Judging a Book by Its Cover
There is an old saying, “Don't judge a book by its cover.” Last month in our Romance Poll we were quite literal when we asked this question. Over eighty percent of respondents replied that a book cover was not an indication of a good read.
Sometimes a cover has no relationship to the book it accompanies. Inside is the story of a blonde, blue-eyed beauty and her redheaded lover, but the couple on the cover is more generic and could belong to any romance novel. This is likely because some imprints stress branding over individual novels. Every cover in the series has the same standard elements, colors and similar poses for the couple. With such similar artwork and very similar titles, it is amazing that readers can tell a new book from one they’ve already read. Maybe that’s the goal of the publisher, to sell the series and not the individual books in it.
Many covers do offer insights into what the book is about. If the guy is wearing a cowboy hat then the book is a Western. A historical romance is recognizable by the clothes the couple on the cover is wearing, partially wearing or has strewn on the floor. Spot a little plaid and you’ve got a Highland romance! Pick up a book with Henry VIII or Elizabeth I or a courtier similarly attired and you’ve got a Tudor romance. A cover with two men or two women embracing signals a gay or lesbian romance. If you see two men and one woman in a three-way clinch then that book is likely erotica rather than a romance. So there can be truth in covers.
Cover-wise, it is never a good thing if you have to explain your cover. Take Diana Gabaldon’s latest book, An Echo in the Bone. Some readers have speculated that the image on the cover is “a Celtic chicken-foot”. Gabaldon explains that it is a caltrop, an antipersonnel weapon that has been around since the Romans. This design element ties into the book’s four storylines—so thought was obvously given to this cover design. But at this point in her career, Gabaldon’s name is the most important element on the cover, which explains why it is the same point size as the title.
Maybe we shouldn’t take book covers too literal either, as Poison Ivy pointed out in one of her posting on MyRomanceStory’s Blog: “good cover art lures me in, makes me ask questions, and tempts me to look for answers inside a book. The lush colors and the polished artwork appeal on a sensual level. They promise that inside, the words themselves will deliver what the cover promises.”
Drop us an email at arrow_info@arrowpub.com if you saw a cover that you loved or hated. Let us know which was better: the book or the cover.
MyRomanceStory, an imprint of Arrow Publications, LLC, is the premier source for romance graphic novels in eBooks, for the iPhone and in paperbacks available in English and Spanish. Our novels are distributed online, in paperbacks and are available at the iTunes App Store—to locate type in keywords “myromancestory” or “romance story”. For licensing, advertising and distribution information, contact Valencia Wood, Director of Media Development at valenciaw@arrowpub.com. |
December 6, 2009
In This Issue |
| Romance Story G011: Beloved Rivals: Years ago, Rory Sangster and Blossom Chiang were rivals, had been since kindergarten, hot-blooded, competitive fervor in every endeavor. Now, later in life, they’ve run into each other again and find that their children hate each other, too, which should pose no problem. Except that now Rory can think of nothing else but taking Blossom to bed! More titles at MyRomanceStory.com |
Valentine’s Day Contest
Don't put off tomorrow what you can do today! Enter our Valentine's Day Contest to win fabulous prizes.
For Valentine’s Day, we want to hear about your TRUE stories of love or woe. So touch our hearts with a romantic story with the happiest of endings or tickle our funny bones with a twisted tale of dating disasters. Our readers—and all of your friends and family—will vote for their favorite stories. When you visit our Valentine’s Day contest pages you can see how the votes are stacking up. The five stories that receive the most votes will advance to the final round. Then our editors will review and rank them to select one grand prize winner, second and third place winners and two runners up.
Visit the Valentine's Day contest pages for rules and a list of prizes. Start writing today and your story could be our grand prize winner!
Have you already submitted a story to our contest? Votes do count so tell everyone you know and total strangers, too, to vote for you at www.myromancestory.com/holidayContest/
