SPFBO3: The Cover Contest

The Bloggers Vote and Readers Choice the Winners in the Cover Competition

Hosted by author Mark Lawrence, the Third Annual Self Publish Fantasy Blog Off, SPFBO3, is well under way. 300 Self Published entrants, 10 amazing blog sites, and in the end… there can be only one.

The first phase of the competition, added in the SPFBO’s second year, is the Cover Contest. All ten SPFBO3 Blog sites have cast their votes for the covers and the winner is Benedict Patrick’s “Where the Waters Turn Black”! Our most sincere and hearty congratulations to him and to the top ten in the cover contest.

The top 3 in order of Blogger votes

The top 3 of the Popular public vote in order

It’s a fact of the world of publishing that covers sell books, especially in Fantasy. You can write the best piece of literary genius ever conceived, but if it’s in the wrong package, you can’t compete in today’s market. In a world with competing platforms that format almost everything written into an E-book, that cover is the first impression you are going to make on the market for your book. Knowing that there are readers who will buy a book on the merits of the cover alone, I think it is safe to say, that most writers having success with their books, invested time and careful consideration in their covers. Whether their own skill set was put to the task, having seen a few beauties that were done by the author themselves, or comissioned art work, the most beautiful covers grab our attention and beg us to open the book.

I do not envy the task of the 30 blog sites reading for the current SPFBO. We can all agree that these covers are amazing works of art and the hardest thing to do is choose between them. Below are the nominees from each blogger participating, each putting forward three of their favorites, collected and posted for blogger votes and for the public votes as well.

Votes by Blogs

Where The Waters Turn Black (9) Soldiers’ Redemption (5) Heart of Stone (4) Valley of Embers (4) Corruption (3) Dead Letter (2) Trail of the Necromancer ( ) All The Things You Have To Burn(2) Night of the Chalk (2) Cage of Deceit (1) Nefertiti’s Heart( 1) Wrecker’s Gate (1) Spark of Defiance(1) Quest Chasers (1) Spellslinger (1) Empire of Chains(1)

Votes by Public

Corruption (158) Valley of Embers (154) Where The Waters Turn Black (148) Spellslinger(85) All The Things You Have To Burn (72) Heart of Stone (72) Shadow Shadow (65) Soldier’s Redemption (65) Trail of the Necromancer (62) Night of the Chalk (60) Leifdom (53) Nefertiti’s Heart (51)