Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

This is my second attempt at a comment, ‘cause my work’s servers blow.

So.

Congrats to the winners.  I’d at least pick up the second one to look at the blurb on the back.

The amateur cover is much better than the professional, IMO. Both are very beautiful. I agree that good covers boost sales. Hell, I’d buy “His Savage Secret” just for the cover.

Can publishers start the bidding now? I think both are gorgeous. Wonderful job.

Hey,

Another Savoy out there in Romancelandia.  Cool!  Congrats to the winners.

Went back and looked at the amateurs and I’m still impressed. (and though the winning cover is gorgeous and I’d pick it up to read the back blah blah blah, I still think AE was robbed. ROBBED I tell you!)

Next time have categories. Best Use of Fading Lion would be a tough one to pick.

Some publisher is missing a bet here if a contract offer isn’t forthcoming.  These are excellent.  Congratulations to the winners, and to all the talented folks who stepped up to the drafting board and took a shot at fame and fortune.

I like the lion cover better, too, if only because the couple on the other cover seem to be putting as much excitement and passion into that kiss as I do into my annual gynecological exam.  ;-P Seriously, the chick looks about a millisecond away from pulling back and screaming “I’ve got mints, you know!”

As it has elicited minor cover snark, however, I would say it’s by far the more realistic cover of the two…. It’s still excellent, though (cold fish female aside….) I’d pick up either of them for the back blurb.

>Seriously, the chick looks about a millisecond away from pulling back and screaming “I’ve got mints, you know!”

Good point. And the guy on the amature cover? So. Hot.

I would definitely pick up the book for the guy alone.

I liked the amateur covers better than the professional ones too.

Still, all this talk has made me want to actually read the damned—hopefully campy—book.

Can’t we have a contest about that as well? Nothing book length but a short novella would be nice. Maybe a collective effort?

That way we can print both cover and book and have our very own Smart Bitch Book.

I agree. The amateur cover is better than the pro one. I’ll even add that it’s WAY better. :)

By the way, this is coming from the pro, lol.

Granted, I gave about 20 minutes of one morning to this project, and I spent not a penny, using photos I already had access to ... so it was really not one of my best efforts. Plus, my entry was designed more for an e-book. The amateur cover, on the other hand, would look lovely as a print book. That’s two very different styles of cover. Even I design print books differently than e-books, and IMO, print book designs are usually better looking. :) E-book covers have to be readable as thumbnails, so they’re usually not designed with smaller text or greater subtle details. A shame, really, but I’ve actually had to redo covers because the feedback was: “It would look great as a print cover, but I’m afraid it would just get lost as a thumbnail.”

Now, speaking as Art Director of Liquid Silver Books, I’d like to invite J. Savoy to send me a query and a portfolio of 9 more covers (completely made up if need be). I love the clean design style and can see it translating to e-book cover design, but I’d like to see the breadth and depth of her (his?) design skills. Our authors are very particular about their covers. :)

Super Congrats to the winners!

I was worried that the amateur title would not get voted on because people mentioned how the setting was obviously London and well, I so didn’t care.  I think it’s a great cover and when has a cover truly conveyed the story in between ;)

I was stunned at just how creative and well done these covers were so I applaud all those who entered as well.

CindyS

If J. Savoy is going to be designing real covers, can I re-emphasize just how hot the guy on the cover is?

Hey, April! It was great to read your comment. People here have been really sweet about Savage Secret (I think I owe it all to the hottie cover guy! ;-)), but I’m definitely still an amateur at this point. I really admired the polish of your work on Savage City—that ghostly effect you used was neat, and the font style just blew my mind.

I’d love to get more details on your work with Liquid Silver books.
What’s your email address? Mine is whiterabbitalice0(at)hotmail(dot)com.

Luridly Savage would like to congratulate the winners of the contest.  However, she is unfortunately unable to do so, because Amelia Elias is currently beating her over the head with a baseball bat.  Methinks that last ARC-for-cover-quote Luridly sent pushed poor Amelia clean over the edge.

Darn my internet going down when these came out to vote, not to mention limited internet at work during the day.  But i definatly love these two covers.  And the guy on j. Savoy’s cover is so very hot.  Couldn’t help thinking it was Michael Shanks though.  i’m probably just being a fangirl though.

Congrats to J and April!