Publishers Weekly ■ F E B R U a R Y 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 Selfpublished Romance
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February 2015 Designing Indie Romance Covers From Wattpad to the Bestseller List Top Five Resource Books for Self-Publishers Reviews Roundup 58 New Titles Listed SELFPUBLISHED ROMANCE Forget Fabio: DIY Covers Today’s indie romance cover art reveals B J MC a new kind of sexiness he rapid embrace of self-publishing over the past book with a sexy cover and still read it in public without fear of decade has increased the competition among in- being judged. die romance authors to put out professional, This leads us to back to the basics of cover design: where do memorable cover designs that fit within the designers get these sexy photos that grace the covers of our fa- genre and adhere to current trends, but that stand vorite titles, and what goes into selecting them? Tout in a crowded market. And while the cover design process at a major publisher may involve the art department, editorial, The Problem with Stock Images sales and marketing, and publicity, indie authors must go it Faced with the challenge of creating a memorable book cover alone. We talked to a variety of authors and designers in the on a shoestring budget, many indie authors and their freelance industry who shared their advice and observations about what’s designers turn to stock photo sites for the images they need. hot for romance covers in 2015. Sites like Shutterstock or iStock offer users a massive selection of photos that can be downloaded for as little as $12 and as much Industry Overview as a few hundred dollars. But, while these sites are indispensable Before the now-iconic monochromatic Fifty Shades of Grey cover for authors and designers creating covers on a budget, their design, the romance industry was perhaps best known for its popularity also causes some problems. Harlequin “clinch covers” of the ’80s and ’90s, usually featuring “I think the biggest challenge is avoiding the overuse of cer- the bare-chested model Fabio Lanzoni embracing a busty maid- tain stock images,” indie author and graphic designer Rachel en. “A clinch cover—a couple engaged in an embrace, some- Carrington says. “You don’t want a couple on the cover that is times wildly passionate, sometimes sweeter—is a romance clas- on four other covers.” To remedy this, she says she searches sic,” says Romance Writers of America board member and New specifically for images that don’t have a high volume of down- York Times bestselling author Leslie Kelly. It’s something she loads—something that can be tough if a designer is looking to predicts will never go out of style. (The clinch was so popular it keep up with current trends. was even used in the original cover design for Marian Engel’s “The problem with stock images is that many of us authors controversial 1976 novel Bear—a romance between a lonely end up using the same photographs for our covers,” says Katana librarian and a brown bear.) Collins, a freelance photographer and author of the paranormal Despite the enduring popularity of the classic clinch, Kelly Soul Stripper trilogy. Since the beginning of 2015, she says she’s says she’s seen a lot of changes in cover trends during her years found the stock image used for her current indie cover, Captur- in the romance writing industry. She points out that just ing You, on two other books. For this reason, as genres and subgenres become popular, so do cover de- she says she plans to photograph the images for signs—citing the Fifty Shades of Grey “erotic romance her next covers herself—thereby ensuring that frenzy” as well as the vampire craze. “Early in my career, I they’re unique. remember seeing the start of the very faddish cartoon Courtney Milan, a New York Times bestsell- cover for contemporary romances. They were all you saw ing author of historical romance and a freelance for a while, then died out as the market became so glutted cover designer, points out that the stock image with them readers could no longer tell them apart,” she problem is exacerbated when it comes to books says. Even covers featuring dogs “popped up for a while,” featuring minorities. She says there are “very Kelly remembers. little decent, usable stock photos of people of But, while self-published and traditional romance cov- color for covers.” Milan found, for example, ers often follow the same trends, she says that indie covers that of the 107,151 results for “bride” on a tend to “skew hotter.” “While traditionally published books are popular stock photo site, fewer than 723 of the results featured still trying to grab the passerby at Walmart or in a brick-and- black women. That’s 0.7% of all the available photos, she notes. mortar store, [self-]published books are typically targeted toward In addition to what Milan points out is a troubling imbalance, electronic readers,” she says, which allows readers to choose a this lack of images featuring people of color also makes a de- 32 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ F E B R U A R Y 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 SELFPUBLISHED ROMANCE signer’s job much more difficult. regularly used, but it’s not always possible,” What’s usually a two- to three-hour Faizal says. She points to typography-driven process searching for the right stock cover designs that turn the title into a work of image can become a much more labor- art, citing the YA titles Shadow and the Bone, by Leigh Bar- intensive process. For her next book, dugo, and The Winner’s Curse, by Marie Rutkoski, as successful Hold Me, (which features a tattooed indie examples of this trend. Thai man in the lead role), she decided In another nod to the use of color and a typography-focused to sidestep the stock photo issue and design, romance author L.H. Cosway’s latest cover (for a ro- arrange a photo shoot on her own. Mi- mance set in a traveling circus with a fire-breathing hero) is Courtney Milan lan says that, with just one model and inspired by old vaudeville circus posters. It was originally sup- no elaborate costumes, it was posed to feature a fire-breather, but she says that a relatively simple shoot at a reasonable price. “It’s “in the end I decided to go back to basics and more than stock photos would be,” she acknowledges, simply showcase the title.” While it doesn’t look “but I can specify pose and costuming, and I can get like a traditional romance cover, the simple de- someone who looks something like the person inside sign, the innovative use of color, and the typogra- the book.” phy focus are all in keeping with the on-trend Despite the issues presented by stock photo sites, elements cited by other authors and designers we Collins notes that, ultimately, it’s the skill of the de- spoke with. signer that will transform a single stock image into a Though she admits she’s not an expert, Cosway professionally designed cover—which means the dif- points to the surge in originality that has taken ference between “an image with some words on top place in indie covers recently: authors are making [and] a beautiful, well-designed professional cover,” an effort to be different. “Of course,” she adds, she says. “sexy topless men on covers probably aren’t going away anytime soon, but I like to see authors who push the boat out and do Less Is More something new.” “There really is only one big challenge in cover design,” Milan says. “The indie author who is choosing graphic artists, stock What Sells in 2015? photos, etc., needs to either have decent taste that aligns with While the design elements that help a book cover stand out are current marketing, or [she] needs to have friends who do [and] varied and often subtle, the cover image is queen—whether it who will tell her honestly if what she has works.” was Fabio in the ’80s, a high-heeled shoe in the ’90s, or a pair In terms of what’s working in the industry today, the authors of cuff links in 2012. “When I look at the bestseller lists for and designers we talked to are in agreement: “I think simplicity romance right now, three things really pop out,” Leslie Kelly does it now; it used to be that the fancier covers were the ones says. “The man’s naked torso, the timeless clinch, and the warm that really got the attention,” says Carrington, who adds that her and romantic setting.” She notes that the naked torso covers recent clients are asking for uncluttered covers. “Nowadays, it’s are everywhere across all genres, in both self- and traditional cleaner lines and unique colors.” Her favorite at the moment are publishing. “They usually show the guy from the jaw down, the monochrome covers with color used only in the title or on a because most readers want to fill-in-the-blank in their mind part of the image. “It really draws your eye,” she says. Collins with the hero’s face. But a hot body will always catch a reader’s also says that, as an author and a reader, eye,” she says. she is drawn to simple covers using a Kelly also points to the continued success of object covers. single symbolic image. “There will be a beach, maybe a couple’s feet, maybe a swing on Graphic designer Hafsah Faizal says a porch, maybe the front of a yarn shop,” Kelly says.