by | November 23, 2015 · 9:49 am
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Win a free book cover custom designed by Ana Spoke!

UPDATE: please review the entries below and then vote for who you think should get a free cover design:

Only one vote per person/computer is allowed. Voting will close on 24 January.

 

Omg, you guys – I had the most genius idea ever. You’ve been so nice and supportive while I’ve been going through the ups and downs of trying to hire not one, but two designers, getting sorely disappointed and then designing both the ecover and the wrap myself.  Just to remind you of what I can do, here is the wrap:

Shizzle paperback final for production

A lot of you took the time to comment on the process – thank you again! Several of you have also mentioned hiring me as a designer. To be honest, I don’t want to branch into that – it’s a stressful job, takes a long time, and just thinking of taking somebody’s money and then disappointing them gives me the heebie-jeebies. So I just answered those comments with jokes. Sorry.

But then I had a light bulb moment. Sure, I don’t want another job, and I don’t have the time to create covers for all of you, but I can do one, for free! Then my marketing brain jumped on it, and I came up with an awesome win-win idea: a free contest!

So here it is: until the end of the year, I will accept pitches from anyone who has written a book, or has an idea for one, or wants to publish their NaNoWriMo creation. You don’t have to have the book ready for publication or even written – perhaps having a ready cover hanging over your desk will keep you motivated to finish that dream project?

Here are the rules:

  1. Write a pitch. Imagine that you are submitting your book to an agent – write a blurb/pitch that will hook the reader. Remember, people will vote on it (more on that below).
  2. Post the pitch on your blog or website. If you don’t have one, post it in the comments below.
  3. Let me know about it – in a comment below, with a link to your post.
  4. Make sure to post it any time before midnight on 31 December!

That’s it! After the contest closes, I will create a voting page which will be live during January. Everyone and anyone will get to vote on your pitch. The voting will close on 31 January and the winner will be chosen based on the number of votes – I will stay out of it!

The winner will get the following:

  1. A shot of endorphins at the news of having won a contest.
  2. One custom cover (ebook or paperback wrap, your choice), including:
    1. Up to three initial concepts to choose from (or your concept, developed).
    2. Up to three images from Shutterstock, your choice (regular license, up to 500,000 prints). You get the images to keep.
    3. Detailed design with up to three “fixes” (sorry, I will have to draw a line somewhere!).
    4. Final, layered Photoshop file uploaded to Dropbox – unlike designers, I won’t keep it to myself! This way, if you ever want to tweak a word, or add a “bestselling author” stamp, you can easily do it yourself or get someone local to do it for you.
    5. My relentless perfectionism.
    6. A free value of (according to quotes I got from designers) up to $750!
  3. A special blog post on my site, announcing the final design, with a link to purchase (if available).
  4. That warm, fuzzy feeling of accomplishing a goal.

I hope you are as excited about this as I am! let me know what you think 🙂

CURRENT ENTRIES (in the order received):

  1. Ninja at Law by Jim Peacock

Ninja at Law (Ages of the Seed, vol. 2)

Life at the tail end of the 24th cee is fairly righteous. The advent of Stringtech mere centuries ago revolutionized the world. Hunger and disease are concepts of the past. Free energy is here for the taking of it and mankind enjoys an unprecedented period of largess, peace and growth.

Tobe Sparkles is about to fuck all that up.

2. Head on a Grave by Terry Nelson

While on vacation in 1927, Hollywood screenwriter Chet Koski and his wife Eveleen, both amateur sleuths, antagonize a divided small town, unravel a kidnapping, discover a timber scandal, and Chet fears his cousin may be a killer. These things happen when finding a head on a grave.

3. The Nightmare by Amir.H.Ghazi

When fourteen-year-old Allen Foster is diagnosed with parasomnia, a sleep disorder evoking vivid nightmares, he begins journaling each haunting dream on the advice of his psychiatrist, keeping the notebook safely hidden in a floorboard — that is until a new family moves into the Maine house. When Rita, the daughter of the new owners, discovers the book and begins experiencing Allen’s old nightmares, she tracks him down in an effort to rid herself of the misery, only to find he has no memory of writing them.

4. Mark My Soul by Abby Cashen.

An age old tradition. A few offline cameras. Shadows in the alley. 

Lance works in a busy city, watching out for disturbances and things out of the ordinary. He has no idea just out strange things have gotten until he looks into a missing child case and discovers dark secrets in the shadows. Inhuman creatures seem to appear out of nowhere and are devouring the city. And the only way to stop them…is a tradition no one believes in anymore.

5. The Puzzle by Nick Langis.

It knows your darkest thoughts, your deepest secrets, and your hidden desires. All you need to do; put the puzzle together. Richard and Vivian Cordova discover the puzzle when they move into their newly bought home. One thousand pieces wedge their way between the newlyweds putting their vows and their lives to the test.

6. Confessions of a Good Mother by Kathi Tesone.

Diana, a lonely and neglected, middle age, wife and mother decides to end her loveless marriage of thirty years. On her own for the first time in decades, she struggles to adjust to her new single life, dating and overcoming a devastating diagnosis of  mental illness. Can she learn to love herself so she will be ready to find love with the right man or will she continue to get the thrills her illness demands by engaging in increasingly risky behavior? Will she get the help she needs to live a more fulfilling life before her mental illness wins and she decides to commits suicide?

7. The Hiding Place – By J.K.Tevis.

The bugs were unmerciful in their quest for food. The ants were the most vicious. Her hiding place was their home and she was an intruder. The dried blood on her feet seemed to have driven them into a feeding frenzy making it look as though she wore a pair of black boots. Even though the earth under her was cool the sun had turned the fallen stones over her into an oven. As she drifted in and out of consciousness she kept remembering her mother’s last words…. “RUN,THEY’RE HERE !”

8. Chrysalis by Sharon Gerdes

Joyel is a weapon, a genetically engineered ten year old. When the ruthless faction leader Anson kidnaps Joyel she must fight to save her soul. Anson spends ten years brainwashing her, demanding that she view him as father, embrace a new identity as Joy, and to kill for him. But Joy is determined to be subject to no man.

Cutting is how Joy copes with the years of abuse, etching her hatred of Anson into her skin until the time to mete out revenge has come. Despite her rage, now twenty-year-old Joy struggles to strike out against the man she calls father. Discovering Anson’s plans to restart the genetic program she was spawned from in order to raise an army forces Joy to act. To no longer be a pawn, she must kill Anson and destroy the monster she has become. If she doesn’t, she will never be free.

CHRYSALIS asks which is more important: to know who you are, or to whom you belong?

9. Ember’s Heart by Charca Molson

For Ember Rehksskari, a hated dragon and last princess of a fallen kingdom, there are two kinds of place in the world: those where the people will try to kill her, and those where they’ll try harder. Yet, fleeing from the second to the first, she may just find a third.

The kingdom of Salshira has no interest in hosting a dragon, any dragon, especially not one pursued by the Vohrskrain, but Ean Tavarin, crown prince and engineer extraordinaire, has a plan to make a home for this one…if he can deal with a best friend who wants all dragons dead, a father looking out for the rest of the kingdom, and a romantic interest he didn’t know he had.

It really shouldn’t be this hard to make one damsel safe!

But if Emperor Vohrskrain has anything to say, none of them will be until Ember is dead.

105 Comments

Filed under Self-publishing and marketing, Win a free book cover!

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105 responses to “Win a free book cover custom designed by Ana Spoke!”

  1. stephrichmond
    November 23, 2015 at 10:03 am

    Wow what an awesome offer. I’m someone who is completely useless at graphic design so I take my hat off to you. You did an awesome job of your cover and it looks so professional. I may just throw my hat into the ring for your offer although my second book is far from complete.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  2. michnavs
    November 23, 2015 at 10:30 am

    That’s a wonderful idea..

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Jim Peacock
    November 23, 2015 at 11:36 am

    What a great idea! I’ve got to go work on my pitch now…

    😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Jennifer F. Santucci
    November 23, 2015 at 11:46 am

    Your cover looks fantastic! You’re also so generous with your time. How long should the pitch be? We worked on “elevator pitches” in my writing program and mine is one sentence. The idea was that if an agent from a big publishing house was in an elevator with you, the blurb had to be short, but convey just enough to hook the agent in.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  6. Fun Simplicity
    November 23, 2015 at 12:14 pm

    Reblogged this on I care, U care.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. authorswilliams
    November 23, 2015 at 12:25 pm

    What a cool contest idea. I was going to tell you in a comment earlier when you posted about doing the wrap design yourself that I was pretty freakin impressed by your tenacity to get it done the way you wanted it done 🙂 Congrats on that. As for the contest, question, can we post more than one book blurb or is it one book blurb per author? I will be keeping an eye out on your blog now (Great idea, kudos to you lol)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Amy Reese
    November 23, 2015 at 12:44 pm

    I especially like the gold leaf, Ana. Hey, I reviewed your book! Hope you got it. I really enjoyed it!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. AmirhoseinGhazi
    November 23, 2015 at 2:15 pm

    Brilliant idea!! I was suffering from writer’s block for months but your excellent idea helped me to put an end to it. Thank you Ana.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. readersandmore
    November 23, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    What a great offer! I hope I will remember to enter this 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. Taara Donley
    November 23, 2015 at 4:06 pm

    What a great idea, Ana! Very generous of you!!! I wish everyone luck in this contest! (I’ll be a spectator, since I’m just figuring out my manuscript.) Looking forward to seeing the winning design!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. Pingback: Ninja at Law – The mighty pitch | Ages of the Seed

  15. Annika Perry
    November 23, 2015 at 7:26 pm

    A seriously brilliant idea!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  16. lisammc
    November 23, 2015 at 10:06 pm

    This sounds fantastic! Great motivation. I’m in! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. KL Caley
    November 24, 2015 at 1:12 am

    Reblogged this on new2writing and commented:
    A fantastic offer of a free book cover design including the original files.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  18. peascoaching
    November 24, 2015 at 6:08 am

    Thanks for the generous support of fellow writers.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  19. AmirhoseinGhazi
    November 27, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    What’s the standard length of a blurb?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. Pingback: Win a free book cover custom designed by Ana Spoke! | The Online Author

  21. Pingback: Book cover contest and sage perspective | Terry Nelson's Quill

  22. Terry Nelson
    December 1, 2015 at 8:08 am

    Here is my link to my blog where I made my pitch. Thanks for having the contest. m/wp-admin/post.php?post=1508&action=edit&postpost=v2

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  23. olivia barrington
    December 1, 2015 at 5:58 pm

    Sorry,I haven’t responded before this. How generous of you to do this. I’m very excited about it. I have so many story ideas running through my head. It will take a while to figure out what I want to post. You are such an inspiration to me. Every where I go this is all I’m thinking about. Hmmm… I’ve never written a book before but always wanted to so now is the time to start. Since I don’t have a blog yet I’ll post it here under comments. You are going to be very busy, very soon. Enjoy!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  24. AmirhoseinGhazi
    December 2, 2015 at 6:29 am

    Hey Anna I have a question.should I write the name of my novel?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. Pingback: Ana Spoke contest | World of Horror

  26. AmirhoseinGhazi
    December 2, 2015 at 7:09 am

    Here is my pitch:

    Ana Spoke contest

    It took a whole two weeks to write this pitch!

    Like

    Reply
  27. Jam
    December 2, 2015 at 8:51 am

    Wow Ana! This has gotten my creative juices going today! I hope to have a pitch ready soon!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  29. AmirhoseinGhazi
    December 6, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    Thank you for adding my pitch to your contest Anna:)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  31. Nick Langis
    December 10, 2015 at 6:37 am

    Hi Ana, Thank you so much for this contest! This was a great exercise for me and I’ve placed my entry on my blog. I’ll leave the link below for you.

    Regards,
    Nick

    https://nicklangis.wordpress.com/2015/12/09/inspiriation-to-write-chance-to-win-a-free-book-cover/

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  32. kathi Tesone
    December 30, 2015 at 12:07 am

    Here’s my idea, http://kathitesone.com/blog/ Let me know if you need anything more. My twitter is @Kathi_Write_Now.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  33. kathi Tesone
    December 30, 2015 at 12:20 am

    Would be so honored for you create the cover for my book. http://kathitesone.com/blog/ It’s called Confessions of a Good Mother. I’ll bet you could have fun with it! lol

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  34. Sharon Gerdes
    December 31, 2015 at 1:17 am

    Thank you for offering this. It’s extremely generous. You do great work.

    I used the pitch in my query. If that’s too long, I can cut it down. Here is the link to my pitch:

    https://roseofgerdes.wordpress.com/2015/12/30/book-cover-contest/

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  35. olivia barrington
    December 31, 2015 at 12:13 pm

    Ana, I have to admit to you that I can’t type (use tabs, etc.). I’m very challenged in that department. I need to learn or get a Dragon program. I don’t have a blog or any link to post to so I’m putting my blub in the comments below do with it what you will. Thanks, Olivia.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  36. olivia barrington
    December 31, 2015 at 1:10 pm

    The Hiding Place – By J.K.Tevis The bugs were unmerciful in their quest for food. The ants were the most vicious. Her hiding place was their home and she was an intruder. The dried blood on her feet seemed to have driven them into a feeding frenzy making it look as though she wore a pair of black boots. Even though the earth under her was cool the sun had turned the fallen stones over her into an oven. As she drifted in and out of consciousness she kept remembering her mother’s last words…. “RUN,THEY’RE HERE !”

    Like

    Reply

  37. Pingback: Ember’s Heart (blurb) | WHJD

  38. charcamolson
    January 1, 2016 at 10:39 am

    Ember’s Heart, by Charles Olson. Currently in progress. Link to the blurb is: https://whathasjesusdone.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/embers-heart-jacket-blurb/

    Full text is:

    For Ember Rehksskari, last princess of a fallen kingdom and a hated dragon, there are two kinds of place in the world: those where the people will try to kill her, and those where they’ll try harder. Yet, fleeing from the second to the first, she may just find a third.

    The kingdom of Salshira has no interest in hosting a dragon, any dragon, especially not one pursued by the Vohrskrain, but Ean Tavarin, crown prince and engineer extraordinaire, has a plan to make a home for this one…if he can deal with a best friend who wants all dragons dead, a father looking out for the rest of the kingdom, and a romantic interest he didn’t know he had.

    It really shouldn’t be this hard to make one damsel safe!

    But if Emperor Vohrskrain has anything to say, none of them will be until Ember is dead.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  39. charcamolson
    January 1, 2016 at 2:11 pm

    Oh dear. I posted my blurb around 6pm on the 31st where I am, but it isn’t displaying like that here.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  40. charcamolson
    January 1, 2016 at 9:18 pm

    Hmm. I should probably mention that my full name is Charles Cameron Olson, so the screen name should be written Charcam Olson, not Charca Molson.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  41. Arashhh74
    January 2, 2016 at 12:22 am

    Dear Amir.H.Ghazi
    Congrats on writing such a well developed blurb.
    It seems like you thought of every side of your story as it is made miraclesouly spooky, and It can be adapted into a movie as well.
    So I am pinning my hopes on your triumph in this poll.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  42. Pingback: Pitches, the Anaspoke Pitch Contest, and The Farmington Writers Circle | Slattery's Art of Horror Magazine

  43. Pingback: And the winner of the free cover design competition is… | AnaSpoke.com

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