Comments on: Judge a Book By Its Cover?

By: Susan Lyons

Susan Lyons — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 05:07:14 +0000

Thanks, Anna. Hmm, that’s quite the cover. To me, it has a literary “weighty” feel – like this is going to be a book of quite serious stories, not romances. And the cover doesn’t go with the title. I do think it’s an attractive cover, just not for a collection of short romance stories.

By: Anna Jacobs

Anna Jacobs — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 03:35:19 +0000

I really enjoyed your article, Susan, and found myself nodding agreement all the way through it. I like the sound of your story, too.

Like Wendy, I use covers to guide me as to content, but they don’t always do that. I have a book of short romance stories which has a purely ‘boys own’ cover of dark yachts on a dark sea. Dark usually means violent or mystery to me. You can see it on this link if you want to join me in a wince:

http://www.amazon.com/Short-Sweet-Anna-Jacobs/dp/1847514014/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354159937&sr=1-1&keywords=Anna+Jacobs+Short+and+Sweet

By: Susan Lyons

Susan Lyons — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 22:12:20 +0000

Hi Wendy.

“Baring” your reading preferences is a great pun! I think it’s possible to combine hotness and humor on a cover. For example, here’s a link to the cover of “Unwrap Me,” a holiday anthology from Kensington. Hot guy with great natural fleshtones, and a woman’s hands untying a bow that’s wrapped around… Hee, hee. Of course we don’t know what it’s wrapped around, but we can guess. http://www.amazon.com/Unwrap-Me-Melissa-MacNeal/dp/0758228538/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1354140641&sr=8-2&keywords=unwrap+me#reader_0758228538

By: Wendy Clark

Wendy Clark — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 21:33:41 +0000

Hi Susan!

Personally I find the half-naked-people covers to be super useful visual clues as to the heat level of the book. I like hot the best of all the levels, and when I find a half-naked guy I tend to think, “Ooh, this one has potential!” It does make it hard to whip out on a lunch break, though, unless you’re confident about baring your reading preferences in front of your coworkers. And it would be nice if there was a way to emphasize the humor more than just the font. Hm…

By: Susan Lyons

Susan Lyons — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 21:26:35 +0000

Maggie, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Occasionally, all the concepts you’ve mentioned get combined in a cover: sex sells (can’t forget that one!); info about the story – such as setting, characters, tone of writing; something distinctive that grabs the attention and isn’t “same old, same old”; yet something that’s familiar enough that readers will identify what kind of book it is and feel comfortable about buying it; and a cover that doesn’t mislead the reader (e.g., no cartoony stuff on a highly sexy book). And when you get a cover like that, as an author, what a dream come true!

By: Maggie Jaimeson

Maggie Jaimeson — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 20:35:35 +0000

Hi Susan, Great post and so, so true about not having a lot of say. Personally, I’ve never liked the naked chest covers or the clinch covers. Not from embarrassment, but from the perspective that it doesn’t tell me a single thing about the story. For example, in what you’ve just described of your book, adding a window frame (even a crooked one) might have suggested something more. To me a single manly chest or a clinch cover says “This book is all about sex.” If that’s true, then great. But most of the time the sex is NOT the core of the story. Important? Yes. The core, No.

Yes, I understand that marketing and sales departments have more knowledge of what sells. I also know that sex sells. IMO those are old tropes. I also think the marketing departments knowledge is based on one to two year old data. They don’t shift quickly and can’t take advantage of changing tastes.

Publishers want something new and different, but then they want to market it old and tried and true. In my mind, that’s a disconnect. However, grin and bear it is the mantra unless you are Nora Roberts or some other equally powerful writer who probably gets an actual say in cover design.

By: Susan Lyons

Susan Lyons — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:55:28 +0000

Hi Nora,

It’s true that this cover doesn’t hint at the humor inside. You’re not the only one who noticed. Here’s an excerpt from a review by Brunette Librarian: “Prepare to be entertained because Body Heat is a whole lot funnier than the hot cover would lead us to suspect! Hilarious characters, a motorcycle riding hottie doing community service, a reserved yet longing to be a little wild administrative assistant, leaky pipes and so much round out this very naughty, very fun book by Susan Fox.” I’ll see if I can include a link to the full review. http://brunettelibrarian.blogspot.ca/2012/11/body-heat-by-susan-fox-review.html

By: nora snowdon

nora snowdon — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:26:35 +0000

great post, susan. i’m one of those who’d prefer not to have naked torsos on covers–and the headless ones seem particularly insulting, as to me the implication is that the guy is only good for one thing… (i know, it’s so you can imagine hero to fit your own taste) i want to know there’s more than just sex in a book. i’m mostly attracted to chick-lit covers that promise a sense of humour inside.
if yours had a picture of the seniors looking longingly at the motorcycle guy, now that would sell me.
it sounds like a fun book so i’ll read it from your description but not cover. but probably that’s just me…

By: Susan Lyons

Susan Lyons — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:16:25 +0000

Thanks, Celia. Oh, the debate over chest hair – it’s such a personal preference. I’ve heard that many young women find chest hair a turnoff, so there are a lot of sleek guys on covers. To me, a guy with no hair makes me think he spends way too much time working on his body image. A guy who waxes? Call me old-fashioned, but that doesn’t seem very masculine to me. Now, I’m not all that keen on the bear-pelt type of chest either, but a nice smattering of curls to tangle a gal’s fingers in… Mmm!

I love your cowboy image. That would be perfect for “Back Home on the Range,” the first novel in my new Caribou Crossing series from Kensington (August 2013). I’d love it if they came up with a cover like that!

By: Celia Lewis

Celia Lewis — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 17:44:23 +0000

Hi Susan – I loved your discussion on book covers! Personally I prefer much more subtle covers – indeed, 50 Shades hit the mark perfectly! The semi-naked guy with at least one finger pointing to his crotch is such a turn-off… and I’m a bit tired of the totally-sleek-no-hair gay-guy covers… or is it just me? A cowboy with his shirt part-undone, sitting on a fence watching a girl watch a horse… hmmm. Two hands looking very gender-specific… There are so many more interesting stand-out-from-the-crowd covers that would be more interesting, I think. Cheers – and congrats on your latest book!