Horror for Newbies

Do you judge a book by it’s cover?

Inquiring minds, okay, I want to know.


My cover knowledge is building abet slowly. What makes a good cover? What makes you as a reader go, I HAVE TO READ THAT BOOK?


I’m drawn to eery, spooky, gothic romance style covers. I blame my obsession with Dark Shadows, the original for that quirk. Like the book I’m currently reading – Ghost Gifts.


ghost gifts


But that’s not what I write. (At least not now…) So when I’m looking at covers for my small town romance, I get kind of literal.


This was the first cover I helped design for The Bull Rider’s Collection.


9781440592706


I LOVED it. It didn’t sell. Even at less than a dollar. (Not romantic enough?)


My publisher and I redesigned the cover to this –


Collection x2


Which I still love – And the book sold like hotcakes.


Now, looking at the Tourist Trap series, I see Killer Run is almost at 100 reviews.


killer run


Dressed to Kill, which released two months before Killer Run is only at 75.


Dressed to Kill


Is it the covers? Did Dressed not get as much release love as Killer Run? Dressed is the only series book with a picture of Emma on the cover. Authors tend to worry, okay, obsess, about things like this.


I’ve been pretty blessed with cover love from my publishers. Check out Tea Cups and Carnage, Book 7 of the Tourist Traps and releasing June 7th, 2016 –


tea cups and carnage


But what about you? Are you drawn in by the cover? What makes you one-click to buy a book?


 


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Published on February 21, 2016 05:44
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message 1: by [deleted user] (new)
Feb 22, 2016 05:56PM

I am obsessed with book covers and learned early on that they can make or break a book. I love so many of these book covers you featured. Each has a very different personality. Over the years, I'm noticing that for my own novels, I don't show the characters' faces. That doesn't mean I cut off their heads, but I generally have them at an angle where I can leave their exact features to the readers' imaginations. Thanks for a most interesting post!


message 2: by Lynn (new)
Feb 23, 2016 06:02AM

Lynn Cahoon Hey Tessa, I think you're right about not showing faces - it gives the reader more room to let their imagination take them.


message 3: by Laurie (new)
Feb 25, 2016 05:04AM

Laurie I have to admit that as a reader I am influenced by a book's cover. That's the first thing I notice when shopping for books, unless the book is recommended. Recently I read a book's description and it sounded interesting, but I couldn't get past the awful cover art so I passed on it. Silly, but I squirmed every time I looked at it and it turned me off from reading it.


message 4: by Lynn (new)
Feb 25, 2016 05:08AM

Lynn Cahoon Laurie wrote: "I have to admit that as a reader I am influenced by a book's cover. That's the first thing I notice when shopping for books, unless the book is recommended. Recently I read a book's description and..."

I think a cover has to be really bad for me not to read the book, but I could see a cover leading me to think it's not a book for me. I've been surprised at some books I've read where the cover portrays something totally different. At least to me.


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