Guest Post: Why Book Covers are So Important by Veronica Thatcher

Guest Post

Why Book Covers are So Important by Veronica Thatcher

Book covers. A common mistake that most orthodox-minded writers make is that they don’t pay attention to the book cover. After all, there is an age-old maxim about it. “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” So, writers think, who in hell cares for the cover?

Rookie mistake. In today’s modern world, no one follows maxims. If they did, life would be much, much simpler. Everyone, in fact, does the very opposite. They do judge a book by its cover. And why shouldn’t they?

Let’s face it, book covers are like first impressions. The cover is the first thing you see when you pick up a book. You read the back matter – the synopsis and author biography much later. Just like first impressions are the most important, so are book covers. If you fail to make a compelling first impression, whatever chance you did have is down the drain.

While picking out the cover of my debut novel, A Way Back Into Love, I was over-obsessed with finding the perfect cover for my book. I spent all day and all night, every day, on stock image websites like Shutterstock and Adobe Stock. I was driving myself, my mother and my project manager so crazy that my mother finally gave up and said it. “Why do you care so much about the cover? The book is what matters the most! People are gonna be reading the book or gawking at your cover all day long?”

Oh, Ma! If only you knew. As I said, orthodox-minded people from the 90s who have this stereotypical notion that no one judges a book by its cover and that if a book is good, it will sell even if the author sits inside the four walls of his/her room all day and does nothing to market it, will never understand that the cover of a book is one of the most important marketing tools a author has.

Covers have the ability to speak to the eyes that behold them. It can draw a reader in instantly, or repel the reader to such extent that the reader will not bother to flip your book and read the back matter despite the fact that your book is the next Pride and Prejudice.

An attractive cover is like flirting. It captures the attention of the reader and forces him/her to flip the book. Covers also represent the content of the book. It gives the reader a taste of what is to come.

A risqué cover often represents an erotic romance. A sweet cover in pink could represent teen fiction. A dark cover with solid colours could represent dark romances, forbidden subjects, serious issues, paranormal fiction or a murder mystery/psychological thriller.

After a lot of humming and hawing, a lot of back and forth, I finally chose a cover for my debut novel that I thought represented its theme. I was not overly satisfied with the cover due to my cover designer’s reluctance to add filters to it, and the cover may go under serious editing post release, but it’s OK for now.

What I see a lot these days is that most of the romance novels out there, whether self-published or traditionally published, have a racy cover or a guy’s chiselled chest on the front, even though the content of the book might be suitable for teens. I don’t understand this trend. There are a lot of graphics that can represent romance and still fall in the PG-13 rating. Why go all R-rated on covers? Just because it sells? Fifty Shades of Grey is not suitable for anyone below the age of 21, and it still has a decent, intriguing cover. You can keep a romance book’s cover clean and family friendly and still represent it thematically. A cover is supposed to hook the reader – I believe one should try to keep it thematic yet a bit intriguing instead of just exposing a raunchy scene to the readers and just give away what the book is about. Keep an air of mystery surrounding it – choose a cover that has a deeper meaning and resonates with its beholder.

In the ideal world, of course, you could choose a cover with a melon on it and your book would still be a bestseller. If you hold that opinion, then no one’s judging you. We are nothing without our own principles.

About the Book

Nothing is perfect. Life is messy. Relationships are complex. Outcomes, uncertain. People, irrational. But love…well, that makes everything complicated. And when you are caught in a tangled web of secrets, lies, and complex affairs, someone is bound to get burned.

Emily Stevens is a spunky, spirited college girl whose life gets turned upside-down when she realizes she's in love with her best friend of fifteen years, Derek Thorpe. As Emily prepares to confess her feelings to Derek, something happens one night which changes her life forever. Five years later, Emily finds herself in Boston, alone and heartbroken. Will she ever be able to forget the past? And what will she find when she returns home...to the man she left behind?

Buy Links

Paperback: Amazon.in I Amazon.com 

Ebook: Amazon.in I Amazon.com

Excerpt

Emily stepped back from him and shook her head. “Oh, you know damn well what I mean. You know what, Derek? I’m done having this conversation with you. I’m so done with this conversation and I’m so done with you,” Emily spat out angrily before brushing past him.

“Emily, wait,” Derek said, catching her by her arm. “Where are you going?”

Emily spun around and gave him a bitter look before looking down at his hand gripping her arm. “Leave my arm,” she said in a low yet threatening voice, “And why do you care where I’m going? It’s none of your business.”

Derek didn’t leave her arm in spite of her warning and said, “Em, you’ve had too many drinks. You can’t drive in this condition. I’ll drop you home.”

Emily jerked her arm free from his grasp and replied in a bitter voice, “Thank you, but no. I’m perfectly capable of getting myself home on my own. I don’t need you to drop me home. Do you get it, Derek Thorpe? I DON’T NEED YOU!” Emily yelled the last words, causing a few people to look their way.

About the Author

Veronica Thatcher is an exciting new contemporary romance author. Ever since she was very young, she’s dreamed of becoming a doctor when she grew up. While still forging ahead with that, majoring in pre-med in college, she unwittingly stumbled upon a new dream—becoming a published author. Some may call her an introvert or a wallflower, but she has always found she could express herself better in written, rather than spoken, words. However, never in her wildest dreams had she envisioned she would pursue writing as a prospective career, not just a hobby. Her love for writing goes hand-in-hand with her love for a good romance novel—whether it be a feel-good, sweet romance or a dark, suspenseful one. When she’s not studying, reading, or writing, she is usually found blasting her favourite songs, sometimes singing and dancing along to them.  She dabbles in a number of activities, including painting, karate, singing and dancing. She is a huge chocoholic – probably the biggest – and she is an ice-cream junkie too. She considers herself technologically handicapped forever and has no shame in admitting that. She also deems chocolates her boyfriend, Patrick Dempsey the love of her life, and Friends her life!

Her first book, A Way Back Into Love, is slated for release in February 2017, and she hopes readers will enjoy it as much as she enjoyed writing it. You can reach Veronica through Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Wattpad and Gmail.