Ooooor, what do you think of the following goodies. First is my proposed back/sale page copy for REMO. Then are my finalists for the cover. Lemme know whatcha think in the comments below, or on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, or by email. Looking forward to your suggestions!
Back Copy Draft:
Man and Machine. Soldier and Drone. Where does One end and the Other begin?
With the advent of reliable AI, the UAVs of today will only become more ubiquitous, more autonomous . . . but would Man ever allow himself to be totally removed from the equation? Enter the world of the REMO, Remote Operators leading squads of autonomous, intelligent combat units in the air . . . on the ground . . . beneath the waves . . . and to the furthest reaches of outer space.
War is hell, even if you’re not pulling the trigger directly . . . .
From the acclaimed author of A Sword Into Darkness comes five tales of military and AI science fiction that will remain on your mind long after the pages are done. Includes:
“Tinker Bell Unbound”
“Strategic Deployment”
“Dogcatcher Blues”
“Identity Crash”
and “ILYAMY”
The Improbable Author 
I’ve left the ratings along with the feedback on 99designs, so I wont repeat them here, but what stroke my curiosity was how dominant one of the covers was in terms of rating. An average rating of 4.5 in first place to 3.5 in second is quite a leap. And while I agree that the cover in question is most beautiful in terms of art, I would say that other covers have definite advantages over this one and may in fact represent your anthology better.
Say, the cover of a girl in green background is the closest to your original idea, and gives a better expectation in terms of content. In other words, it seems more “SF” and more mysterious, which seems to be what you were shooting for.
The cover with the two characters, I’m sorry – I can’t access the cover numbers after voting, is better at representing a collection of stories. The other covers have less “stuff”, thus are better suited to promote one type of story, while this covers gives more variety.
There’s also something to be said about the cover with the girl on blue background. It portrays the mystique well, though I would argue there’s little emphasis on SF.
All in all, the covers have different advantages over one another and it’s up to you to decide what you value best.
Thanks, Simonas!
No problem. I write F&SF shorts, thus often feel a strange sense of camaraderie between myself and other writers. It’s a pleasure to help.
I like your back cover text. I think your tagline “War is hell, even if you’re not pulling the trigger directly . . . ” might work better if you left off the last word. (War is hell, even if you’re not pulling the trigger. . .)
It just sounds better in my head that way.
Fewer unnecessary adverbs are always better. Probably.
Girls with Big Guns in their hands are always a crowd please.
THUMBS UP!