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Old 05-08-2013, 07:50 PM   #2426
James D. Macdonald
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Publishers are all about one thing: Selling as many copies of a given title as possible. If a different cover sold more copies they'd be on it like white on rice.

As Han Solo said, "Look, I ain't in this for your revolution, and I'm not in it for you, Princess. I expect to be well paid. I'm in it for the money."
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Old 05-10-2013, 08:34 AM   #2427
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Quote:
Originally Posted by allenparker View Post
The on thing this author misses is that a cover is the visual ad that entices the reader to put the book in their hand. If the cover gets them to pick up the book, then it has done its job. After that, it is the blurb's and etc job to get the reader to carry the book to cash register.
^I have to agree with that.
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Old 05-12-2013, 02:15 AM   #2428
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I looked through the slide show. I would feel very cheated and lied to if I picked up a book with a sunny-happy cover like the redone Carrie, and got the real Stephen King Carrie.

The colors and tone of a cover need to represent the tone and story of the book. I want to know if I'm getting a creepy scary story or something mushy and fluffy. It's a big difference.

I'll read both. But only when I'm in the mood for that kind of book. It's like someone selling you a bottle of water, only to find it's really vodka. You might like vodka, but not when you really want water.

I agree this person doesn't seem to understand what the purpose of a cover is.

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Old 05-12-2013, 05:14 AM   #2429
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Are you sure you got her intention right?

She complains that a female author will get a "soft" cover no matter the content of the book, just for being a girl.

Hence the play around with male covers "femalized"

Agree or not, she is pointing out that covers ought to reflect content, not authors gender.

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Old 05-12-2013, 06:48 AM   #2430
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Hmmm... I'm thinking of female authors like CJ Cheryhh, Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Ursula Le Guin, and a few more. I seriously doubt that one could say that their covers were softened or feminized just because they were female.

I cite the covers for Storm Over Warlock, Dark Piper, Dread Companion, The Zero Stone, Dragonriders of Pern, All The Wyrs of Pern, Diving Into The Wreck, just to name a few.

All female authors. All very well known. Not a single soft or feminized cover among them.

It may be a case of the author attempting to portray a "softer" image to the publisher or the publisher perceiving the attempt to be "softer" by the author. If it's hard action scifi adventure with a bit of romance mixed in, don't emphasize the romance part, emphasize the important parts. What's the story? Where's the emphasis? Is it on the action or on the romance? If it's on the romance then, yes, there will be a softer cover. But publishers like action too and they know what sells. Action sells. Romance sells too.

But there's nothing like a Mack Bolan cover to get someone's attention and get them to pick up the book - and getting the customer to pick up the book is 80% of the sale.
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Old 05-12-2013, 06:06 PM   #2431
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Speaking of Viable Paradise (as I frequently do at this time of year; going to Viable Paradise means that I personally will make you a Gibson), Viable Paradise swept the RT Book Awards this year for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category:

Science Fiction Novel
REDSHIRTS
John Scalzi, TOR, (June 2012)
(Former VP instructor)

Fantasy Novel
THE SHADOWED SUN
N.K. Jemisin, ORBIT, (June 2012)
(VP Student)

Epic Fantasy Novel
RANGE OF GHOSTS
Elizabeth Bear, TOR, (March 2012)
(Current VP instructor)
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