I read a blog article (here: https://www.whoamancepodcast.com/blog/2020/5/11/6-reasons-cartoon-covers-are-bad-for-romance) about why cartoon covers are bad for romance. It was an interesting and enlightening read. I did, however, disagree with the general assertion that cartoon covers are bad for romance, and here is why:
- Very, very few independent authors have $1k-3k to spend on a high-quality cover photo. In fact, just now– after self publishing for 7years– is my business able to afford a high quality cover photo (I’m currently working with a model/photographer to recover my Laws of Physics trilogy, moving from semi-illustrated to photos). Illustrated covers allow independent authors an affordable alternative that’s also high quality in appearance. As an author, the cover is a very personal decision, the best reflection of the interior of the book as is possible (balanced against limitations in resources) at a given time.
- Alternatively, stock photos are available (which are much less expensive). But good luck finding a stock photo that accurately represents the characters that are being written, especially if your characters aren’t a white blonde woman or a muscular, six-pack-ab white man. I searched and searched for a stock photo of a big beautiful Latina woman with a tall, bearded, hairy lumberjack of a man. I never found one.
- Illustrated covers are sex-positive, because they make the “heat level” a non-issue (is my opinion). Sex on the page should be as accepted and “normal” as sex in a relationship (is my opinion). Covers shouldn’t (in my opinion) give a short-cut as to the number of sex scenes. The story should dictate (in my opinion) whether and how many and how explicit the love scenes are, not the cover, just like the story dictates all the other scenes in the book. Why should sex scenes be so special (as opposed to all the other scenes in the book) that they alone contribute to the cover and creative direction?
- Illustrators are artists (as are many photographers) and illustrated covers are damn beautiful. As a author, seeing my books and the characters within accurately represented by an artistic rendering is a big f$@king thrill.
- Related to all of the above, representation matters. If affordable photos of diverse populations don’t exist, seeing oneself represented in a beautifully illustrated (done with obvious care) cover is so meaningful and important.
- Variety and innovation should be celebrated. Just because things have always been done a certain way doesn’t mean that a new approach is a middle finger to the past. I self-published my first book in 2013 and remember how unfriendly the environment was (at the time) to the innovations of self-publishing. But now (hopefully) we know better. Self-publishing and traditional publishing are two very valuable and viable approaches to publishing books. Another example: in my first real job, I encouraged the office staff to move from a paper system to an electronic one. So many people were resistant, telling me over and over, “We’ve always done it this way. We shouldn’t change how things are done.” We ended up with a combination system, because sometimes paper *is* better, and sometime electronic is better. Similarly, sometimes photo covers are better, and their awesomeness isn’t lessened by a new approach to cover creative. Illustrated covers are awesome too.
What are your thoughts? Are illustrated covers bad for the romance genre? It’s totally cool if you disagree with me. Discussions of these sorts, about the philosophy and approach of artists while balancing reader interest and engagement are some of my favorite discussions.
Best, Penny
Penny Reid is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY Bestselling Author of the Winston Brothers, Knitting in the City, Rugby, and Hypothesis series. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she just writes books. She’s also a full time mom to three diminutive adults, wife, daughter, knitter, crocheter, sewer, general crafter, and thought ninja.
I especially like #6. I have no real opinion about photos vs illustrated covers because I feel like it’s the author’s decision in how his/her/their book should be represented. What I dislike is having authors’ choices constrained by an industry that continues to ignore or dismiss non-mainstream stories. I trust authors make the best decision for their creative work given their constraints, whatever they are. That being said, I do think it’s important to talk about what those issues are in the hopes of creating more choices for authors and readers.
I like illustrated covers better. Or a combo – like the foreground being a picture and the background being illustrated. You raise valid points about accessibility. Ultimately though I think that whatever works for the time and doesn’t block the book being published is what the author/publisher should go with.
I’m with you on EVERY point. This article was written by someone who has never spent three weeks of her life trolling stock photos for a shot that even comes CLOSE to capturing the look and feel of her characters and storyline. Good grief. Mile in my shoes, anyone?
The whole article was tripe. I mean–she’s right that you can’t tell the heat level. But I don’t read for that. I blurbed that sweet one she uses as an example. And I also read high heat. So what?
I have never, ever given this a thought. I am more likely to turn away from a book with the exaggerated ‘perfect’ couple photo. The illustrated cover can be much more interesting than the classic and repetitive cover photo.
To be honest, when authors have the big reveal of a cover, meh, I want content not cover.
This feels like a made-up controversy that someone sold as an article and good for them, they made money. What they didn’t make was a difference.
I agree with your 6 points, Penny, but I only have the view point of consumer, not an author. I would like to ask: how important or impactful are covers with the increasing use of ebooks and ereaders? Personally, the cover holds less sway than the reviews in Goodreads or Amazon. Also, with your last point, I am less likely to notice a cover with one beefy man but more likely to stop and look at a unique cover illustration or photograph.
I wholeheartedly agree. I dove into the romance genre hardcore with your Winston brother’s series, and I believe it’s because of the covers! They were unique and inviting. I own one Tessa dare book with some scantily clad models on the front and my husband never stops teasing me when it catches his eye. Many times I feel like objectifying the main character(s) can take away from the story. This coming from a graphic designer… I love a good illustrated cover!
The first book of yours I read was Beauty and the Mustache. Part of what drew me to it was the cover. I loved the cross stitch design. I think it intrigued me to check it out. If it had been a traditional cover, I may not have given it a second look.
Also, I feel your book covers are part of your brand, they are uniquely you.
Point not brought up, but as a reader, I feel more comfortable reading romance books in public, at work(elementary school) with an illustrated cover Versus an over the top steamy photo cover.
I love artistic covers! Rarely do I like book covers with half naked people on them, because sometimes it’s just way too cheesy for me. Usually, when I do like a book cover with models on it, it’s because it has a more artistic feel to it, like it could be hanging on a wall or in a photography exhibit.
While I don’t have an opinion of illustrated covers, I think they give me the impression of the book being from a certain sub genre. One challenge I have is with regular contemporary, how do you convey heat level? I think with photo covers you can sometimes interpret the heat level by the models or the “tone”of the photo? It’s difficult to do that with illustrated covers. When I see illustrated covers I tend to think light, fun, romcom-ish, maybe on the sweeter or younger side. But it’s hard to gear the heat level. I love all levels, but I think that’s a challenge. Some people like to know what they are picking up.
That being said—some of my favorite authors have used them for years in very unique ways…(ex. Kristen Ashley) and I love the uniqueness of your Winston Bro’s. Series because both stand out with the branding.
Yes. 100%
I agree with you, and what’s more, I prefer the cartoon covers. They are almost always more beautiful, less cheesy and age better than the ones with the photos. Some are so gorgeous they would make cool prints for my home, so, yeah. Cartoon covers are better.
Cartoon covers always catch my eye more and I find that I’m willing to try more new authors this way. It’s how I found you and Sally Thorne.
Great post! I’m not an author so have no idea what covers cost but I can imagine that is a huge factor. Plus, I cannot stand scrolling through stock photos myself so I can only imagine the mundane task to find one that “fits” the character in the story. I wrote a post looking at this trend toward graphic covers in romance books earlier this year and highlighted your Knitting in the Series covers – which I adore! https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/blogging-tips-talk/romance-book-covers
The saying goes “don’t judge a book by its cover”…. Well, guilty. There are many books I’ve passed up because of the cover. It is possible they are the best books ever and I’ve ignored them because of the cover art, but I have a hard time even reading the synopsis of a badly covered book. Most of these bad covers, in my opinion, are related to mixing photos and bad graphics and fonts. Fonts are *super* important to me. Probably more than is healthy (lol). Knowing the financial limitations of cover art (who knew it was thousands of dollars to design a cover!), will make me take second looks at novels I may normally pass up on. Illustrated covers specifically are some of my favorites. They are clean and and modern looking and are almost always accompanied by a good font. I love this post. Your next one you should do an analysis of fonts used on covers! Hehe
I completely agree with all your points. I desperately want the cover to represent the story and characters inside the book, the heat level aside. Sadly, the stock photos are the most affordable option for those with small publishers or doing their own covers. Unless you’re selling heaps of books, you can’t get the better quality covers. But then of course covers can help sell your book! It’s a real challenge
I agree! I see the original article’s suggestion that particularly trad publishers are repressing, etc. But for me, I enjoy the illustrated covers, love the variety, and definitely feel the pain on the author end. I’m a sweet author anyway, so I wouldn’t be putting abs on my covers as it is, but I also definitely can’t afford custom photos. I did for my first series and used real people and while I love the covers, they do kind of look like real people (gasp!). I’m sure I’ll need to redo them, and I imagine they’ll end up illustrated. This was such a helpful article though, because I was just debating about my next series’ covers and wanting to do illustrated but wondering if it was a mistake. In the end I think I feel like your thoughts (and the other article’s) have clarified my own thoughts and my reasons for opting for illustrated. We can never please everyone anyway, so if an illustrated cover rules certain readers out, I suppose that’s how it goes.
I happen to like all types of covers. I appreciate the art of each type.
Let me tell you how I discovered Penny Reid. I had not read any romance books in over 2 decades. I had stopped relating to them. Neanderthal Seeks Human was my first foray back into the adult romance genre. Do you know why I decided after 20 years to read it? It was NOT the cover. It was the subtitle of “A Smart Romance Novel”. I never buy and decide to read a book because of the cover. The synopsis has to be good. Period. I mean, just how many hot guys with six pack abs are there in the real world? (This is why I eagerly await Penny’s new “Dad bod series”). So, illustrated or photo-shopped covers do not factor. The content in Penny’s books is what keeps me coming back.
I love illustrated covers, and am drawn to them. I do also love the sexy covers with photos, but I do get upset if the photos don’t match description of the characters. Now that I have read a bunch of your books, I would read them regardless of the covers.
I love your illustrated covers and think they provide an excellent first look at what we can expect inside.
When looking to read a rom-com novel, the cartoon covers are my go to. I like the freedom of character development in my mind rather than a photo presenting misleading images.
I appreciate reading this because I typically pass by books with the cartoon-ish covers. To me, they are very mid-century looking (they remind me of 1950s replication quilt fabrics & fonts). I read a lot of urban fantasy and paranormal romance and actually prefer the covers to the cartoons because they often portray the to be of the book well.
And I don’t care what other people say, so if they throw shade over the cover of a book I’m reading in public, it doesn’t phase me. I don’t pick up anything I would be ashamed of reading. If I was ashamed and needed a private cover, then I probably shouldn’t be reading it.
When I first saw the trend, my first thought was the censorship police must be out and giving tickets. So I’m glad that I found your article. It articulates things I didn’t think of from the author’s POV that I have to start thinking about.
Thanks for the insight!