Marked

I mentioned this last week, but the Backlist Strikes Back event at EM Lynley's blog is nearly over, so this would be a perfect time for you to go take a look and browse at the entire collection of authors' favorite backlisted books -- I know I've found several to add to my reading list!

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I spent a big chunk of last night working on a graphic for promotional materials. I bought a LivingSocial voucher a couple of months ago for discounted stuff from Vistaprint, which is where I've had most of my promotional materials printed in the past.

Vistaprint lets you upload your own pictures to use, but they charge for each picture you use, so it makes sense to get all your disparate elements laid out separately, build it into a single image, and then upload that.

I've got business cards and I've done some note cards for individual books, but my current plan is to make some bookmarks. Alas, that's the one item Vistaprint doesn't actually offer; I'm having to order rack cards and plan my graphics to be doubled so I can cut them in half down the middle.

This is the current design (click to embiggen). I'm still trying to decide what changes I want to make -- bigger name? More color to the text? Different background image?

And what (if anything) do I put on the back? Not enough space for blurbs. A couple of good review quotes? More links? Author bio? A sexy B&W image?

What catches your eye on promotional cards and bookmarks and the like? And what, if anything, makes you actually consider checking out the product?