Covers-How Important Are They?
COVERS–HOW IMPORTANT ARE THEY?
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The cover of a novel is the single most important ingredient in the success or failure of a book. This isn’t something authors want to hear and it’s not always true. If the book is special enough and it gets lots of word-of-mouth, even a bad cover can’t stop the book from being a success.
If the author’s name is well known–and I am speaking of New York Times bestsellers with very large print runs–a bad cover can’t stop the book from being a success.
However most of us fall in the category where a cover can make the difference between success and failure.
Over the years, I’ve had good covers and bad. One of the prettiest covers I ever had was on a book called MIDNIGHT RIDER. The problem was the cover was completely white. The lovely embossed bird on the front didn’t show up until the reader picked up the book. Not many did!
The title may have been another part of the problem. It was chosen by the publisher and no amount of talking could convince them to change it. The combination of bad cover and bad title was lethal. The book was my biggest failure and I think it was one of my better books.
Starting May 1st, my Sinclair Sisters Trilogy is going to be re-issued. The first in the series is MIDNIGHT SUN, a fish-out of water Romantic Suspense set in Alaska. The covers on these three books were extremely plain, just colors and the title. And I have to admit the title, MIDNIGHT SUN, isn’t that exciting. I’ve never been particularly good at titles, which makes the cover even more important.
Since changing a book title is very confusing to readers, the publisher is simply changing the cover, putting a guy on the front, which has become sort of a brand for my Romantic Suspense books. I’m not crazy about the new cover for MIDNIGHT SUN. For one thing, I just met the cover model, Lynn Gunn and he his absolutely gorgeous–and a terrific guy. I don’t think the cover does him justice. Still, it’s interesting, and I’m hoping readers will pick it up and give the book a try.
If you enjoy Romantic Suspense and haven’t read MIDNIGHT SUN, I hope you’ll give it a try. The other books in the series are DESERT HEAT and DEEP BLUE and they get new covers, as well. Hope you enjoy them all and that you also watch for my new releases.
You can reach me on my website www.katmartin.com.
Very best wishes, Kat
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June 6th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Cover art does have a lot to do with my choosing books of new Authors. I always look for a cover that stands out and catches my eye first thing.
Of course with Authors I know the cover doesn’t always make a difference but a Nice bright picture does help.