AllAuthor: Cover of the Month Contest
AllAuthor Cover of the Month Contest—A Winner
In the September 2020 AllAuthor Cover of the Month Contest, the cover of my poetry chapbook—Just the Girls: A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies; A Drift of Honeybees—came in 2nd. This monthly competition includes book covers from authors around the world. September’s competition received more than 500 entries; 385 of which were chosen to move into four, weeklong voting rounds.
The contest started September 1 with book covers eliminated every week. The initial 385 books were winnowed down to 100—then to 75—then 50—25—and, on September 30, to the top 3 winners. During the month, more than 18,000 separate votes were cast; Just the Girls received 731 total votes.
It was a wild and crazy month. I checked the AllAuthor website multiple times a day while also sending emails, Facebook posts, personal messages, and texts to friends and family members, encouraging them to vote. Their votes were supplemented by votes from complete strangers who loved my book cover and wanted it to take home a top prize.
When September 30 arrived, Just the Girls was right behind the striking Mars: The Mother Country from Venezuelan author Esteban Corio—and was just ahead of the fun and flirty The Seven Lives of Grace by Pacific NW author Elena Shelest.
As the 2nd place finisher, Just the Girls has a prominent place on the AllAuthor Winner Gallery, and AllAuthor is promoting my book through their own social media network (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.), which is much more robust than mine. And I have a snappy “Readers Choice” badge to show off.
But best of all, the two young women who collaborated to create this fabulous cover—artists Meredith Balogh and R. E. Anderson—get the attention and accolades they deserve. Well done, Ladies!
For the history of the cover
“Once Just the Girls was printed and delivered, the cover was what captivated people. The woman depicted is strong, resilient, confident, and sassy. In her eyes you can see that she has “been around the block”—but experiences have not broken her. Rather, they have made her even more capable of tackling whatever life throws her direction. She perfectly represents the poems I wrote for the book.” (author Pam Anderson).
I wanted to do something more than just say “thanks” to my cover artists for creating this cover, so I cast around for a competition and found the AllAuthor Cover of the Month Contest. Since entering the contest was free, it seemed like a no brainer; plus, it ran just 1 month…so it didn’t seem like it would be that challenging to start and finish.
With those ideas in mind, I entered my cover and was delighted when it made it into the contest (more than 500 covers were submitted; only 385 were placed into the competition). After that, it was a slugfest. Promoting the contest—sending emails and Facebook messages and texts—encouraging people to vote…it was all part of the lengthy process with Just the Girls moving up…and up…and up. After the first week, 285 covers were cut; the top 100 vote-getters
moved into the second round. Each week, more covers were eliminated. Each week, Just the Girls received votes from friends, family members, colleagues, and—critical to winning—strangers from around the world who loved the cover and wanted to see it win.
In the last week of the contest, I resorted to recording videos for Facebook. A young Kent State student, Alyssa, took two of my videos and “wrapped” them with intro, outro, and music—and they were a hit. Still, other covers were highly competitive, and things moved around a lot as the contest neared its conclusion. It was never a “given” that my book cover would make it into the top 3.
On September 30—with 731 total votes—we snagged 2nd place! It was—and is—a triumph for my book…for the cover…and for the talented young artists who created this original piece of art.
