Jen in Brazil

I'm first! Woo hoo!

Oh, I guess maybe I should say something about this post? Ok, well . . . um, welcome to Brazil, Max! It's an emerging market and I hope the Brazilians go louco for you. Nothing but money and fanboys to be made there.

Max,

E.U. is "Estados Unidos", or United States. Seems appropriate to me...

ciao
cam

Overall, I think it's pretty kick ass...

but the Windows error box is a bit buttcrack. It sticks out like a whore in church. Maybe though, that's a good thing. It does draw the eye to read the book description.

Cool. The green version of you is definately the hot one.

Actually, EU is rarely, if ever, used to stand for "Estados Unidos", or United States. The preferred abbreviation in Portuguese is EUA, for (obviously) USA.

I should point out that there is a popular business magazine in Brazil called "Você S/A", meaning "You, Inc.". I guess that is where they got the idea.

I'm still hoping to see a tweaked design one day, that sucks less than the German attempt. It's just so embarrassing.

Actually, "less" was supposed to read "more". I'll pour me another coffee instantly for this transgression.

Max are you allowed to have a say in the company book cover? or even if you arent, what is your idea for the book cover?

It's very... green. Seems to be the biggest distinction from the others. Must be a Brazilian thing.

Thomas, you're absolutely right, the German version is the suckiest. And what's with the title Logoland? It makes the book seem like a rip-off of No Logo, although the British verison of the cover clearly shows that Naomi Klein doesn't think it's a rip-off of No Logo.

Wed. 8 june 2005

MY SHORT STORY...

First of all, I liked the cover to the American Jennifer Government the best. The Brazillian one is okay, but I am not really a green person. I just don't like the color green...wait a second...(looks down)...Apparently I am wearing a green shirt right now. I blame this on my mother for she buys all of my clothing. I hate shopping for clothes so my mother just buys me things. I still live with my mother because I am not even out of High School yet.

Anyways, as for my story(if anyone even noticed that I said that I would write one), I think my story will be about pandas. It will be kind of like a George Orwell thing, but much more random and not well thought out. I will start writing it after I find a good cover...Wait...I found one...no I didn't, but I will begin my story anyways.

I accidently posted when I wasn't ready. Anyways as for my story it will begin now...
The Panda Chronicles
Once upon a time, in the land of magical pandas, an evil panda was born. His name was Red. He was a sad and angry panda who did not get along with the other pandas. He thought he was better than alll of them. He said that someday he would rule the world and there would be no one to stop him.
In roughly the same time period in the same magical panda kingdom, there was another panda born in a stable with magical abilities. His name was Electrik. He was the panda who was sent to stop Red Panda and his evil ways. But was he ready to accept his destiny?
Only my terrible writing abilities can answer that question. In future blogs, this story will continue. It will probably be so random that no real plot will develope. I have laid the foundations for a terrible story. Am I up to the challenge of finishing it? Only future blogs can tell.

I am guessing that if you enjoyed that story, you are probably under the age of ten.

To be continued...

Adam

Yep, I agree with Wilson on the common abbreviation in Brasil being EUA, although the USA has expanded its territory beyond the Americas in Jennifer Govt., so maybe that's why they shortened it to EU?

Idle speculation...

ciao
cam

PS. Max, I hope the real Jen isn't suffering too much from morning sickness etc!

Mats wrote:
And what's with the title Logoland?


Tell me about it! I came to this site from my own games site, then via the NationStates site, then found the book Jennifer Government, and was in total awe about the fact that Germany didn't care to publish it. I even sent Max an angry mail about it, which he, rightfully, refuted.

After realizing that 'Logoland' is in fact 'Jennifer Government', I remembered that I even had been been holding this very book in my hand, and I put it down again, because I indeed thought that it was just another Fight-Club-American-Psycho-Yuppies-Buy-Everything-From-Catalogues-Novel.

As far as I am concerned, German publishers either need to be incapacitated, or they may only publish a book and mess with its cover, if they can prove that they have read at least two pages of it.

Well... I'm actually the one to blame for this cover. (Sorry if I write anything wrong, I'm Brazilian).

This is how it happened. I work at the publishing house (design department). And at first they wanted me just to copy the american layout. But then they changed their mind, and wanted a differend background to it.

Considering that I haven't read the book (I only had access to the 1st chapter), I kind of did what I thought best (and what they - the editors - advised). They used words like "future", "big companies", "thriller" etc..

The green came from the original cover (white and green), and I like the color. The grid and the tipography transmit the futurist idea, and the businessman and the city, the "big companies" theme.

What I like best about the cover is a small detail: the blur before "Max Barry" name... and the grid.

I confess the part I don't like is that "error" dialog box. It was the editors idea, and it was supposed to be like a "warning", and not an "error". Whatever...

About the name "Eu S/A", I really can't say much. I preferred "jennifer Governo", as it was before, but it sounded weird in portuguese, and they discarded it.

Anyway, I like it, in general. But you can all say whatever you want, please do! If I had more freedom to do what I wanted, I would first read the book, and then do my layout. But I don't have this freedom. Anyway, it was a pleasure to design this cover... And I promise that if I design another one from max, I will ask you guys first, ok? heheheh Bye

wouldve been hilarious if the books were named 'credit card wars.'

logo land sounds sort of odd; im wondering if the name isnt in english =D

bacgound looks cool, with all the buildings. if the color was different, it wouldve been cooler. this background doesnt make her eyes very powerful or mesmerizing =D

looks like chinese or japanese characters before 'Max Barry'. wonder where that came from.

:/ is it ever going to come to Portugal also?

That cover is a little... frightening. I know it's Brazil, and (I'm horribly stereotyping here, I'm so sorry) they like flashy but... ick. The colors are just *shudder* and they make the barcoded eye look more nightmarish than intriguing. That was the reason I picked up the book in the first place. It was looking at me, and I just had to know why.

That's funny. In Germany we have a government program called "Ich AG" which menas "Me, Inc." and wants to engourage unemployed to build their own little one-man-company...

Hi there. I bought the book last week, and finished it quite fast. Great work, Max! You've got a new fan here.

Well, about the title, I don't think that "U.S., Inc." was the intended meaning. "Me, Inc." or "I, Inc." would be more appropriate. The pun on the "Você S/A" business magazine sounds more like it. (not to mention that lots of people I know don't agree with their point-of-view of how to succeed on the corporate world, which -- in my humble opinion -- fits eerily well with the companies present on "Jennifer Government").

Dear Max,

Just to clear up what EU means, as someone already commented, it means United States (in Portuguese "Estados Unidos" = acronym E.U. is equal to the "United States" = acronym U.S. Thus, U.S. and not "us" is the same mistake than E.U. and not "eu". Exactly the same kind of mistake). SO, the only problem is that they forgot to add dots between letters, than it shows up like ME (Eu).

I think EU really means "Estados Unidos" and they forgot the dots, but I would prefer the name as "Jenifer Governo", I'ts a little bit weird, but fine. And I'd rather the US cover than this green, if you want opinion of Brazilians. Now I know I can read the book (I was waiting for much time) in my country and this is good...

Here from Brazil ! The cover is a very good one the papers has a wonderful texture, and the design is superb. The title is terrible, it is really like "Me Inc." awful name, I just decided to read it after a small review and the story seemed interesting, Thanks god I decide to read it !!

I was just recommended to read this novel so I took a look at your website. I was interested in how the cover was designed, being a graphic designer myself, I find the dynamics interesting.

A few people have asked about titles and why they change. Such as the German version LOGOLAND. (Which I find very catchy). Often translation or parochial/cultural factors come into play when a book is marketed.

I understand that when a writer invests a large amount of time and energy into their work, often it is assumed they maintain control over the branding of the book. But this would produce more problems that it would solve.

As for me, I love the Brazilian cover design. Except for the dialog box. That is very corny. But the designer revealed the culprit for that brainstorming idea.

Logoland is a big break from the original title in English. But the design makes up for that change. It gels very well.

Anyway, I look forward to reading the book. It sounds intriguing. ::mwah::

I´m from Brazil. I read your book, Jennifer Government. I just want to say that the book is great. bye

I hate it when that happens. Book and movie distributors here in Brazil have this thing with the names. They always change it to whatever they think is better, their "genius" idea.
The book isn't theirs to go around changing titles. That's the author's right.
And sorry, I think "Eu S/A" is lame... It should be "Jennifer Governo" like the other editions...