Novelspot Gazette

Reader’s Choice Awards – Best Romance Cover of the Year Contest! Black Velvet Seductions is once again adding more to our site. This time we’re adding a Cover Art of the Year Contest! Publishers, authors, and cover artists who have books releasing in the 2008 calendar year and who would like the prestige of being awarded a cover art of the year plaque are invited to enter their covers. A panel made up of volunteers will pick four finalists from each month’s entries, which will be cover of the month finalists.  Readers, reviewers, editors, authors, and anyone interested in the romance genre are invited to visit the Black Velvet Seductions website at http://www.blackvelvetseductions.com  to vote for their favorite cover each month. Cover of the month winners will be selected by popular vote. Winners from each month’s contest will go on to compete in January 2009 to determine the cover of the year. Cover of the Year will be determined by the votes cast by visitors to the Black Velvet Seductions website. Black Velvet Seductions is still looking for a few more panel members to select the four monthly finalists each month. If you are interested in serving as a volunteer panel member (voting on your favorite cover from among the many entries each month, in order to select the finalists that site visitors will vote on) please email Laurie Sanders at LaurieSanders@fusemail.com   New – The Best Romance Cover of 2008
a New Cover Art Contest
Sponsored by
Black Velvet Seductions Publishing THE RULES Book covers…we’ve all heard the old adage, “don’t judge a book by its cover” and yet most of us do exactly that. It is after all the cover that gets our attention, that makes us stop and take a closer look. It’s the cover that makes us want to pick the book up and turn it over to read the back copy.  Yet, there are not many contests which focus only on the book cover, or that reward the work of the many talented cover artists who work within our industry.  Because the cover is such an important part of the books we read Black Velvet Seductions is sponsoring a brand new cover art contest for books that fall within the scope of romance, including all of the romance sub-genres. What Covers are Eligible? Covers for books, ebooks, and audio books published during the 2008 calendar year are eligible.   Who Can Submit a Cover?Cover artists, publishers, and authors may submit covers of books published during the 2008 calendar year so long as the book generally falls within the romance genre.  When Should I Submit My Cover?Cover art may be submitted at any time during the month of release or any time during the year of release. For example, a book released the last of January 2008 could have cover art submitted January 1, 2008 or may not have the art submitted until December of 2008.  If I Don’t Win, Can I Resubmit During Another Month?Yes, if your cover doesn’t win a finalist space the first time it is submitted, it can be resubmitted throughout the year of publication. What Needs to be Submitted?The submission package needs to include all of the following attached to an email message directed to LaurieSanders@fusemail.com ·         Book Cover Image in 200×300 size ·         Book Cover Image in 350×500 size ·         A document in Word, .rtf or .txt that includes the following: o        Book’s title o        Back cover blurb o        The name and email of the author o        The name and email of the cover artist o        The name of the person or entity entering the contest and contact information for them. o        The website address of the cover artist o        The ISBN number of the book   How Will Entries be Judged?Entries will be judged in two parts. Each month the entries will be collected. A panel of volunteers including authors, readers, reviewers, and cover artists will vote on the covers received. Of the pool received the 4 which receive the most votes from the panel will move on to be voted on by visitors to the Black Velvet Seductions website. This will select a monthly winner. At the end of the year all 12 monthly winners will compete for “Cover of the Year”. The “Cover of the Year” will be determined by votes cast by site visitors.  When Will Voting Occur?Voting on covers will always be open the month following submission of covers. Covers will be submitted during the first part of the month, then submissions will be closed, the panel will vote to select the monthly finalists, and then those finalists will go up on the website for voting during the following month. For example, March 2008 cover entries will be gathered throughout the first part of the month. Once submissions for the month are closed (around the third week) the panelists will vote, the finalists will be chosen. The finalists will be added to the website as soon as panelists have made their decisions and voting will begin. Voting will continue throughout the month and winners will be announced the first of the month following….so winners for “March Cover of the Month” will be announced on April 1.  What are the Prizes?The “Cover of the Year” winner will receive a plaque or similar displayable award as well as a banner proclaiming their cover “Cover of the Year.” The banner may be displayed on their website. All monthly finalists chosen by the panel will receive banners proclaiming their finalist status to display on their website. Those selected by site visitors as “Cover of the Month” will receive banners proclaiming their status as “Cover of the Month” winners.  Who is not Eligible?Though we believe that we have some of the most beautiful covers Black Velvet Seductions covers are not eligible to participate. Black Velvet Seductions authors who have covers published with other publishers may however submit covers from books published by publishers other than Black Velvet Seductions. I Still Have Questions – Who Can I Contact?You may email questions to LaurieSanders@fusemail.com or you may call her at 888-556-2750.