Haaave Ya Met... discussion

This is an interesting question. I definitely fall into the former category. When I published my first book, I was strongly advised to put the generic "topless guy" on the cover. My response was "What? No way! It's not that kind of book!" But apparently, to publish under the "New Adult" umbrella, dimestore romance covers are what's often expected. I chose instead to use the image of a white owl because it's symbolic to the story and (I thought) beautiful and subtle, and it's most likely hurt my sales, and I will most likely redo the cover (although not with chesty male models, ha ha).

It's a difficult decision to make, whether to go for "art" or sales. As a reader, I tend to be equally drawn to the title and blurb as I am to the cover, and many of my favorite books have covers that don't impress me.

As a writer, I want to remain true to my vision and choose covers that reflect the personality and tone of the novel. Whether that helps the novel to sell or not really depends on whether readers with similar artistic tastes gravitate towards it, which I think can be said of any cover.

Wow. Now, what do you define as a "commercial" cover? Just curious :0)

Yes, I can appreciate the difference. I think that "Romance" inclined readers would gravitate towards the new cover. It's all about what type of audience you want to draw, you know?

Covers are amazing to me. I HATE nude/partial nudes on the cover. I ADORE simple ones. My favorite all time cover is Fading by EK Blair. I love a clean simple picture (not of writhing bodies) or an abstract one.

For instance I have passed over The Sweet Gum Tree in my purchased but unread library about 400 times (that isn't an exaggeration. That is about how many books I have purchased and read since I purchased that one) because the cover was just so damn cheesy. I FINALLY had my arm twisted hard enough that I read it and ABSOLUTELY loved it. I can't say I know what's he most dollar producing cover but I can say to me they are SUPER important.

Ashley wrote: "Covers are amazing to me. I HATE nude/partial nudes on the cover. I ADORE simple ones. My favorite all time cover is Fading by EK Blair. I love a clean simple picture (not of writhing bodies) or a..."

I'm the same way. I think because a nude/partially nude cover says to me that book is going to lack substance, and unless I want to read about a bunch of meaningless sexual encounters than I'd better save my time. [But Dianne, I think that your cover redo was sweet and tasteful :0)]

I'm one of those weird people who's attracted to a picture of an old, rickety front porch or the border of a lake surrounded by woods or of someone staring wistfully off into the distance. Simple/abstract will attract me every time over flashy.

Tabitha wrote: "Ashley wrote: "Covers are amazing to me. I HATE nude/partial nudes on the cover. I ADORE simple ones. My favorite all time cover is Fading by EK Blair. I love a clean simple picture (not of writhi..."

AMEN!! Perfectly said!