What Type of Book Covers do YOU Like?

[Stacy-Deanne]

Hi All,

Happy new year to all! Hope you all are doing well.

A group of writers put on their readers' caps to discuss book covers. Someone started off saying the type of book covers they hate. I was surprised that many said they hated covers with photos of people on them. I guess I am different because I love book covers with pictures or photos of people on them. They are always the covers that get me the most interested in even checking out the book. Even if the characters look different then the cover, I still just like to see covers with people on them. I like all kinds of covers but the ones with people are my favorite.

I think I and maybe another woman felt the same. LOL! I was so surprised that all these other people had such disdain for book covers with people on them. I am assuming this is a small minority because publishers wouldn't be putting out so many books with people on the cover if a lot of people didn't like them. Publishers know what covers can attract folks to a book. I think it also depends on genre. A lot of Sci-Fi, Mystery and Ya covers don't have people on them. But still I love a book with people on the cover.

Anyway, what kind of book covers do you like? Do you prefer the ones with people or those without? At the end of the day the story is what's more important but a cover is what gets is wondering about the book enough to check it out.

What's your favorite type of cover?

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[Stacy-Deanne]

One thing I'll say is I don't like books with a standard stock photo on there. I like a beautifully done cover with people on it that has been designed. I love the covers on Historical romances. You usually have a pic of just the heroine draped in some beautiful dress and every detail of her jewelry, etc.

[Roslyn]

I hate the ones with people on them. The other ones I dislike have the floating heads. To me having people on the cover reminds me too much of children's books.

[Arch , Mod]

I don't really care for people on covers. I would prefer they use silhouette people on the cover, instead of real people. A lot of books have people on the cover and they don't match the people in the story. I like to imagine how the hero and heroine look to me. I like to be able to feel the character, to match them with an image.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

I like artistic covers that are accurate in their reflection of the characters in the book.

My beef with too many of the IR covers is they make the books look like they will be trashy (meaning puerile, poor quality content). I guess I take the image of IRR very seriously and I don't like the idea that people view the genre as a fetish instead of a genre with worthwhile content and stories to tell.

I agree with you about being tired of the stock photos. I'm fine with people on the cover so long as they are a good match for the characters in the book. I think that showing a mixed couple on the cover sends a strong message to people in real life who are fearful/hesitant about interracial dating. Although we can say that no validation is needed, that may not always be the case for every person and couple. I love the artsy historical covers like you mentioned, Stacy.

[Stacy-Deanne]

I agree, Danielle. I don't even read IR anymore. I have been disappointed by the covers on a lot of IR books for a long time. If they weren't the same stock photos used over and over, they were sleazy pics. It's not the authors' faults because they don't control what cover the pub does but it's unfortunate that some pubs think they can just pump out IR books with the same covers over and over like they don't care. I swear I could point out ten photos of IR couples that I've seen on tons of IR books, the same exact photo! I also know some authors who were very disappointed when they saw their covers were the same as something on another book.

I am also turned off by cheap-looking book covers. I mean if the cover doesn't look like anyone took trouble with it then it makes me not wanna even see how the book will be.

[Chaeya]

I want people and people who look like the descriptions of the characters in the book. But I also get bored with the stock photos, especially when they get overused. Once in a while I'm attracted to covers without people, but these make me think the publisher was lazy or being cheap when I see something like a cape draped over a chair and a flower, I usually pass those books by because I think this way: boring cover = boring story (unless it's a well known author and they don't need people on the cover).

Chaeya

[Akeisa]

A sexy or beautiful couple on the cover always catches my attention first.

[TinaNoir]

I think in genre fiction I've become so de-sensitized to certain types of images, that unless the cover is just really, really awful, you just tend to roll with them.

But I will say, that I am so over stock photos of the same IR couple on every cover or IR books. The thing is, a cover is as much about the book's identity as the title & the plot. Since the first thing see about a book, even online, is the cover, re-using the same stock can cause reader confusion and in some cases cause the author to lose a sale. Because if I see a familiar cover I will swear I read that book already and pass it by. And as Danielle mentioned above, in many cases those stock photos have the couples un(der) dressed in a serious clinch, that it has the effect of making every book seem erotic even when they aren't.

I am also tired of PNR that only shows a male on the cover (usually with no shirt on)and UF that only shows a female on the cover (usually wearing tight jeans, tight wife-beater, lots of tats, and carrying a sword).

My favorite covers are those that are well composed, eye-catching and evocative of the novel inside. I am not opposed to couples on the cover, but I like illustrated (seems more "imagined") than photo stock.

Here are some that I like immediately spring to mind:

- Love this cover. Almost tells a story on it's own.


, - Pip Ballantine gets great covers. Her newest book (no cover image on GR) The Janus Affair also has a great cover. Very representative of the characters & story

- This cover made me look up the book. The woman is a warrior but she looks thoughtful & contemplative, not just bad-ass. Also she is a POC.

- In romance, this one caught my eye. And when i read the book, I realized the dress she is wearing is described exactly that way in the book.

- The cover alone made me want to read this book. They look elegant, not something you often see in AA or IR romance covers.

I also love illustrations and both made me pay attention.

[Delaney]

I prefer to see people on the cover if it's a romance. I don't even have to see their entire face. I just need some kind of visual. I think it's more important to me in romance because it's all about the couple. In mysteries/thrillers and nonfiction, I'm pretty open.

Stacy, I second your opinion about historical romance covers. They're always so well done! The covers scream sensuality and romance.

Like everyone else, I don't like seeing the stock photos over and over, and I get confused and wonder if I've already read the book. Plus, it's just annoying to see multiple times.

As a writer, I don't have the final say on my book covers, but I do get input. It's really hard to find IR couples. You almost have to spend the money to hire models, and if it's a small press, they're not going to do that.

I search for photos of my characters ahead of time. When I have to fill out my sheet and explain my vision for the cover, I already have links to images I like and/or covers I like.

I turn it in and keep my fingers crossed. I've only had one cover not turn out quite the way I wanted, but I sucked it up.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

That's good to hear you've been fairly happy with your covers, Delaney.

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

I think we can all agree that seeing the same couples on IR covers is annoying, but here's where I diverge from the crowd. If there were more variety in the stock photo marketplace that featured IR couples, authors and publishers would buy them. So...maybe an enterprisng soul can start a stock photography business that is especially geared towards the multicultural market. Until that happens, we're going to be seeing those same people over and over again.

[Kacie]

I guess I am somewhat indifferent regarding people being on covers. What I can say I pretty much loathe are cheap looking covers, covers where couples are recycled, and when the cover of the book it too racy. Too racy is my least favorite because to me the raciness is a sign of a lack of imagination for anything better. I also have to say that I have purchased some books where the covers were not so impressive, but the books still ended up being good. Love Out of Order by Nicole Green (I felt this cover was good for nothing and didn't even portray the essence of the characters or novel) is an example of a cover I found to be less than exciting, but I still enjoyed the book. Another is Inside Out by Grayson Cole... The pairing of the models was BLAH and the male model didnt look anything like the character which I found to be disappointing. I guess long story short is the cover can run a reader off, but on the other hand, if you are willing to take a risk it might all work out.

[Delaney]

This is off topic, but we have a celebrity in our midst. Lady Danielle was quoted in the January 2012 issue of my Romance Writers of America (RWA) magazine in the article titled "Demystifying Goodreads."

Pretty awesome, and I liked your comments.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

Huh, I didn't even know that, Delaney!

Do you have a link by any chance?

[Arch , Mod]

Wow! Danielle, you are a celebrity. Go girl!

[Delaney]

Oh, really? It's a nice article and it tells authors how to use Goodreads. It quotes you and some other folks.

The magazine comes in the mail, but they also post it on the RWA site and it can be downloaded as a pdf. I just logged in to check, but January's issue hasn't been uploaded yet.

It's only 4 pages, so if you like, I can scan the pages and email them to you. Or you can wait for the pdf version, which will be a "cleaner" copy than the scanned pages.

I can get it to you either way. Let me know.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

Oh, now I remember a member asking about authors on a group. Can you just let me know when they post it on the website? That would be fine. Do you have to be a member to read on the website?

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

Arch wrote: "Wow! Danielle, you are a celebrity. Go girl!"

*Blushing* Thanks, Arch!

[Arch , Mod]

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "Arch wrote: "Wow! Danielle, you are a celebrity. Go girl!"

*Blushing* Thanks, Arch!"

:)

[Delaney]

@Danielle, yes, you have to be a member to access it on the site. They'll probably have it posted in a week or two, and I'll let you know. I can download it and save it as a pdf and send it to you.

I can't believe they didn't let you know it was for an RWA article. The person who wrote the article is Manda Collins, if that helps.

[Chaeya]

Good deal, Danielle!

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

I would appreciate that, Delaney. Thanks. It's possible they told me that, but it went out the other ear.

Thanks, Chaeya.

[Bettye]

All the shirtless men on romance novels covers are getting old...they all look the same to me. Like everyone else, I've noticed the same stock photos of the same models on I/R covers. When I indie published my I/R, A Kiss of A Different Color, I studied the market carefully and used pictures that hadn't been used before. Since then I've noticed the couple on another cover, but they are shot from behind, and the cover itself is rather amateurish.

[Liz]

@ Vixenne, A stock photography company which specializes in images of IR couples is a great idea! I was thinking the same thing myself. I do hope that that someone will eventually come out with one, because it is definitely something which would be well appreciated. Let's hope it will happen someday.

[Liz]

I like books which feature people on the covers, because it captures my attention. The only thing that would bother me is if the people on the cover don't resemble the way that they are described in the book.

[Nana]

@Liz, that's one of my pet peeves too. If you put some hulking guy on the cover, I expect that you describe him as big, not lean. Though as an author, I know most authors have no say on their covers.

But I've seen the same set of couples floating around on covers and I keep thinking, were there no other models to choose from?

I'd love a stock photo company that specialized in this. I'd probably have more people on my covers then.

[[deleted user]]

like others have said, i too like covers with people but hate the same tired old stock photography that seems to be floating around on multiple books. i currently have 3 books that are all very different with the same cover art. when there are people on the coverit really irks me when they dont vaguely match the character descriptions. This happens A LOT with black male characters it seems. the hero is described as a ringer for Irdris Elba but Shemar Moore is on the cover. in that case i'd rather something else on the cover so i can just use my imagination.

also, i dont like when theres too much skin on the covers. i like a shirtless man as much as the next red blooded woman but i dont need more than that on the male or female on the cover. just because the book may be erotica doesnt mean that it cant be tasteful.