The Book Project - Discuss, Anticipate, Collaborate here

[gnash]

the cover looks awesome~! the lettering on the front is great and i <3 the little mountains on the spine. i wasn't sure what the smoke and orange glow from the campfire was at first, but now it makes sense, and i even see a hat too! the contrast between sepia tones and color on the back cover is cool, and the font used for the postcard is unique. the back cover also has the gorgeous sunset colors,,, very pretty. great job on the stamps and postmarks too, it really looks old/vintage.

one thought -- maybe raise the book title on the cover so it isn't kissing the mountaintop? center it between the mountain and moon so it doesn't look weighed down visually? there's a lot of action going on toward the bottom (landscape, smoke, fire, trees, etc) but the top seems a little lonely. maybe the title would look good if it were a bit closer to the moon. it almost seems like there's a space for it already.

and judging by the spine, it looks like this book is gonna have tons of pages!

[doggedstrength]

the claim may be true, WLAGuy.  my point is, why do we need to make it on the cover of this book?  it strikes me that we're giving it a "love my teddy bear" status, and that gives me the creeps.  what we do know is that BBM changed and inspired the people inside the book, the very people the reader is about to encounter once he opens the book and starts reading.  i say, let those stories in the book grab the reader and maybe even inspire the reader to change -- not some unprovable assessment that we slap on the cover in order to entice him to buy the book.  i'm anti-grandstanding.  my feeing is, let the posts, as originally posted, be.  they will do just fine in making the case for BBM's importance.

The reason we want something on the cover is that many people will pick up the book and read the cover blurbs (and the dustjacket blurbs if hardcover) to decide if they want to buy the book.  I know that's how I shop for books.  Even though I'm an extremely fast reader, and can quickly scan pages in the book, it's very difficult to get a sense of what the entire book is about without reading the cover/dustjacket blurbs.  For a lot of people, if the cover blurb doesn't grab them, they won't buy the book.  Those are the people whose attention we want to catch and hold.

WLAGuy, i obviously wasn't suggesting that there be no cover blurb.  why on earth would i suggest such a thing?  i was talking about specific word choices in the copy that we've seen.

[KittyHawk]

Happy 4th, dogged strength and WLAGuy!

Thanks for your input. You can see from Pete's message above that he and Dave will have the final decision  about that text. My guess is that Pete's already read both of your opinions and is weighing the pros and cons of each approach! We'll just have to wait and see how it comes out.

When opposing are opinions are both well expressed, it really does help the big decision makers to reach a conclusion.

Thanks again,

- KittyHawk

Good morning, doggedstrength and WLAGuy! I just wanted to make sure you saw my earlier message to you so you don't waste your energy on this topic!   I believe I'm correct when I say it's now out of our hands and in Pete's and Dave's. 

In a while we'll be seeking your opinions on some other aspects of the book. Watch this thread or The Daily Sheet and you'll eventually see some other topics we need your input on, such as a public relations campaign for the book's release. That discussion will probably be coming in a week or two.

Thanks for caring so much about the book!

- KittyHawk

[ChrisFewa]

Thank you all for the great responses, I was not expecting such a response for our meager little cover it is great to see that you all like it as much as we do.

[WLAGuy]

WLAGuy, i obviously wasn't suggesting that there be no cover blurb.  why on earth would i suggest such a thing?  i was talking about specific word choices in the copy that we've seen.

Okay, I see.

[wiley]

All of you did a great job on the book cover. It's really nice. I can't wait for the rest. Thanks.

Wiley

[KittyHawk]

Wiley, we appreciate your kind remarks! Now we just need to put some pages inside that cover!   
- KittyHawk

[Junior]

I, too, think that the cover is just beautiful! I especially like the postcards and the way that the mountain range on the cover becomes the mountain on the postcard. Thank you all so much for all of your work. I am going to be so proud to own this book and I'm even more convinced that we should send a copy to Annie, Ang, Diana and Larry...

That said, I agree with gnash - I think that the word "Impact" gets lost in the mountain peak. Maybe scoot it up just a bit.

[retropian]

The Book cover/jacket design is just heartachingly beautiful. It is perfect in its  lowkey and tasteful, even haunting (in a good way) evocative design. Congratulations to everybody who has contributed their time and effort to making it happen.

[KittyHawk]

Junior, thanks for the suggestion, and Retropian, thanks for the comments. I know the arts folks are glad you like it.

- KittyHawk

[gnash]

That said, I agree with gnash - I think that the word "Impact" gets lost in the mountain peak. Maybe scoot it up just a bit.

thanks junior for bringing that up again, i wasn't sure if kittyhawk understood what i meant.

..perhaps the title on the spine could be bigger too, if there's enough room. don't know if there will be additional graphics, but there seems to be enough space to accomodate a larger X height on the type.

[KittyHawk]

That said, I agree with gnash - I think that the word "Impact" gets lost in the mountain peak. Maybe scoot it up just a bit.

thanks junior for bringing that up again, i wasn't sure if kittyhawk understood what i meant.

..perhaps the title on the spine could be bigger too, if there's enough room. don't know if there will be additional graphics, but there seems to be enough space to accomodate a larger X height on the type.

Although the cover is basically done, the arts guys are considering the suggestions they've seen here on the book project thread are trying a couple of scoots in various directions.    As for the change in the font, I believe they're using a font that Chris actually created. The actual width of the spine and how large a font it can accommodate depend, of course, on how many pages we end up with. We'll have to wait and see about that one.

Thanks for the input, gnash! That's what's going to make this a book we're going to love!

- KittyHawk

[Cameron816]

I swear..... the book cover looks just as if the instructions came from Annie Proulx and Ang Lee brought it to print.  It is a true reflection of Brokeback Mountain, both the movie and the story.  I cannot wait to get my copies of this book, so that I may soak up every single word like a parched sponge.  I hope this book will be presented to both Annie and Ang as another token of gratitude for their works.  Well Done Guys!  Well Done!

[KittyHawk]

Cameron816, I'm sure the arts folks appreciate your comments! I think your idea about presenting a copy of the book to Annie and Ang is a good one. We just want to be sure we don't give away more than we sell!!! 

-KittyHawk

[Boris]

I was so impressed by the artwork that I forgot even to express that appreciation in this thread. I would never have believed it possible to actually be able to combine all the ideas people have presented in such beautiful, simple manner.

For me the most touching part is the Postcard on the back. For everyone who has seen the movie it will tell immediately what this book is about.

There are no words to describe my gratitude.