I don't have to say it, right? You're thinking or have thought the same thing? No? I guess I'm dirty minded because this doesn't look like a YA book cover, it looks vaguely like porn. In case you think I"m imagining it...EXHIBIT ONE:
Yes, remarkably similar to Ron Jeremy's book cover. (Link is safe, just goes to his GR's page) Yes, he's a pornstar. Now, if your book cover is almost the same as a pornstar's autobiography, you've gone to a bad, dark place.
EXHIBIT TWO: (Content advisory, lyrics)
Runner up:
Can you sense a theme for August? I saw this bookcover and dismissed it. I thought it was some kind of shifter erotica. I mean, it looks like she's naked behind the, um, bushes and hair. And her expression...I'm going to let you insert your own inappropriate thoughts. Therefore, erotica, right? No, it's a YA book. Imagine my surprise when I read someone's review.
Edit: Final thoughts...just in case. I don't mean this feature to be mean. I would say that in pretty much all of the cases, so far, I've actually gone on to read either the book or a book by the author. But that the "I Hate This Cover" books were all books that I initially dismissed and decided not to read- based on the cover. I mean there are hundreds, thousands of books that come out every month. I can't read the summaries of every one of them- that would be like a whole book's worth of summaries. So if I haven't heard of a book or author, I often eliminate by cover until I start seeing (positive) reviews. So far, all of the "winners" are books that, if they had a better cover, I probably would have read the summary. And, reading the summary, I probably would have added the books. And I hope that by featuring them, that if other people had dismissed them, they take a second look. Maybe read the summary or a review and then decide.
I also don't like the Vincent covers. They're not books I'd want to put on my shelves. >_< I believe that when you display a book on your shelf, you're basically displaying a type of art, just like any home decor. Those covers look really dirty, I agree.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really think about it that way, but you're right. Book covers are a type of art. So, what follows is that it's kind of a reflection of your taste. I know that one of the things I do when I go to someone's house is look at their bookshelves and see what's on it. (Or I notice when they have no books, too) And, I guess, you can't help but trying to see what those books say about a person's character, interest, opinions, etc. And, you're right again, I'd never put these books on my shelf. I probably will try one of these books, but it's going on my ereader. (Kind of the 50 Shades effect of reading something you're semi-embarrassed about on your ereader because no one can see what you're reading.)
DeleteI actually started laughing while reading this, you are absolutely right. If your book cover is mimicking a porn star's bio, you've gone wrong somewhere down the line. As for the tiger woman cover....... worst YA book cover ever.
ReplyDelete-Sarah
Yes, Otherkin is one of the worst YA covers ever. If your cover actually drives people away from reading the book, it's not doing its job. The function of a cover is to make people want to read the summary, and then the book. The Otherkin cover does something exceptionally bad- which is that it turns off its target audience- YA readers. When you can't even tell a YA book is a YA book and not erotica, that's a sign to design another cover. I wonder who- in the publishing side- is responsible for this. It's embarrassing, but I've actually had a few authors contact me when they've "won" the I Hate This Cover of the Month and say that they have very little control over this. That it's considered a marketing decision.
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