Don't Judge a book by it's cover

[Channasl]

Have you ever been looking for a good IR to read and saw the cover of one and thought ooh this will be good and it wasn't all that good or ooh this doesn't looks so good and it was actually really good. I just finished one such book by Zena Wynn. It's been out a while and I kept thinking no I don't think so but it was actually pretty good. I did have an issue near the end but overall it was really good.

[Paganalexandria]

There are whole subset of books I skip just because they have this couple on them:

It's not that I find them unattractive, they are just so overused.

[Tisha]

@ Paganalexandria: I am like you, as soon as I see this couple(they are everywhere!!), I really, truly hesitate to purchase the book.
Or if the cover features some sims/3d characters, I am immediately put off. After my inital disappointement with the cover, I will TRY and check the reviews. If it seems like could enjoy it,I will purchase it.
On the other hand, I bought because the cover is gorgeous, and the book was actually not bad :)

[Michelle, Mod with the Bod]

Paganalexandria wrote: "There are whole subset of books I skip just because they have this couple on them:

It's not that I find them unattractive, they are just so overused."

I see this couple a lot too. I was starting to think it was my imagination.

[Fiona]

Unfortunately the author only has minimal input into the cover. If your publisher uses artists that create SIMS character-covers (like my first publisher), there isn't anything you can do about it, other than suggest what you'd like to see on the cover. My other 2 publishers use actual pictures, but they are limited by the images to what they can do with them, ie, make skin color lighter or darker, change hair color, etc.

I think the couple you are talking about is Jimmy Thomas as the man...he's the "Fabio" of today's covers. I don't think he's that hot, but he's everywhere! I agree he's over-used.

[Tisha]

I didn't know that authors have little say in the cover that is used for their book. I guess the publishers opt for the covers they think will attract more readers or are within their means. I may become more tolerant with this newfound knowledge.lol

[Charlotte]

Tisha wrote: "I didn't know that authors have little say in the cover that is used for their book. I guess the publishers opt for the covers they think will attract more readers or are within their means. I may ..."

I din't know this either. It explains why we see a lot of the same people over and over again on different covers. Thanks for the tidbit of info. I also agree with Tisha, now I can be a little more tolerant with this information.

[Fiona]

Yes, there are a couple of famous "bloopers" I've seen on author loops. In one famous case, a publisher put a blonde female on the cover even though the heroine was black. When the author complained she was told that "Black women don't read these kinds of books so the cover stays like that." Sigh...

The other one is pretty funny because it was a regency romance, but somehow the hero has 3 arms holding the heroine, and NO ONE caught it before it went to print!

Sometimes authors cringe at what they are presented with by the artist...but if you want to get published, you have to accept that you might not love the cover, but at least your book will get out there.

[Charlotte]

Fiona wrote: "Yes, there are a couple of famous "bloopers" I've seen on author loops. In one famous case, a publisher put a blonde female on the cover even though the heroine was black. When the author complai..."

Wow. This is unbelievable but there's no doubt that it happens.

[M.J.]

Not judging a book by it's cover is about more than just 'who' is on the cover...it's also about 'who's not'

As an author I have to say the above comment (about the reoccurring couple)is one of the reasons why I chose to use images on my covers instead of people. Yes, I appreciate a hot guy on a cover,but for me it can be distracting. If I'm reading a romance novel, I already know the characters will have some level of hot in them. I want the writing to guide my imagination to picture the hero/heroine they way I would see them. Most of the time, my imagination doesn't match the cover and that can be distracting. I write novels geared towards Women's Fiction (life, women's issues faced by Interracial characters set in a Contemporary Romance setting) There is plenty of romance and the sex it hot (check out the reviews), but that's not the focus of my characters lives. I like symbolism so I use images on my covers to grab the readers attention and make you wonder what lies between the 'pages'. That was my choice and I am very happy that my publisher has given me the freedom to work with the cover artist and design my covers.

[Charlotte]

M.J. wrote: "Not judging a book by it's cover is about more than just 'who' is on the cover...it's also about 'who's not'

As an author I have to say the above comment (about the reoccurring couple)is one of th..."

Your comment about images made me think about those books I've read where there was no male nor female on the front cover. The books that I've read with just trees or cars or abstract work on the front were actually very good and interesting reads. I got to picture the lead characters as I saw them in my mind. Congrats to you for having input on your book cover designs. You are amongst the few who have this privilege (from the way it sounds in the prior notations)

[M.J.]

Charlotte wrote: "M.J. wrote: "Not judging a book by it's cover is about more than just 'who' is on the cover...it's also about 'who's not'

As an author I have to say the above comment (about the reoccurring couple..."

Thank you Charlotte! Having that amount of creative freedom was one of the things I was looking for before I signed my contract. Here's a link to my Goodreads Author page so you can see what my covers look like.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/list/...

[M.J.]

Charlotte wrote: "M.J. wrote: "Not judging a book by it's cover is about more than just 'who' is on the cover...it's also about 'who's not'

As an author I have to say the above comment (about the reoccurring couple..."

Thank you Charlotte! Having that amount of creative freedom was one of the things I was looking for before I signed my contract. Here's a link to my Goodreads Author page so you can see what my covers look like.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/list/...

[Paganalexandria]

Every once and a while covers will fool you. When I saw this title and cover they screamed "Buy me". It was a total DNF for me (even though it's a very popular series). On the other hand this cover was cheap, thin, and ugly . I got it for a $0.50 at a used bookstore and it sat for years until finally got bored enough to read. it was so cute and enjoyable I felt bad for passing it up.

[Tisha]

@ Paganalexandria:
I find that paranormal books, even in IR tend to have better covers. They often grab my attention. The cover The Vampire and the Virginis definitely my taste. Too bad I am not into paranormal...

[TinaNoir]

To me, a cover is important. It is the book equivalent of a house's curb appeal. Sometimes it is the only thing that makes your book discoverable amongst a sea of like books.

Yes in some cases the cover is not indicative of the quality of the works within. But in many it is. I can tell you right now my eyes will immediately skate across a book cover that looks unappealing to me. That includes bad composition, unappealing art and poor font choice. And when so many new books are being published on an almost daily basis, it is the cover that will first snag attention unless someone gives a specific rec.

I know publishers control cover art but so many IR authors are indie authors and they do control their own cover art. I once read a blog post by a trad pubbed author who was trying her hand at going indie. She talked at length about how much work, effort and energy she put in the cover alone. She worked with a local photographer/ graphic artist who themselves was undiscovered. She did a series of thumbnails to see what would grab, different color combos etc. just to see what would grab her eye. The effort paid off.

Her final cover was striking, it was what attracted me to her book before I even saw the title or the author and to this day I always immediately know it is that book when I see it on my e-reader. I don't mistake it for any other.

That is another major problem when you use stock photos. People are visual creatures -- a picture being worth 1,000 words -- and if I am quickly scanning books online to see what is available, if I see a cover of a book that is the same as one I already own I am likely to believe I already have that book and pass on it.

[Charlotte]

M.J. wrote: "Charlotte wrote: "M.J. wrote: "Not judging a book by it's cover is about more than just 'who' is on the cover...it's also about 'who's not'

As an author I have to say the above comment (about the ..."

I like the covers of your books. They allow you to visualize the characters in your mind based on the descriptions given in the stories. Great job. I'll check out your books, too. Thanks for sharing this with me.

[Paganalexandria]

My favorite IR ebook cover is . That cover is everything (the story is entertaining but not great). I kept seeing this book on Amazon and it kept calling. Maybe it's a Libra thing, but pretty gets me every time.

[The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears]

We often complain about the stock photos on covers, but I seldom see SOLUTIONS! I suugested some time ago that perhaps we use networking to find someone who's great at photography/graphic design start up their own site which caters to multicultural/interracial couples. Believe me, a site like that would do very well, and not just for romance covers. Our world is growing increasingly diverse and we have the talent to be in on the ground floor of that. I would gladly patronize such a business.

[Robin]

As much as I hate to say it, book covers do kind of play a role, for me anyway. I don't think I'm extremely picky. However, I still have some things I don't like. I don't really like extremely sexual book covers; I don't mind some sexuality on the book covers but something super sexual just kind of....is too much for me.

And this is just a personal thing, but I really don't like the 3-D model(or however you describe it) type covers. No offense to anyone who uses them or likes them. However, they aren't my thing.

[Paganalexandria]

If a paranormal book has a cartoon on the cover I'm automatically skipping it. I don't like the humorous paranormal trend because my shifters, vamps, or fairies need to be a little scary. I never would have read the Sookie Stackhouse books without True Blood because the covers were too silly.

[Channasl]

If you are looking for a particular genre sometimes the covers can be misleading. You think that a story is IR but then when you begin reading it you find out it's not or vice versa. Then I feel cheated because I have purchased the book thinking it has a certain storyline.

[Michelle, Mod with the Bod]

Has anyone ever taken notice of the covers of Pepper Pace's novels? I'm not sure, but I think she has complete say over the covers. I don't know if she's self published, or what. But I like that her covers aren't misleading. They're not as flashy as some of the more mainstream bookcovers out there, but I don't feel disappointed or mislead.

[Robin]

Does anyone else not really like the extremely explicit/sexual book covers? Like I don't mind some of them and some of them are well done. But some of the others I've seen just are WAY WAY out there, you know?

That's not to sound prude or "ashamed" but seriously, sometimes, for me, less is more. I mean one thing that I have to say that I like about the Fifty Shades of Grey trend is for simple fact that the "minimalist cover" idea kind of took off, and I've seen some really good covers because of that. Don't get me wrong, there are still bad ones but there are good ones too.

[Connie]

One thing that I don't like about some books is that the cover doesn't match the characters' description. That really throws me off. If the woman is supposed to be heavier, she shouldn't have a supermodel's body on the cover. It's almost saying that you can't have a beautiful rubenesque type woman. If the woman is dark, she shouldn't be caramel colored. If your person has black hair, the front photo shouldn't be blond. If you can't have some similarities matching then I say go for creative artwork, and let the story speak for itself.

[Michelle, Mod with the Bod]

Connie wrote: "One thing that I don't like about some books is that the cover doesn't match the characters' description. That really throws me off. If the woman is supposed to be heavier, she shouldn't have a..."

I agree with you 100%!

[Michelle, Mod with the Bod]

RobinRaven wrote: "Does anyone else not really like the extremely explicit/sexual book covers? Like I don't mind some of them and some of them are well done. But some of the others I've seen just are WAY WAY out ther..."

I hear you RobinRaven. Some covers are just to explicit/ sexual for me. But I think that in a lot of cases, that's what draws readers in to purchase the novel.

[Savannah- Quad Motherin' Book Readin' Diva]

H.M. Ward's Damaged. Its not IR, but I'm tellin y'all AVOID this book at all cost. The cover...this man is EVERYTHING, but the story is NOTHING. lol Here ya go: Damaged