Nathan, I have an idea. Add a new section to the site called “Second Chances”. There, once a month, you post a sh*tty cover where LBC visitors can reimagine the same cover/title in their own interpretation. The general rules are that the new cover must be of better quality but still somewhat resemble the old one in terms of imagery or themes (with the same title of course).
Every month, these reinterpretations are displayed for all to see and comment on. At the end of the month, a winner is selected (either by vote or by yourself) and their cover is featured alongside its original for kicks.
Of course, it’s a jokey thing, but at the same time, if the reimagined covers end up being quite impressive compared to their originals, wouldn’t that back up the purpose of LBC? As in, wouldn’t it be further proof that the images we see on this site are pure laziness and delusion on behalf of the authors?
It’s a dumb suggestion, I know, but I thought it’d be interesting nonetheless.
I like the idea. On a few occasions I’ve taken LBCs and redone them purely for my own amusement … once or twice I think I may have posted links here (e.g. The Gingerbread House)
But I suspect we might fall into a mire of rights issues.
I mean at least HERE it would all be in good fun with other folks. Not only that, but I’m definitely interested in seeing how other individuals would reinterpret LBCs. Plus, it would be a great place for people to get feedback on their mattepainting/drawing/editing skills and whatnot.
And instead of posting links, I’d like to see the option of uploading jpgs/pngs directly to make it easier for anyone who would like to get involved, if at all possible.
Not a dumb suggestion, an interesting one – but as an author who had a lousy book cover – https://lousybookcovers.com/?p=1538447 (and maybe others in my collection?), it’s not necessarily laziness. At the time, I thought it was a good cover. Perhaps I was deluding myself, but I also know I didn’t spend as much time as I could have on the cover – in the interest of getting published on Amazon. A lousy cover isn’t always an indication of lousy writing (but I might be deluding myself there too :)?)
Okay I’ll admit it myself, there were times where I could have allocated my resources a little better in past projects. I do 3D animation and modeling, with 2D mattepainting on the side, and when I look back at some of my early works I still think to myself: “sh*t, coulda done a better job HERE considering I spent so much time polishing THAT”.
In the words of Gordon Ramsay, I used to be a “busy idiot”. I would spend too much time working on details that weren’t as significant as others, for instance. Not sure if all this coincides with your statements above, but I do get what you’re saying, is my point.
But let’s be frank here, there are some bad covers here that do reflect writing quality.
Important note: when doing that “split screen” trick, perspectives on both sides have to be the same. Also, anyone and anything you cut & paste into a scene needs to have a shadow.
Naaman_Brown
6 years ago
The make p is nice authentic Amish touch … not.
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania had about 37,000 Amish in 2017. How many Amish covers have we seen on LBC and who is buying these books?
“Try again” indeed.
Nathan, I have an idea. Add a new section to the site called “Second Chances”. There, once a month, you post a sh*tty cover where LBC visitors can reimagine the same cover/title in their own interpretation. The general rules are that the new cover must be of better quality but still somewhat resemble the old one in terms of imagery or themes (with the same title of course).
Every month, these reinterpretations are displayed for all to see and comment on. At the end of the month, a winner is selected (either by vote or by yourself) and their cover is featured alongside its original for kicks.
Of course, it’s a jokey thing, but at the same time, if the reimagined covers end up being quite impressive compared to their originals, wouldn’t that back up the purpose of LBC? As in, wouldn’t it be further proof that the images we see on this site are pure laziness and delusion on behalf of the authors?
It’s a dumb suggestion, I know, but I thought it’d be interesting nonetheless.
I like the idea. On a few occasions I’ve taken LBCs and redone them purely for my own amusement … once or twice I think I may have posted links here (e.g. The Gingerbread House)
But I suspect we might fall into a mire of rights issues.
I mean at least HERE it would all be in good fun with other folks. Not only that, but I’m definitely interested in seeing how other individuals would reinterpret LBCs. Plus, it would be a great place for people to get feedback on their mattepainting/drawing/editing skills and whatnot.
And instead of posting links, I’d like to see the option of uploading jpgs/pngs directly to make it easier for anyone who would like to get involved, if at all possible.
Not a dumb suggestion, an interesting one – but as an author who had a lousy book cover – https://lousybookcovers.com/?p=1538447 (and maybe others in my collection?), it’s not necessarily laziness. At the time, I thought it was a good cover. Perhaps I was deluding myself, but I also know I didn’t spend as much time as I could have on the cover – in the interest of getting published on Amazon. A lousy cover isn’t always an indication of lousy writing (but I might be deluding myself there too :)?)
Okay I’ll admit it myself, there were times where I could have allocated my resources a little better in past projects. I do 3D animation and modeling, with 2D mattepainting on the side, and when I look back at some of my early works I still think to myself: “sh*t, coulda done a better job HERE considering I spent so much time polishing THAT”.
In the words of Gordon Ramsay, I used to be a “busy idiot”. I would spend too much time working on details that weren’t as significant as others, for instance. Not sure if all this coincides with your statements above, but I do get what you’re saying, is my point.
But let’s be frank here, there are some bad covers here that do reflect writing quality.
It’s an interesting idea, but I’m too lazy.
Important note: when doing that “split screen” trick, perspectives on both sides have to be the same. Also, anyone and anything you cut & paste into a scene needs to have a shadow.
The make p is nice authentic Amish touch … not.
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania had about 37,000 Amish in 2017. How many Amish covers have we seen on LBC and who is buying these books?
… make up …
Old & Busted: Naughty Nuns.
The New Hotness: Naughty Amish.