Samhain Publishing Ltd Weblog

The Art of the Cover

Would you pick up a book with this picture as the cover? I would. That blue and well, yes, that hot bod and tattoo would urge me to take a closer look.

I’ve blogged about the importance of titles for books, but let’s face it. No matter how great your story is, if you have a crappy cover, chances are, no one’s going to bother to read it unless you’re Oprah’s next book club selection. Samhain authors are fairly lucky. We get input on our covers, and the artists here are extremely talented.

I have sold more copies of Enjoying the Show than I’d ever dreamed. I want to think my writing is that stellar—don’t we all? But a lot of the attraction to the romance started with that killer cover.

Romance readers tend to be women. Women tend to like men. Covers with hot men are appealing to the vast majority of buyers. Yet there’s a line, I think, when it comes to purchasing a book in the bookstore. I write erotic romance. Yet I rarely buy a book that’s too suggestive. A hint of nudity, not the whole shebang. Try checking out of a bookstore with a title like Do Me Hard and a naked man letting it all hang it out surrounded by nubile young women (note, I made up the title. Please don’t tell me that’s out there in the romance section). I like to think I’m open to anything, but walking out of a Barnes & Noble with that book would make me blush three shades of red.

Purchasing an ebook from the comfort of my own home, now that’s a different story. Smaller presses should love me. I love to read, and I’m not afraid to spend my last dollar on an ebook vice a Starbucks coffee. I frequent familiar publishers and Fictionwise a good bit. And you know what? When looking for something new to read, I’ll breeze right over an ugly, “looks like I could have Photoshopped it myself” cover. The majority of the old Poser covers made the characters look too blocky, and you don’t see many of them anymore. Though whatever software the new artists are using to create incredible scifi covers are intriguing.

Technology does amazing things. With cover artists like Scott Carpenter, Anne Cain, Natalie Winters and others, it’s no wonder Samhain stands out, and that’s to say nothing about the authors! I sound like I’m tooting the Samhain horn, and perhaps I am. But the next time you’re looking for a book to read, think about what draws you to a book by an author you don’t know. I guarantee the cover has something to do with your decision.

Marie
www.marieharte.com