Promotional poster

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kevinwaynewilliams

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Tried my hand at a promotional poster for the few places that may care to carry my book as a physical item. I'd like to hear what people think.

smallposter.jpg
 

Polenth

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The tagline is repeating stuff you've said elsewhere better. Her race and age are obvious, and the book makes it clear it's zombies. You could use that space for something else. I'd suggest something more personal to her... either a first person quote or a third person statement that includes her name.
 

Osulagh

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That phrase isn't sitting well for me. It's the type of line that screams, "Look at me, I'm different!" Which is odd since having a POC, female, protagonist in a apocalypse is nothing new, nor does saying so tells me more about the book; it just tells me of a concept and your thoughts behind the book, and not the content. So it doesn't add anything positive, IMHO.

To the picture, not feeling it as well. Skin color and age is good, but she looks like she's naked (bare shoulder, close up) and it also doesn't show me anything other than her race, age, and sex.

The title and cover of the book gives me more than the poster itself. Perhaps if you can't decide on a poster, just use the cover.
 

kevinwaynewilliams

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I've struggled with a tag line. For one poster, I've got the tag line "Growing up in Mott Haven has never been easy, and the apocalypse isn't helping". Since the book is set in Mott Haven and that particular store is in Mott Haven, that made sense: everyone there will know what "Mott Haven" is and why growing up there isn't a piece of cake. I don't think that will make much sense outside of that narrow environment.

I've played with a few others,

Variations on "It's just her, one ax, twelve kindergarteners, twelve garden stakes, and her will to live." That's pretty long, and gives me troubles. Works on the back cover, but doesn't seem to work here.

"Sometimes, you just can't hide": that worked as an intro to the back cover copy, but floating by itself didn't seem to work.

"God, Please make it so it ain't so scary down here when we wake up." That's a quote from the inside, but I'm afraid it would attract the wrong audience. While religion is certainly a theme of the book, it's dealt with as something the characters grapple with in an environment where the conclusion that any omnipotent creator hates them is inescapable. It's not an anti-religious book, but it certainly isn't a pro-religious book.

As always, I'm open to guidance.
 

kevinwaynewilliams

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Hmm ... perhaps "Growing up is never easy, and the apocalypse doesn't help".
 

ssbittner

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The way it cuts off halfway through her eye really annoys me for some reason. Could you crop it differently?
 

kevinwaynewilliams

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It's a tough shot to crop: see the thumbnail.
stock-photo-11743107-frightened-little-girl.jpg


I can go over a bit more to the right, but every inch I go right trims the room for text in the 11x17 format. I can't shrink back very far because I don't have the top of her head.
 

kevinwaynewilliams

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I can crop it bigger for the version where the text is on her image instead of beside her image

smallposter5.jpg


I really dislike the proportions of this one, though.
 

Invincibility

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The book cover looks kind of flat, probably because it's white paper on a white background. A drop shadow under it might help.
 

kevinwaynewilliams

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Of course, I could always focus on one of the kindergarteners. This would probably be Rosarita, the largest of the little ones.

rosaritasmall.jpg
 

Gale Haut

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What are the dimensions based on? It looks like a good size for a social media post but The dimensions look awfully square for a website banner.

As for copy, I think the original headline works but you have no call to action. The ad would be more effective if you swapped the cover image for a "read more" or "buy now."
 
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kevinwaynewilliams

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It's an 11"x17" print, Gale. It's intended for the few places that would sell it physically and have a spot on a window or a wall for a sign (right now, two places, but I hope more as I continue to work). The images I'm posting are thumbnails taken from 3300x5100 originals.
 

Gale Haut

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It's an 11"x17" print, Gale. It's intended for the few places that would sell it physically and have a spot on a window or a wall for a sign (right now, two places, but I hope more as I continue to work). The images I'm posting are thumbnails taken from 3300x5100 originals.

My immediate ideas:

Add a price point, e.g. "Now only $4.99"
Add availability and call to action "Now in stock" and "find it in [section]"
Get creative with headline fonts. Your most important words need to pop out fast.
 

MattJPike

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I think with the softer tones of the cover and the thin title font you'd be well placed to find an image with a dark background to place it on for contrast. I like the idea of some call to action copy/price point info as suggested above.
I prefer the tagline in your latest example but I feel there are some positional alignment issues at work - ie the shape of the cover and tagline not working in the available space.

If you're still looking for suggestions (based on that final design posted) you should consider running the tagline over a number of decks aligned right (ragged left) - you could then create a darker background panel (sample some of the tones from her neck to sit in with the overall colour palette) to post the cover and any additional call to action copy on.
 

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I like "Growing up was hard enough without an apocolypse" with or without "getting in the way" added, but I don't think it looks good when it's put across the girl's forehead like that. It *really* takes the focus off of the image of the book and leads the eye away from it.

The Rosarita one looks okay although the book cover doesn't pop from it much since it's on a light gray background. Unlike the first one, you have more room to add additional details if you'd like.
 

kevinwaynewilliams

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I always like to share the final results. I wound up with these two.

11x17letitiaheresample.jpg


11x17rosaritaheresample.jpg
 
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