Saturday, March 23, 2013

Cover Art Woes & the Nonexistence of Lady Zorros

So...I have a book. When it was first released with a publisher, the cover I was given... Let me just say finding a woman Zorro is HARD. Finding a woman Zorro that isn't white and blonde (Really!!! Zorro was Spanish!) was harder. We made do...


Maiden Behind the Mask

My readers hated it. So when the book was republished, a friend redid the art. Readers voted for it on a poll here on Book Babe.

Well....




Had they read the book, they'd known a woman in a dress with a lace mask does not suit the story at all. But they didn't read it--there hadn't really been time as the pub crashed so quickly.

However, the lace mask began to irritate me a few months down the road. The artist did a fantastic job with what she had available--jack squat in lady Zorros, but it wasn't growing on me. So I just did a Spanish senorita thing, as when Catalina is not El Capitan, she's a lovely senorita.


Maiden Behind the Mask

I'm very happy with cover three, but now there are THREE of them. Now, stock images are used over and over. I just saw Avon romance use my dude on Love Request. But there are always little differences. They never look exactly the same. The problem with this is everyone (just like me) just added text to it.



The Spanish Hotel

So I ask you, readers and authors, how important is it to have UNIQUE cover art, because I certainly don't.

Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? To stand out in this industry, to pimp this book, should I get new art? Go back to lace mask and dress? What?

2 comments:

  1. I personally don't like exact duplicate covers, but I understand that they can't always be avoided.

    One suggestion I have is maybe rather than trying to find a woman zorro, just use a zorro mask. I know I'm not like all people (an understatement! LOL),but I don't *have* to have the hero/heroine, couple on a cover for me to be interested in a book.

    So maybe just a mask... maybe eyelashes showing... or maybe lace gloves, something to show femininity.

    I don't know... just thoughts... ha

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is an idea!! Thanks so much for suggesting it.

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