Sunday, April 15, 2012

Do you need a cover artist?

    Before I begin, let me first start off by giving Elisa a big huge fat THANK YOU, for letting me guest post (ramble) on her blog.
Seriously, it is so awesome be on here, so thanks girl!
    You guys may be wondering what I’m doing on here today.
Well, wait no longer! Let me indulge you.
    Today is the LAST DAY before you have to file your taxes (if you haven’t already).
    I hear some groans but hopefully, for most of you, this is going to be a good thing and you are going to get some cash back.
    Now, let me tell you how to spend it.
    Elisa has quite a large reach and audience of blog followers and I noticed that some of you are aspiring authors.
    As a person who does marketing for authors and is also a reviewer, I’m going to give you a few free tips.
    Let me pull out my soap box first….

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     Ok, if you’re going to write a book and be successful, your very first line of defense is going to be about presentation.
     By that, I mean you NEED to have your book edited by more than just a friend.
     This is a MUST!
     Even if you are looking to get picked up by a publishing house, you need an edited piece of work that represents the best “you”.
You also need to set up a blog, get a facebook account, start interacting with other people out there to make your presence known.
     There are various things that you can do, but I’m not here to get into all that.
     Well, then what am I going on about?
     YOU NEED A WICKED AWESOME COVER!!!!!
     THIS IS A MUST!
     No, though it seems I’m yelling at you, I assure you I am not.
I’m just trying to express to you how terribly IMPORTANT it is to have a FANTASTIC cover.
     It’s your “best foot forward”, it’s how you are going to stand out, grab attention…DEMAND attention.
     Yeah, I know they say that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover but it sure as heck helps if you have a good one.
     I’ll be honest and say I am a cover coveter.
     That’s right, my name is Jenn and I lust after covers.
You can bet your left arm (let’s be honest, it’s not as good as the right one anyways) that if your cover grabs my eye, I’m gonna grab your book.
    In all honestly, there have been great books that I would’ve normally passed on because their covers did not intrigue me but someone came along and said I would have to read it.
     Word of mouth saved some but great covers saved way more.

     With that being said, let me now put on my pimp hat…..

 
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What? Not the hat you were expecting?
Ok, here’s the other one….
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Much better.

     Now, I’m here today to tell you about a FANTASTICAL and FANTABULOUS cover artist named Regina Wamba.
     THIS CHICK IS EPIC!!!!
     I could go on all day long about her, her covers, pictures, drawings and just how great of a person she is in general as well.
Which is why I am posting and she is not.
     She is modest and doesn’t brag, so I’m here to do that cause SHE ROCKS MY FACE OFF!!!!
     Seriously, take a look at some of these covers!

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     And these are just a select FEW of some of the astounding work that Regina is capable of.
     THESE ARE SHOW STOPPERS.
     THESE will DEMAND attention.

     I know what you are thinking….what will it cost me?
     Don’t worry, no need to auction off kidneys here, Regina is super affordable.
     I’m not gonna lie though, she isn’t cheap and it’s with good reason.
     Her work is flawless, Regina works incredibly hard to make your vision a reality.
     Like most things in life, you get what you pay for and with covers, it’s the same.
     Only, got twenty five bucks to spend, good luck.
     Even, if you are not getting money back this year, you can claim it on this year’s taxes and recoup it next year!
     Regina is also constantly offering specials on her facebook account so you would do well to hit her up there!

     I’m  IMPLORING you to please consider it, save the money if you have too, if you are serious about your work, don’t you WANT the best?

     If you do, you need to hit Regina up because she is awesome and while I run the risk of sounding cheesy, her work is nothing short of majestic.

     Don’t need a cover?
     How about a little photo manipulation?
     Ever wanted to be air brushed?
     She’s EPIC with that as well.
     Wanna see?????

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     The first time that I saw this picture, I was floored, speechless and in complete awe.
     This is a pic she took of her daughter and then “manipulated” it.
     Is this not the most gorgeous thing you have ever seen???
     Ever wondered how this type of work is done?
     Lucky you, I made Regina make a video! (time lapsed of course)


Seriously cool right?
Fine, don’t need a manipulation?
How about a web design? Banner? Blog Button?
Yep, she does those, too!
If after all this, you STILL aren’t impressed, then I can’t help you. (but thanks for hangin on)
However, if you ARE you can reach Regina at the following places:
https://www.facebook.com/reginawamba
https://www.facebook.com/MaeIDesignandPhotography
http://www.maeicreateart.com


As  you can tell, I HIGHLY recommend her whether it be for cover art, bookmarks, manipulations, or just general photography, you will not regret it!!!
So, thanks for letting me ramble on in probably the longest post ever and don’t forget to DEMAND ATTENTION!!!!!

29 comments:

  1. That is really great advice and thanks so much for sharing about Regina. She definitely does some amazing work! She looks like she does a lot of work with young adult novels ... wonder if she's done any children's books? I definitely could use some amazing cover art for my series of children's books! =D

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  2. Hey guys thanks for the great comments of Regina! She is great! If y'all have questions feel free to hit her up or me @ greeneyez2012@gmail.com or regina@maeidesign.com
    Her art knows no bounds!!!
    Thanks for posting, E!
    I sure hope this comment gets posted, since your blog hates me. This is the 5th time I've tried :(

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  3. I don't need anything done, but I sure would contact her if I did! That video was fascinating!!!

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  4. Some good covers. Not sure if they fit my genre, but I tend to be of the mindset that one can never know too many illustrators. :)

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  5. Great covers indeed and so true too with the tips.

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  6. Love what she did with the photo of her daughter.

    Love,
    Janie

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  7. Well this post was certainly a real eye opener! I didn't know publishers wanted to see a cover with your manuscript. The editing thing made sense, but the cover thing sorta blew me out of the water!

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  8. Oh, this is great advice!! I totally agree about the cover art. It's the first thing to attract the reader. Second would have to be the networking done by the author.

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  9. That photo shop video was epic. Really great, and the perfect example of why I have no patience for such things. :)

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    1. Haha! Thank you so much Juli! It really does take a lot longer! ;) Patience and creativity go hand in hand for this kind of work!

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  10. Fascinating talent and creativity!

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  11. Great post, and yes, a great cover is sooo important! For everything you are selling;)

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  12. Great post, and yes, a great cover is sooo important! For everything you are selling;)

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  13. Good advice and a talented artist.

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  14. Huge of time to search Facebook Covers releated keyword. You have good posting. Keep update.

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  15. i have an in house artist, and some freelancers. i am having a few drawings done of moi.. but one day, maybe i will call dis pet human you suggest. i posted links to your Facebook when you were trying to meet some goal or another, and then logging into Blogspot today, i saw you on top. so did you take my suggestion to throw cocktail glasses at the bookstore employees?

    i Tweet at @Samuel_Clemons

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  16. We have all heard the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover" but I think most of us do I know I do I pick up a book I look at the cover and if the cover doesn't say "read me" then I don't I put it back and move on to something else............that photo of her daughter is just so cool really breathtaking a graps a person............

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    1. Thank you Jo-Anne! It was one of my very first manipulations! :)

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  17. Wow! Awesome work. I only dream of being able to do the kinds of photo manipulation she does. Being a scrapbooker I'm always playing around but do not have the talent as illustrated in her work.

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    1. aww! Thanks! Goodness me.. if I could scrapbook I swear I would have it all! ;)

      I have soooo many pictures of my kids that need to be made into BOOKS!

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  18. I so agree that a book needs a great cover. My pal, Gary Fearon wrote about this too recently! Y'all are just both so smart! http://southernwritersmagazine.blogspot.com/2012/03/gotcha-covered.html

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    1. Thank you Shannon!

      Gary has an awesome blog over there! ANYTHING to with design, I love to read along!

      -Regina

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  19. Wow, you're right, she is awesome!!

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  20. That was awesome! I cant believe on what I see here because it is pure talent.

    I agree on the point that book covers needs to be nicely presented because it add points to the overall score of a book. and with a book cover artist like regina, I would definitely check every book with her cover design!

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    1. WOW! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed everything here! I am so pleased you loved the work you saw here!

      -Regina

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