We all know the old saying, right? Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m one of those rare readers who really doesn’t do this. Honestly, half the time I’m not even sure I look at the cover. Back when I’d go roam the aisles of Borders for hours (anyone else still mourning Borders? Just me?), I’d pull a book off the shelf because the title sounded interesting and immediately flip it over to read the blurb. The cover? Meh. Didn’t matter. (Well, the one time it would annoy me is when I’d flip the book over and all I’d find was a big photo of the author. Don’t show me a huge picture of the author–just let me know what the book’s about!)
But, like I said, I get that that’s rare. I understand that for most people, the cover is an initial deciding factor in whether or not a book gets picked up (or the link gets clicked to take you to an etailer to read the blurb). And cover conversations are, hands down, some of the hardest I’ve had as an author.
When I first started writing, I was with a small press. I loved a lot about that experience. One thing that I really loved was not having to do a ton with the cover. I’d offer some ideas and then get some thoughts back and we’d go back and forth and at the end of the day, I’d end up with a cover that I always at least liked, if not loved. But the small press closed their doors, and I ended up going indie. And now, like Harry Truman, the buck for covers stopped with me.
To say I panicked would be to put it mildly. I did a lot of consulting with the woman I worked with on covers at the small press (thankfully she was willing to hold my hand) and over time, I got the point where I was relatively comfortable putting a cover together for myself. But…I still dreaded cover time. In fact, I still do.
And that brings me to my query for this post. What is it that draws you to a contemporary romance cover? (And yes, I’m being very specific, because different genres have different requirements. Right now, I only write contemporary romance, so I don’t need to think about what elements go into suspense or thriller or….whatever.) Do you have to have people? A couple? Embracing? Not embracing? Just a woman? Just a man? Think of some covers you love and tell me what drew you to them. Or post a picture of the ones that have caught your eye!
Help us all do a better job judging book covers.
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for your blog! An interesting book cover and title draw me to click on a book. The two have to work together. I scrolled through my Kindle account just to check my theory. Doesn’t matter about how many people or no people. I do like bright covers – not dark and sinister ones. I prefer my covers not to be too intimate. As a retired journalism teacher, I believe in the rule of thirds. Off center graphics. Also eyes facing text. This draws the readers attention to the title. Hope that helps.
I think covers matter less to me in the ebook era, than in the still-mourned Borders days.
Those are great tips. And for CCR, dark is probably not going to fly for anyone — romantic suspense, sure. :)
I’m glad I’m not alone in mourning :) It was the only bookstore in my town and I miss it. (There is a Books A Million at the mall, but it’s more knick knacks than books. Plus, the mall.)
I wonder if more people will agree that it’s less important with ebooks. That’s an interesting thought.
If there’s snow on the cover, I’ll pick it up and look at it. For me, it’s more about the title and the back cover.
Yay! You and I are a lot alike.
Now I need to figure out how to get snow on every cover ;)
My whole family and I are still deeply mourning Borders! As for covers, they are the important to me. I’m visual. An interesting cover will catch my eye. It doesn’t seem to matter much if there are people, but some kind of scene, nature, bright colors and I would like to see the author on the back or inside, but not a huge picture ?
I do like a little picture of the author. Just not the whole back cover :)
Bright is a common theme! It’s nice to know that there’s some leeway with people or not.
I will not even read the synopsis if the cover has a picture of a bare chested man.
I do like to read and find out how the book cover picture and title fit in the story.
I always judge a book by it’s cover. I work in the church library and have for almost 40 years so I pretty much know all the books we have. The reason I judge a book by it’s cover is, that is what I go by when I purchase a book for the library. If the cover gets changed and I haven’t read it, then I’m in trouble.
I try not to judge by the cover but, well, it’s hard not to!
Once it’s on my Kindle, though, I probably won’t ever see the cover again since it’s an old-school e-ink Kindle that lists the titles by words not pix.
Yeah, a bare chested man definitely says something about what’s inside. :/
Covers do attract me, but I have a hard time putting into words what works for me and what doesn’t. Certain fonts pull me in, and others just yell “this is done by an amateur.” But don’t ask me why :-) There don’t have to be people on the cover, but if there are, they need to look natural. I just realized that if there are people on the cover, I often look back to see what the main characters are supposed to look like :-)
What do you look for in a cover? What makes the difference in buying or not?
I just got a new Kindle and seeing the covers annoys me. I miss my list! So many more books per page that way.
Haha – so people need to look like the characters description. That makes it so much harder. :)
Initially it’s a cover that draws me. When I find an author that I love the cover doesn’t really matter as much, but helps. For the 1st book that I read I prefer a colorful cover with the couple on front so I can picture them throughout the book as I read it. I have read every one of your books and look forward to them each time. My very favorite series was the 1st one you wrote.
I used to think I didn’t care much about the cover, and I still don’t (most of the time). I’ve since realized that this is mostly true when I already know the author, then I don’t care about the cover at all. I just think “oh, this is another Elizabeth Maddrey’s book, I should check it out.” Then I’d check out the blurb.
I understand this is not true for most people and probably not true at all when I look for book from authors I don’t know. In that case it helps me overlook the cover if someone recommends it to me. If that’s also not the case, I will probably check the cover, but again, I’d mostly check the type of book first and then the blurb… I’ve seen pretty covers in books I would never read and ugly covers in books that I probably would enjoy, which is mostly why I don’t trust a cover.
I’m drawn to happy colors and covers that look peaceful. I don’t care if a couple is on it, although it seems most contemporary romance books have a couple on them.
Thanks, Linda! Bright is a definite common theme :)
These are great points — I’m the same, if I know the author then I care even less about the cover :) thanks!
The couple is definitely a current trend!
Hi Elizabeth,
I remember Borders and do miss it.
As for covers, I prefer to have the couple (if there is one) not to be too vivid, because I want to make my own image in my head. Often the image on the cover doesn’t quite match up with what I’m reading. Make it a hint and I’m good. I do like warm sunny colors, unless I’m reading a suspense or dystonia novel.
I love cover that shows romance but not too sexy.
No bare chested men,
Yes to a couple and a maybe a background denoting the story line.
What kind of Kindle? You should be able to change the setting to,a list. I can do so in the kindle app for my tablet and phone! I prefer he picture that is how I remember my books in my kindle account! I am annoyed when there is a new release with a new cover and get all excited, then realize when I read the blurb that I already read the book! I have a good memory that way even though I read over 300 books a year. I think covers matter to visual learners. ( Sorry the teacher speaking here.)
I’ll poke in the settings. Maybe I can. And yeah, I’ve never been a visual learner. :)
I like to make my own picture too!
Great thoughts!
I like soft colored covers….if a couple..want to see happiness on their faces! I like a small pic of the author on the back cover!
Happy people are a definite — romance should be happy :)
Ideally, I want to see the H&H as a couple that gives me an idea of how the author sees the characters. I also like a small picture of the author on the back cover.
Interesting — I think you’re the first person who’s had a significant preference for having the H&H on the cover. It’s a good reason and sometimes knowing what the author thought up front can be nice. (I will say, from the author standpoint, it is *hard* to find people who look like the people in my head!)
I like the cover to match the location the book is set in. Mountains would draw me more than a beach setting for instance. If there are people on the cover, they should match as closely as possible the characters found in the book and indicate the time period the book is written in. Covers do capture my attention but purchasing decision is made on the description.
Love this — it’s a good mix of cover and description weight — and I agree, the setting should match the book for sure!
Funny, I have the same reaction to the B&N we still have – attached to the food court at the mall, just doesn’t feel the same.
Covers matter more to me now than they used to. In the “olden” days when browsing at the bookstore or library, I only saw the binding with title and sometimes author. Then the title was most important to me. Once a title caught my attention, I’d pull it off the shelf and immediately look at the blurb to see what it was about. The cover mattered not at all. Now that I shop for ebooks, I just see a cover and sometimes can’t even read the title or author until I take a closer look. So the cover is my first impression. I wish I could say what exactly draws me to a cover but I don’t know as it varies greatly. I will admit my shallowness and say a gorgeous guy will definitely get my attention. But if he’s not fully clothed my eye will go right on by. I actually appreciate those covers though because they’re up front about what to expect between the covers.
Interesting — we do definitely see more of the covers with ebooks than in the shelves. I hadn’t thought about that at all!
It really depends. I’ve seen just a woman done well. Bold covers grab my attention…bold colors or contrasting ones, it really has mostly been women by themselves that I’ve seen the most striking covers but again it depends who does the work behind it.
What draws me to a book is much more the title than the cover.. there’s nothing specific I would like in a cover, but I like when it matches the title of the book.
I’m a bit of a cover snob…lol! A beautiful cover will first draw my eye and/or the author, then the back blurb and the prologue in the front. I like people or scenery, but if it features people, it has to be tasteful. I only read Christian fiction so to have a cover with too much intimacy on the front (each persons definition will vary of course) will turn me off completely. I also prefer the cover to match the story as much as possible.
I love the Barbour publishing novella set covers! I’ve not seen one I don’t care for yet :-) I also love many of the historical fiction covers put out by the big name publishers (Revell, Bethany House, Harvest House, etc). Love Inspired puts out some great ones as well. I can’t really pin down what draws me, I just know when I see a beautiful cover :-)
I look for a cover that catches my eye. Then I look to see what the book is about. I also check who is the author and the publisher.
I love book covers. I tend to associate the book with its cover so I can remember the storyline better if I connect with the cover. I don’t like embracing couples on it, though if the books are from my favorite authors, I try my best to ignore the cover.
I will admit I often judge a book by its cover , To me a book cover should jump out. , drag a person in !