Hi,

So after being poked and prodded I’m finding I need to come up with a banner ad to promote The Queen of Crows. I feel I’m a little limited because I don’t have Photoshop and I don’t have the patience to learn GIMP. Instead, I use Paint.net. With various plug-ins and whatnot, there’s a lot I can do with the software, but there are some very real limitations with it.

And before you ask… No, I can’t afford to buy Photoshop right now. I know I’ll need it eventually, especially since many of the positions I’ve been looking at require knowledge of the software. It’s been a while since I’ve used it. At the moment, though, I’m teaching myself how to use CS5 and want to finish that before I move on to something else.

Anyway, back to the task at hand. So I can’t create an animated *.gif file and think it’d be wholly ridiculous/unprofessional to use a free compiler. Most of those won’t work for the size I have or they’ll put a little thingy on the bottom portion of the image.

So my challenge is trying to figure out what to convey in a short period of time. Here’s a few images I came up with.

Now, if you’ve read this e-book, you know that there’s more than just a short story. I’m not sure if I mentioned this in my The Queen of Crows retrospective or not, but there are several points I could bring up in an ad. Historical dark fantasy. Illustrated. Enhanced. Well-reviewed. Etc.

That’s where you come in. I need your help to figure out what should go into an ad promoting The Queen of Crows. What would entice you to download The Queen of Crows? Is it price? Something new? Because I wrote it? What?

I thank you, in advance. You can either post a comment or e-mail me directly at monica AT mlvwrites DOT com.

If you haven’t seen this and need some more information, take a peek at The Queen of Crows trailer to see how I’ve promoted it in the past.