What Covers Do Romance Readers Prefer?
3August 8, 2013 by Mod
Recently a question was posed on a writer forum I belong to:
“Has anyone seen any data (or does anyone have any anecdotal evidence) that covers with a couple sell better than covers with just a man, or vice versa?”
Never one to be daunted, I set out to conduct a little research of my own by asking romance readers and writers to answer some questions.
Here are three Romance covers:
Take a look at the covers again, thinking about how romantic you think the books will be.
Great! Almost done. Think about the covers again. what do they say to you about the heat level (sex scenes etc) of the books?
And finally, literary quality. Some romance novels contain beautiful, complex prose, while some are just fun reads. Which of the above covers do you think suggests the most literary book?
Super! I hope I get some interesting data from this poll. If you have any other comments about the covers above, or about romance covers in general, I’d love to hear them. everyone who comments will get $10 off their next cover purchase or a free query consultation.
Thanks!
(cover images courtesy of Jason Baca and Faestock)
Cover Your Dreams 
I really enjoyed this little exercise, and found the responses to be just what I’d assumed! So interesting.
I didn’t finish because I don’t like ANY of those covers. I do not find myself “attracted” to the book and actually it makes me less likely to get it….even if the book is in a Kindle and will not be on display. I am 66 and maybe it’s an age thing. It’s not a prude thing; I’ve been published in erotic romance. And where’s the hint of the story? Is it all just sex? That’s how it seems with those covers.
I do, however, like many of the covers on your site. Most of them give me a hint of a story (granted their pre-made) but the idea is there. These, not so much.
Mitzi Reinbold w/a Mitzi Flyte (alias C.O.W. Cranky Old Woman)
[…] women can’t appear shirtless on book covers, I don’t know. I did some interesting research about this a while […]