Cover Wars

As a recently self published author, I am trying to navigate the slippery slope that is designing the book covers. I was a graphic designer for 5 years, and trained as a studio artist for 4 years before that. Needless to say creating imagery is not foreign to me, and I find it a pleasing way to spend my time. So I have a tendency to conceptualize a cover in an obscure fashion that does not readily label one of my books as being of a certain genre.

I find that as a romance writer there are some cover expectations that I just don't prescribe to. I don't like the 'disembodied' male chest shots. I believe your hero should have more than just a great set of pecks. He shouldn't be hard on the eyes, but I find those covers to be a little objectifying. I'm for liberation on both sides so I don't see how objectifying the male makes for a great read. With this on the table I've been battling with crying defeat, and creating the romance generic cover with the 'disembodied' male parts and such.

However I believe that representing my novels in this way is misleading. Yes my focus is romance, but the crux of my stories are about highlighting acceptance, compromise, and understanding. I try and focus on the emotional exchange between two people, and the things that bind people beyond physical attraction. I think once a reader gets into one of my novels expecting a certain level of eroticism due to a highly erotic cover and then discovers that the relationship is based on other criteria, they will not look kindly upon my work.

I find myself wondering what other authors have done to make the covers match the pages as it were, and still be an enticing lure to purchasing the book.

Well I did redesign one of my covers to see what would happen. Would sells increase, decrease? Here are my covers, and in coming weeks I hope to broadcast my results. Thoughts?

Old Cover


New Cover