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Cover for I'M GAME

Started by RileyRedgate , Jan 22 2012 06:14 PM

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22 replies to this topic

#1 RileyRedgate

Ant, the Quixotic Query Quibbler

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Literary Status:published, agented
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Publishing Experience:My debut novel, SEVEN WAYS WE LIE, was released in March 2016 by Abrams and optioned for film by Jane Startz Productions. My sophomore novel, NOTEWORTHY, hits shelves May 2017.

Posted 22 January 2012 - 06:14 PM

Having trouble sleeping last night ----> me finding ways to distract myself ----> this. Dunno.

Thoughts? It was really just for fun, but HEY WE CAN MAKE IT INTO A LEARNING EXPERIENCE
:wink:

I combined like 4 different free stock photos for the silhouette. The rest was drawn by me on my dad's Photoshop CS2 - lucky to have that.

jeez i miss drawing things. :blush:

no time to do it anymore...

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Cover.jpg 265.23KB 77 downloads

author of SEVEN WAYS WE LIE and NOTEWORTHY

rep: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

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#2 C. Taylor

Subsisting on Pots of Tea

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Literary Status:published, self-published, agented
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Posted 22 January 2012 - 06:28 PM

I think it's a good start, but a lot of the detail gets lost because there's not a whole lot of contrast between things. Without clicking on the larger image, it looks like it's a silhouette of a guy having sex with someone he's holding up. lol. Sorry. : )

Also, you may want to check out bigstock.com or 123rf.com for stock. Decent quality pics are only $4/photo. : )

Cali MacKay

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#3 RileyRedgate

Ant, the Quixotic Query Quibbler

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1,994 posts

Literary Status:published, agented
LocationUS Southeast
Publishing Experience:My debut novel, SEVEN WAYS WE LIE, was released in March 2016 by Abrams and optioned for film by Jane Startz Productions. My sophomore novel, NOTEWORTHY, hits shelves May 2017.

Posted 22 January 2012 - 07:03 PM

Without clicking on the larger image, it looks like it's a silhouette of a guy having sex with someone he's holding up. lol. Sorry. : )

AHahahah! I gotta admit, I er, can't see it. :blush:

Quelle awkward!

Also, you may want to check out bigstock.com or 123rf.com for stock. Decent quality pics are only $4/photo. : )

Bless your wisdom, Cali. :wub:

The free site's pictures were like 200x300 pixels, so I had to magnify them and smooth out the edges manually, and I was like... seriously? Really? :humph:

author of SEVEN WAYS WE LIE and NOTEWORTHY

rep: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

i tweet!

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#4 Litgal

Veteran Queen Bee -- Moderator "Here Be Historicals"

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Literary Status:published, agented
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Publishing Experience:My debut novel, "The Sister Queens," (March 2012/NAL), was set in 13th century France and England and wove the captivating story of sisters, Marguerite and Eleanor of Provence, who both became queens. My next solo novel, "Medicis Daughter," (Dec 1 2015/Thomas Dunne) traveled forward three-hundred years to the intrigue-riven French Valois court, spinning the tale of beautiful princess Marguerite who walks the knife edge between the demands of her serpentine mother, Catherine de Medicis, and those of her own conscience.

In between I became a "hybrid" as part of a group of six authors involved in a high concept novel-in-six-parts called "A Day of Fire" which released in November of 2014. The book, "A Day of Fire," tells the story of the final days of the doomed city of Pompeii in a way you've never read it before.

Posted 22 January 2012 - 07:27 PM

OH MY GOD! I had exactly the same thought as CT. I saw something obscene at the thumbnail level

Lit. (aka Sophie Perinot)

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#5 C. Taylor

Subsisting on Pots of Tea

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8,300 posts

Literary Status:published, self-published, agented
LocationUS Northeast
Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 22 January 2012 - 07:28 PM

Yeah, good free stock is hard to come by, but the pay stuff isn't bad, and for ebooks you don't need the super duper licesnced photos. With that said, deviantart.com, in their resources and stocks category, also have a good amount of free stock. Just be sure to check each artist's rules of use. : )

Cali MacKay

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#6 patskywriter

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Publishing Experience:Published community newspapers in Chicago for 8 years; now publishing www.durhamskywriter.com from Durham, North Carolina, USA.

Currently working on my first nonfiction book, "And Then We Saw an Eye: Caring for a Loved-One with Alzheimer's at Home."

Posted 22 January 2012 - 07:29 PM

I remember your query letter for this book and it has an exciting story line. An artist should be able to come up with a cover that conveys the action and draw in potential readers/buyers.

Published community newspapers in Chicago for 8 years; now publishing www.durhamskywriter.com.

Currently working on my first nonfiction book, "And Then We Saw an Eye: Caring for a Loved-One with Alzheimer's at Home."

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#7 C. Taylor

Subsisting on Pots of Tea

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8,300 posts

Literary Status:published, self-published, agented
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Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 22 January 2012 - 07:30 PM

OH MY GOD! I had exactly the same thought as CT. I saw something obscene at the thumbnail level

Glad I wasn't the only one, Lit! I was starting to think my mind lived in the gutter! lol.

Cali MacKay

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#8 RC Lewis

Splitting Braincells

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SPINNING STARLIGHT, Hyperion, 2015

Posted 22 January 2012 - 08:58 PM

Yeah, a little too dark at the thumbnail level especially. Using some lighter colors for contrast (particularly in the background and text) should help.

_-
Stitching Snow Spinning Starlight
October 2014 October 6, 2015
Hyperion Hyperion

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#9 J. Lea Lopez

Glamourscribe

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Posted 23 January 2012 - 01:06 PM

I didn't notice the potentially x-rated interpretation of the silhouette until cali pointed it out haha. but i agree with the others that it's just too dark overall, and the detail gets lost.

Mistress Editing for writers of romance and erotica. The safe word is SMUT.

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#10 C. Taylor

Subsisting on Pots of Tea

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Literary Status:published, self-published, agented
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Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 23 January 2012 - 02:03 PM

Maybe something like this? Obviously, it's crudely done with low quality, watermarked images they give you free, and not cleaned up well, but it gives you an idea.

Cali MacKay

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#11 Litgal

Veteran Queen Bee -- Moderator "Here Be Historicals"

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Literary Status:published, agented
LocationUS Northeast
Publishing Experience:My debut novel, "The Sister Queens," (March 2012/NAL), was set in 13th century France and England and wove the captivating story of sisters, Marguerite and Eleanor of Provence, who both became queens. My next solo novel, "Medicis Daughter," (Dec 1 2015/Thomas Dunne) traveled forward three-hundred years to the intrigue-riven French Valois court, spinning the tale of beautiful princess Marguerite who walks the knife edge between the demands of her serpentine mother, Catherine de Medicis, and those of her own conscience.

In between I became a "hybrid" as part of a group of six authors involved in a high concept novel-in-six-parts called "A Day of Fire" which released in November of 2014. The book, "A Day of Fire," tells the story of the final days of the doomed city of Pompeii in a way you've never read it before.

Posted 23 January 2012 - 03:42 PM

I still see naked man-- so maybe it is me :p

Lit. (aka Sophie Perinot)

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#12 Caterina

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Posted 23 January 2012 - 04:35 PM

I still see naked man-- so maybe it is me :p

I do too.

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#13 C. Taylor

Subsisting on Pots of Tea

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Literary Status:published, self-published, agented
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Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 23 January 2012 - 04:42 PM

Yep! He's naked. lol. But does he still look like he's having sex?

Cali MacKay

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#14 jwmstudio

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Posted 23 January 2012 - 05:20 PM

Yep! He's naked. lol. But does he still look like he's having sex?

No, but in thumbnail, there is something odd between his legs and it's not the thing you expect. :wink:

JWM
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#15 C. Taylor

Subsisting on Pots of Tea

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8,300 posts

Literary Status:published, self-published, agented
LocationUS Northeast
Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 23 January 2012 - 05:41 PM

No, but in thumbnail, there is something odd between his legs and it's not the thing you expect.

Ha!! Love it! A hunky DRESSED male could probably be superimposed over the naked body so you still get the arms and legs. That might solve the naked problem. ; )

Cali MacKay

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#16 C. Taylor

Subsisting on Pots of Tea

Group Moderator
8,300 posts

Literary Status:published, self-published, agented
LocationUS Northeast
Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 23 January 2012 - 06:46 PM

Maybe something like this? You could probably throw jeans on his other legs if you wanted. lol.

Cali MacKay

FREE

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#17 RC Lewis

Splitting Braincells

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LocationUS Southwest
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SPINNING STARLIGHT, Hyperion, 2015

Posted 23 January 2012 - 06:48 PM

Cali, you DO know this is YA, right? :tongue:

_-
Stitching Snow Spinning Starlight
October 2014 October 6, 2015
Hyperion Hyperion

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#18 C. Taylor

Subsisting on Pots of Tea

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8,300 posts

Literary Status:published, self-published, agented
LocationUS Northeast
Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 23 January 2012 - 07:08 PM

Rc, do you know how hard it is to find stock of a decent looking guy in a t-shirt looking straight on, that doesn't look an accountant? lol.

Cali MacKay

FREE

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#19 scubasteve4

Gone Writing

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Publishing Experience:My debut novel BATTERY BROTHERS is due out with Elephant's Bookshelf Press on March 30, 2014.

Posted 23 January 2012 - 09:39 PM

Riley, you know I think the world of your writing skills. But IMHO your current cover doesn't do your book justice. I can't put finger on what's not working, so I'll defer to others who have an eye for that. You obviously have designs skills, so keep at it.

I liked your idea about doing a cover for fun, so I drafted one for Battery Brothers. In PowerPoint lol. Yeah, I have no design skills. It was fun to do, but I'd almost certainly pay to have it professionally designed if I ever decide to self-pub. Maybe I'll post it later so you all can get a good laugh. :biggrin:

http://www.stevencarman.com

Published: March 30, 2014
Elephant's Bookshelf Press

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#20 RileyRedgate

Ant, the Quixotic Query Quibbler

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1,994 posts

Literary Status:published, agented
LocationUS Southeast
Publishing Experience:My debut novel, SEVEN WAYS WE LIE, was released in March 2016 by Abrams and optioned for film by Jane Startz Productions. My sophomore novel, NOTEWORTHY, hits shelves May 2017.

Posted 23 January 2012 - 09:44 PM

Rc, do you know how hard it is to find stock of a decent looking guy in a t-shirt looking straight on, that doesn't look an accountant? lol.

HAhaha! Screw it, I'll just rewrite the novel, it can be an ACCOUNTANT THRILLER. Why do these not exist?

Super fun concept eeeeee - maybe I'll just stalk my guy friends' photos and steal one of them, haha. :laugh:

Lovelovelove the idea of it being superimposed over the Da Vinci man, though the nakedness does admittedly make it awkward. :blush:

Steve, I want to see your cover!!!! There were some pretty cool stock photos of baseball-playing silhouettes. I bet you could do something snazzy with them...

author of SEVEN WAYS WE LIE and NOTEWORTHY

rep: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

i tweet!