I was channel surfing recently and came across the country music station. And while I admit I like country music, I really dislike music videos — not only the country ones, but any of them. They just don’t appeal to me. I don’t want someone else showing me their interpretation of a song. I prefer to supply my own images, thank you.
Which brings me to book covers. Now this is a very controversial topic with writers. Many of us prefer not to have actual people on the covers but marketing departments are convinced that they sell books. Personally, I’d rather not see people on the covers, simply because I like to form my own idea of what the characters look like (as in the music videos). On the other hand, if people really do pick up a book because they like the cover, who am I to complain?
So, how about you? Do you like seeing actual people on book covers? Does it tempt you to buy the book — or even worse, drive you away? Do you think that the people on the covers generally look like the characters — or does the cover image keep you from forming your own impression?
I’ll send a book to one of the people who answers. You can choose which book — based, of course, on the cover you prefer:roll:.
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I prefer not to see people on the cover as I too like to imagine what they look like. It is really funny (annoying) to see people on the cover not as described in the book. Don’t these artists read of know what the people look like????
One SIM book had a really ugly guy with buck teeth on the cover. What a turnoff.
One famous cover was Get Lucky by Suz. Brockmann. The character looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy. I met Suzanne at a signing and we all had a good laugh about that.
I like the colorful cutsey covers like on Susan Andersen/Susan Donovan/Deirdre Martin Books. Also Catherine Anderson’s covers are very attractive to me. The Bravas have good ones too.
by Pat
on May 26th, 2006 at 8:58 am
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P. S. - Meant to say dont these artists know OR……
And the cover is what draws me but not what makes me buy the book. After the cover draws me, I read the back blurb. Of course many authors are autobuys.
by Pat
on May 26th, 2006 at 9:01 am
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I agree with you both! I do not like the h/h on the cover because they almost never look the way I want them to. I prefer a nice scene. I will pick up a book with that kind of cover first but like Pat and I’m sure most of us, we buy the book because of the back blurb and who are favorite authors are and not the cover.
by Carol
on May 26th, 2006 at 9:19 am
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I don’t mind seeing real people on the cover if it’s done really well. My pet peeve is the covers that look like bad cartoons. They come across and cheap and silly, and they’re a complete turnoff. As an African-American writer I have a real bug up my butt about the recent proliferation of tacky, ghetto-looking covers on A-A books — even if they do sell!
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I actually do enjoy covers with the hero/heroine as long as they are done well, relate to the story, and actually look like the characters described. I like covers that invoke an atmosphere of a place as well. A bad cover is a turnoff for me especially if it is a book by an author I haven’t read before. I don’t like the cartoon covers or covers with fruit? on them. These turn me off as well. I guess I’m a pretty visual person and a good looking cover always gets my attention.
by Sandra M.
on May 26th, 2006 at 9:38 am
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At Harlequin/silhouette, authors have to fill out what’s known as the art fact sheet. It has lists of characteristics, descriptions, etc. of characters (hair color and so on) to check, and then also space to write in descriptions. They also have us describe three scenes that might work for the cover AND we do a short synopsis. So the author has quite a bit of input. But the artists can (and do) still get it wrong at times. For example, with Facing the Fire, I went to great lengths to explain what the hero (a smokejumper) would be wearing. I even attached photos of smokejumpers. And for some unknown reason, they put a visor on his hardhat and gave him suspenders. I have no idea why they did that — no smokejumper would ever wear those things — but someone decided to put them in. So I guess they take “creative license” to evoke a mood???
by Gail Barrett
on May 27th, 2006 at 6:03 am
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I do not care for covers with people on them although that wouldn’t stop me from buying a book. I think the picture is there in the back of your mind because I find as I’m reading a book I might stop and look at the cover if the description of the characters is so far off from the people in the story. If they are going to put people on the cover they should at least accurately depict them. I do prefer to let the author show me the characters in the book.
by Maureen
on May 27th, 2006 at 6:30 am
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I like to see people on the cover as long as they are as they are described in the book.
by Minna
on May 27th, 2006 at 6:31 am
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Sorry, I happen to like seeing people in dress on the cover along with a back ground picture from the time period the story takes place. It gives me a better idea of how they dressed and what it looked like. I read a lot of medieval & time travel of corse I like all kinds. When I am reading a book, I like havein the picture on the front it gives me an idea of what the clothing was like in the story I happen to be reading at the time.
by Tammy G.
on May 27th, 2006 at 6:37 am
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Tammy - that’s a great point. It is kind of nice to have an idea of how the people dress in that time period, what kind of vehicle (coach, etc.) they might have, and so on. I guess what I object to the most is when they put people on the covers who I don’t personally find attractive. I realize that that’s a very subjective thing, but what happens if you don’t like the way the people look? Do you go ahead and read the back cover blurb anyway, or does it put you off the book completely?
by Gail Barrett
on May 27th, 2006 at 7:42 am
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Hi again, some of the covers are creepy and really turn me off, like EC - I hate those covers and similar covers. The characters have an unreal quality. Why cant they portray them as normal looking humans. There are similar publishers out there that have the same type of covers - horrors. Just my 2 cents.
I do agree with Minna, even tho I said I prefer not to have people on the cover, I certainly have no problem if they are correctly portrayed.
by Pat
on May 27th, 2006 at 8:23 am
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I also prefer not to see people on the cover. However, this does not stop me from getting a book w/ people on the cover if the book has a great story. For me, each time I read a book and the characters are portrayed on the cover, I am usually disappointed b/c the way I imagined the characters (from the books discriptions) is different from the cover. (I do realize that everyone will have a difference of opinion on how they think the characters like). Do the artists that design the covers read the book also? I have found books w/o people to be compelling and mysterious. But, I do have a list of authors that I don’t care what the cover looks like b/c I know I am going to read a great story:grin:
by Kathleen
on May 27th, 2006 at 8:49 am
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It doesn’t bother me to have people on the cover. I always prefer that the cover is well done, of course. However, even a truly ugly cover would not stop me from buying the book. I tend to decide upon purchasing a book from reading a few pages of it.
by little lamb lost
on May 27th, 2006 at 10:24 am
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It doesn’t matter to me. But I agree that it should be done well. Bodies should be anatomically correct and not look like amateur-ish, the positions should be believable and not look painful, the expressions should not be blank - someone mentioned that you never see too many cover models smile on the cover - sometimes it’s nice to see them look happy. Even if there are cover models, I still picture the h/h in my own mind the way “I” see them.
More artistic covers can be fun, classy, romantic, as long as the colors used are not harsh and garish. I like a little creativity - not all the same type of border or floral arrangement. Just don’t be an eyesore LOL.
by Stacy ~
on May 27th, 2006 at 11:40 am
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I like people on the cover because it seems more personal to know what the character looks like. However, it can be turnoff if the cover does not match the characters described in the book. I read a book one time where the heroine was supposed to have red hair and the cover model had brown hair. i found that rather annoying and it seemed to me the cover artist could not be bothered doing their homework. Tammy made a great point about costumes. If i am reading a regency or a fantasy, or sci fi book it is good to see what the people in that time period or world dress like. it gives you a better feel for the world that character lives in.
by Cherie Japp
on May 27th, 2006 at 11:53 am
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I don’t really care much about people on the covers…they are not the reason I buy or don’t buy a book. I am more concerned with the story inside and often will ignore covers as I read. I have read some books where the people on the cover don’t match the description, but it hasn’t really bothered me. I tend to form my own image.
So covers don’t really matter to me. However, I must confess to not being a big fan of the computer generated ones that make the characters look more like robots or nonhumans than real humans.
by Jennifer Y.
on May 27th, 2006 at 11:53 am
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i don’t mind either as long as the story is great. i love hot men on the covers:grin:
by kim h
on May 27th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
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For a very short while, many eras ago, I looked at covers first to get a feel for the book inside. After a mercifully not too long string of disappointments, I stopped considering the cover when picking up a book. Back blurb, flap blurb, a prior recommendation, autobuy author or backlist glooming are the things that I rely on, having such a limited book-buying budget. This is why a gorgeous cover is like that unexpected present on your non-birthday–the kind of thing that brightens up an already bright day.
by azteclady
on May 27th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
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The cover might originally be what attracts me, but the deciding factor is what is said on the back. The covers that really annoy me are the ones that as you read you realize it either doesn’t relate to the story or has an important detail completely wrong. One cover had the hero on horseback when there was no horses in the story. Another had a woman with dark hair and the heroine was a blond so I kept reading wondering when the dark haired character would make an appearance (which she never did!).:razz:
by Joyce
on May 27th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
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I don’t pay much attention to the cover of a book. I buy by author and the back blurb.
by Estella Kissell
on May 27th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
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I like covers with people on them. Unfortunately, they can end up being bad covers, too. It really depends on how the cover is put together. One thing I do like are the covers where the model is shown from the side or from the neck or chin down.
by Alyssa
on May 27th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
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I form a picture of the h/h in my mind whilst reading the book so the cover doesn’t
change my mental picture.
I like any picture of the cover; people, buildings, scenery, whatever as long as it’s colorful and eye catching.
by Robyn
on May 27th, 2006 at 8:26 pm
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I do like people on the cover, but only when they bear a decent resemblance to the characters they depict. Hate it when they’re not even close because that interferes with the picture in my mind as I read. On the other hand, if the cover reflects that image then it enhances it. I do love great cover art because it adds to the whole package.
by Bronwyn Jameson
on May 28th, 2006 at 12:43 am
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Gail - If I find a book that has a cover that I just don’t like but I find I want to read the book I will do like I did back in school (millions of years a go maybe not that long ago but it seems like it) and cover the book. I won’t let the cover stop me from reading a book I want to read.
by Tammy G.
on May 28th, 2006 at 6:47 am
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One of the worst examples I saw was one of Heidi Betts’ historicals. The hero and heroine had absolutely the wrong hair color. Since they were on the run during the book, I kept expecting to come across a scene where they dyed their hair, but nope, in the end they had the original hair color — not what was on the cover. Also, in the book the heroine was quite a tomboy and wore pants, and yet the heroine on the cover was wearing what looked like a sexy ballgown. I talked to Heidi about it later and she said that the cover had been recycled — it was the exact cover used on someone else’s book! I have to admit that I would have been rather upset had that happened to me, but she had a good sense of humor about it.
In any case, thanks everyone for chiming in about covers. Cherie - you’re my winner! Let me know which of my book covers you like best and I’ll send you one (the whole book, not just the cover:smile:) Email me at gail@gailbarrett.com. GRACIAS.
by Gail Barrett
on May 28th, 2006 at 9:05 am
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Muchisimas Gracias Gail! I just sent you an email.
by Cherie Japp
on May 28th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
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wtg cherie
by kim h
on May 28th, 2006 at 11:50 pm
