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Sheenagh Pugh
sheenaghpugh
27 April 2009 @ 03:32 pm
The people speak....  
... though unlike the BBC we are not promising mendaciously to abide by the people's choice. But my publishers are seriously interested to know what the potential readers think of the various candidates for the cover image of my next book, which is a Later Selected Poems. So...

here is a gallery of 7 images. In the gallery view they are sometimes the wrong shape, but click on one, it will appear as it should and then you can go to "next picture" - see top right - through the 7. Not all have text added yet.

And then you can vote! How's this for interactive literature?



Which gets your vote?
Landscape 1
Polar bear 1
Polar bear 2
Franklin
Map
Landscape 2
Kite



EDIT: I have, btw, been told to keep quiet about my own views. Also I have tried to make this a proper poll with ticky boxes but though it looked fine in the preview it lost them. So it'll have to be comments...
 
54 comments | Leave a comment
 
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( 54 comments — Post a new comment )
Verdandi Weaves[info]verdandiweaves on April 27th, 2009 03:10 pm (UTC)
They're all lovely images, but I'd go with Polar Bear 2. It's more dynamic and intriguing and might well make that smidgen of difference between just going oh pretty and actually picking the book up.
(Comment based on the theory that the job of a cover is to get a browser to pick up and open a book. Contents has to sell itself. :) As I'm sure it will.)
[info]viva_gloria on April 27th, 2009 03:15 pm (UTC)
Verdandi put it better than I was about to!
The other Linda[info]reapermum on April 27th, 2009 03:21 pm (UTC)
Personally, I like Map best, it's clear, simple and uncluttered. But that's just me, I like maps.
Sheenagh Pugh: Brain[info]sheenaghpugh on April 27th, 2009 03:29 pm (UTC)
I am trying to make it work as a proper poll, btw, but though all the html is right it isn't showing the checkboxes - maybe that bit of LJ is broken...
[info]kathzsblog.blogspot.com on April 27th, 2009 03:31 pm (UTC)
Franklin. The others stand out and I'd notice them but I'd been drawn to Franklin and pick it up.

kathz
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 03:36 pm (UTC)
Sheenagh,
I'd be drawn to Franklin too. And as your poems are so peopled...
Kalypso: Kolya choose[info]kalypso_v on April 27th, 2009 03:37 pm (UTC)
Oh golly, I like them all. I think the polar bears are probably a bit too cute, but maybe that means they would sell well. I like all the skies - maybe Landscape 1 best - but if you're trying to indicate "Arctic" I suppose that one's less distinctive than Landscape 2. And I find both the map and Franklin intriguing.

That was no help at all, then.
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 03:42 pm (UTC)
It's a tough choice, but I prefer Polar Bear 1 to Polar Bear 2; I think it would also prompt a browser to pick it up and it makes a more satisfying composition (for me, anyway) given the shape of the overall image.
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 03:44 pm (UTC)
The People Speak
Franklin for me. No question.
[info]emmadarwin on April 27th, 2009 03:50 pm (UTC)
Re: The People Speak
Franklin, Map or Polar Bear 2. Franklin would most tempt me personally to pick it up, Map is the most beautiful, Polar Bear 2 the most intriguing.

Polar Bear 1 is impossibly cute, but a bit too beautiful.

Now to see if I can remember my LJ login.
Manna[info]ms_manna on April 27th, 2009 03:58 pm (UTC)
I like the map, or Landscape 1. Landscape 2 is nice also, but that makes me think of coziness and log fires.

Polar bear one is really cute, but maybe a bit too cute.
The Espresso Addict[info]espresso_addict on April 27th, 2009 04:06 pm (UTC)
As covers, I like Kite (tho' text might wreck it), Landscape 1 & Polar Bear 1. Map & Franklin would also work for me. I don't like Polar Bear 2 or Landscape 2.
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 04:08 pm (UTC)
If you click on the thumbnail you'll see the enlargement with the text.

Anne
(no subject) - [info]espresso_addict on April 27th, 2009 04:16 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [info]sheenaghpugh on April 27th, 2009 04:40 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - (Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 05:06 pm (UTC)
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 04:06 pm (UTC)
Franklin for me too, no contest. With map a distant second.

Anne
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 04:15 pm (UTC)
Vote for Franklin
It was a tough call between landscape 1 and Franklin but my vote goes to the latter, I think it's the kind of picture that makes you look twice and wonder about the poems, whereas the others were simply nice images. /Gisela
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 04:17 pm (UTC)
Landscape 1, definitely. It's dramatic but transient too. Perfect for a Selected poetry collection.
glitterboy: reading[info]glitterboy1 on April 27th, 2009 04:36 pm (UTC)
Map, Landscape 1, Franklin, I think.

The polar bears are lovely images, but in themselves, rather than as covers, I think.
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 04:37 pm (UTC)
vote on book cover
Polar Bear 1 All that Ice is irresistible.
The Espresso Addict[info]espresso_addict on April 27th, 2009 04:38 pm (UTC)
I asked Mr EA, and his responses were:

Liked: Kite (nice feeling of space), Map (feeling of North Pole but not restrictive).
Ambiguous on: Franklin (nice feel, but overly restrictive on contents)
Didn't like: Landscape 1, 2 (both dark), Polar Bear 1,2 (overly restrictive)

With Franklin & the polar bears, he said they'd only work for him in the context of a collection that was mainly or entirely about the North Pole.
azdak[info]azdak on April 27th, 2009 04:45 pm (UTC)
I like Polar Bear 1 best. I'm intrigued by the way it's enfolded in the ice, and it looks both Arctic and modern. I'd want to open the book to find out what the poems were like that went with the image.
Solo: Akame[info]solo____ on April 27th, 2009 04:46 pm (UTC)
I like the Map, Franklin, Polar Bear 1 and Landscape 1, in that order (descending).
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 04:54 pm (UTC)
Kite or Map are the best layouts. The polar bears are darling and everything, but not entirely my favourite things as covers.

(Your Child.)
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 06:06 pm (UTC)
Covers
Landscape 1 is fab and I love the maps.
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 05:20 pm (UTC)
Franklin or Landscape 2, or Map just because I'm a sucker for maps.

I think the more peopled landscapes suit your poems better. Polar bears are too overloaded with baggage, to my mind - they get used to manipulate us, whether it's advertising or climate change or general wildlife eye-candy (to avoid using a word that would fall foul of your filters). The emptier landscapes say too little about your writing.

I'd pick up the map one because it's a pavlovian response for me, and Franklin would interest me in terms of human story, while Landscape 2 would appeal to my interest in people and place.
[info]barbaramarsh on April 27th, 2009 05:20 pm (UTC)
Polar Bear 2 or Map, I think. Possibly not in that order.
entropy_house[info]entropy_house on April 27th, 2009 05:23 pm (UTC)
I like the map best, after that I'd say Polar Bear 1.
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 05:24 pm (UTC)
cover
I like Polar Bear 1 for the colours, and the way the text works with that, but maybe it's not a poetry cover? (sweet rather than salty)
Landscape 2 with the roofs and the snow I like, but the sky is a bit pink. Blues are better.
Map is great - but doesn't Jane Routh have a cover a bit like this (Circumnavigation)
Kite is lovely but the kite is so wee once the text is on the page I think the proportions of the picture will go awol and the image will be lost. The kite might end up looking like an accetn on an e...
So, maybe Franklin is gonna get my final vote - if the text changes.
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 05:27 pm (UTC)
I think I'd choose Franklin, but I do like Polar Bear 1 for the shapes and the colours.

Carolyn
federhirn[info]federhirn on April 27th, 2009 06:16 pm (UTC)
My favourite is the map. (It's strange, but nothing makes me think of exploring and travels as much as a map - not even a photo of explorers)

Of the polar bears, I prefer number 1.

Of the landscapes, landscape 1.
(Anonymous) on April 27th, 2009 06:31 pm (UTC)
Front Cover for book
I Like 'Landscape 1' best Sheena

Maureen Almond.
Re: Front Cover for book - (Anonymous) on May 6th, 2009 09:18 am (UTC)
 
 

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