Recently, I had the pleasure of joining Sistahs in Lit & Life for a live chat where we spoke about all things Demon’s Dream. During our talk, we discussed some people being less inclined to pick up Demon’s Dream because the cover looks like “a club flyer.” In all actuality, it depicts images we are familiar with seeing as some aspects of black culture. The purpose of the cover is to attract your target audience, so if Karen walks by and sees the cover and says, “Oh my, that is not for me,” then, it’s not so upsetting. On the flip side, hearing black women dismiss or ridicule my work because of a cover is more hurtful. While I scoff at those who determine a book’s value and appeal solely by its cover, as someone selling a product, I have to ask myself, am I possibly turning away future readers who are the target but are not drawn to a particular set of graphics? Let's dive deeper into this “judging a book by its cover” debate.
As much as we like to say that we don't (or shouldn't) judge a book by its cover, we can’t help it. If readers see a visibly appealing cover that catches their eye, many will stop, pick it up, read the synopsis, and often buy it. That is part of the marketing of the book; the cover was created to catch readers’ attention and tempt them into purchasing the book. I have seen many people say that if there is a black woman on the cover, they will immediately buy it, given our lack of representation in so many spaces, places, and genres. But is that truly the case? How important is the context in which the black woman cover model is in?
Some readers are strictly “choose a book by its cover” readers. While they are part of the target audience, these readers may not pick the book up because the cover depicts images that are too raunchy (or “too” something else). They don’t even take the time to figure out what the book is about. By ignoring the synopsis/blurb, reviews, and author history, these readers put themselves at risk of missing some really good books. There are many reasons covers may not accurately reflect a book’s content. An author’s finances must be considered. So must the issue of access to talented cover artists. There are also cases in which authors may have certain visions, but give their publishers or others complete control over their book covers. All of these circumstances (and this list is not complete) have the potential to result in the characters or stories not being depicted properly or in a way that appeals to all the readers the author wants.
For example, I can honestly say that I am not a huge fan of the covers for my The Beauty of This Street Love series. Now that I am more cover-savvy, I am changing them because they no longer align with me and my work. I was in a similar situation to the one I mentioned above briefly—I had no interest in choosing cover models or images, so abdicated responsibility. While I am grateful to my publisher for making all those annoying decisions I did not want to make then, I am now in a position and head space to make those creative decisions myself.
I hate to be cliche, but I have to say it: you really can't judge a book by its cover. As authors, we put so much into our characters and our stories that sometimes, there is almost nothing left of us to give for cover art or those awful synopses. This is not the case for all authors, of course. While I never gave covers much thought (the synopsis hooks me), I know and admire some authors who exert such complete creative control that they design their covers themselves. Still, I believe readers should venture out, at least sometimes, and give books a chance. Yes, even if the cover may not be something that would typically catch their attention. They may be pleasantly surprised by what they come across.
At the end of the day, as all things go, this is a personal choice. You decide what kind of worlds you want and don't want to dive into and what situations you want to read about. As always, I just wanted to put my two cents in and initiate a little conversation. Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Before I forget, there are black book events taking place in February. How appropriate in a month dedicated to celebrations of both love and black culture! Black Love Reigns is a virtual book event taking place February 13-15th where authors will be listing their books at discounted rates. Love Y'all Romance Book Fest, occurs from February 17-18th in Atlanta, Georgia. Lastly there is The San Antonio African American Book Festival, which takes place on February 24th in San Antonio, Texas. I will provide the links for the events below, and as always
Blissful Reading!
Black Book Events
Black Love Reigns: https://blacklovereigns.com/
Love Y'all Book Fest: https://www.loveyallfest.com/
San Antonio Book Festival: https://saaabookfestival.mailchimpsites.com/
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