There is that old adage that you should not judge a book by its cover. As a metaphor that is fine but in our world that is exactly what happens. To an extent that is what they are there for. I first got seriously into publishing as a book illustrator and cover about fourteen years ago, the cover is so important it is the image that makes a potential buyer pick up the book, then the back blurb is the second hook, then the opening line. It is the cover that has to grab you though. A while back I was chatting to a friend and it was obvious what I liked as covers differed from what she liked to see on romance covers. It kind of triggered a crisis here in the BVS camp as to what makes a good cover. I have been looking more closely ever since.
As I see it for romance and erotic romance, the cover should show something of the nature of the book, action, D/s, historical, or whatever… the image should reflect. Looking at some of the contemporary romance covers some look a bit cheesy. One of the only things I really liked about the book “Fifty Shades of Grey” and the follow-up books, were the covers. I think the covers were simple but very classy something I hope we capture in our own covers.
As always I am open to suggestions and comments if anyone feels they would like to add their ten cents’ worth.