change, and I’m curious of your thoughts. How does it strike you: “Unveiling Disinformation & Censorship at the Dawn of the New Enlightenment.”

Tell me in the comments below.

Thank you once again.

This book is nearly complete. Years of research and writing have culminated in Red, White & Blind, a deep and thorough investigation into censorship and misinformation in America, and what to do about it. My hope is that it prompts some great conversations and helps at least a few Americans see the world a little more truthfully.

Like every book, this one now needs a cover.

I’m working with a professional cover designer, and we have several that I believe have great potential. Can you help me by voting below for the one(s) that you find most compelling?

Note: All the covers are works in progress and will improve once we choose the best to focus on. The subtitle is also a work in progress and will likely change.

Size Matters

The ideal cover will look great both on a bookstore shelf and as a small thumbnail image in an Amazon listing. If you were in a bookstore, which cover would draw you in? In your opinion, should the cover evoke the many topics explored — such as social media censorship and a “balanced media diet” — or do you prefer simplicity? Essentially, I want to present a great image to attract the people who would enjoy and benefit from the investigation — as well as to draw in those who might, you know, judge a book by its…

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Kickstarter is gloriously finally complete, and I’ve switched gears to making the book. I’m working with a professional cover designer, and we have several designs that I believe have great potential. Can you help me by voting below for the image that you think has the best potential to be the Double Happiness cover?

Imagine an Eat, Pray, Love meets Into the Wild type of journey. Which cover would draw you in? Does the cover need to inform you that the story takes place both in a classroom and outdoors on a long backpacking journey? Do you prefer simplicity? Do you want a photo of me on the cover?

Note: All the covers are of course works in progress and will improve once we choose the best one (or two) to focus on and enhance.

Essentially, I want to present a great image to attract people who would enjoy and benefit from this story — as well as to draw in those who might, you know, judge a book by its…

Vote below. To vote for your favorite, just click on it. To vote for more than one, tick the boxes and click ‘Vote.’

[[POLL CLOSED]]

Also, please leave a comment below to share why you voted the way you did.

If you don’t think any of the images are any good, and we should go back to the drawing board, do tell me that.

And for those of you who helped me choose my author photo in another poll, thank you! That photo will likely grace the book’s back cover.