Cover Design - Does It Really Matter?

I look at a lot of book covers. These days, that means almost exclusively e-book covers. I subscribe to eighteen different advertising services. You’ve probably seen some of them – they send you a daily e-mail, listing free and discounted e-books. This type of service is ideal for those readers who want to be specific about what they receive. For example, I receive a range of romance books plus women’s fiction, and sometimes I check the box for thrillers and action books. That means you don’t have to slog through listings of books that don't interest you. It’s a great system.

Since I get so many of them each day, I’ve become adept at scanning them. And do you know what? I’ve found that the book cover is even more important than many experts indicate. No doubt I’ve missed out on some good stories, but if the cover doesn’t appeal to me, I don’t look at it. Why should I when there are so many from which to choose?

From the point of view of a writer, this is where a good cover designer comes in. I need my covers to stand out from the rest – or at least be attractive enough that a potential reader will stop and check it out.

I had the good fortune to discover a new cover designer recently. New to me, that is. Elizabeth Mackey has designed covers for some of the most popular authors of the day, such as Melissa Foster, Russell Blake, Nick Russell, Kate Aaron, Anna J. McIntyre, Traci Tyne Hilton, George Wier, and Billy Kring. You’ll find many more authors on her website: Elizabeth Mackey.

Elizabeth has now re-done seven of my covers and is working on another as we speak. Those of you who know my books will recognize Between a Jock and a Hard Place. Since Elizabeth worked her magic on the cover, sales have gone up about four-fold.

Elizabeth has also designed the covers for a new series I’ll be releasing throughout 2015. She excels at this – putting thought, plus her talent into coming up with a look, or a theme, if you will. I’ll be excited to share them with you when the time comes, but right now I’d better get back to writing them.

So when you see an outstanding e-book cover, remember that there’s a talented designer behind it. And of course … enjoy!

Check out Elizabeth's covers HERE. 

Links to my author pages:

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Mona-Ingram/e/B001JSDJVO

iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/mona-ingram/id478033499?mt=11

B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/mona-ingram?store=allproducts&keyword=mona+ingram

Kobo:  http://store.kobobooks.com/Search?Query=mona+ingram&fcmedia=Book

Sex or Story?

As a romance author, I read a lot. In between reading romance, I delve into other genres and over the past couple of years I’ve found many great new authors. New to me, that is. Among them:

Russell Blake:  Russell has exploded onto the scene in the past couple of years, garnering a legion of fans with his Jet series, his Assassin series, and his newest, featuring Artemus Black, a series he describes as ‘hard-boiled, noir detective’. I’ve read and enjoyed most of Russell’s books.

George Wier:  George’s book, Long Fall From Heaven, co-authored with Milton T. Burton, has recently been named as one of MysteryPeople’s Top 5 Texas Mysteries of 2013.

Nick Russell:  Nick’s newest, Dog’s Run is receiving rave reviews. More than a finely crafted mystery, it picks you up and sets you down in a small Ohio town in the 1950s. The language, the descriptions, the undercurrents are so powerful you feel you’re there!

   But I digress... as usual. For those of you who read romance, you can’t help but notice the trends these days. All the ‘grey’ covers, for example. Now where did that idea come from? All of the bared chests with sharply defined abs. Shirts hanging open. And billionaires. According to the current wave of romance books, in most big cities, women must be wading through waist-deep piles of billionaires!

   Am I knocking these things? Absolutely not. That’s what romance is, after all... it’s fantasy. I have plenty of fantasy in my own books, and it’s fun.

   So what’s my point? My point is that in most of the romances I’ve read lately, the story takes a back seat to the sex. Romances are becoming little more than a series of sex scenes, linked by the thinnest story line you can possibly imagine. And that bothers me.

   Give me some story with my sex. Please. Make me care about the characters. Tell me why they do what they do. I don’t care if they have sex the day they meet, or a month later, or ten years later. I personally feel that a romance needs some sex – be it implied, or explicit. But please! Give me a story as well to hold my interest. Without that, frankly, too many of the current romances out there are boring.

   And nobody likes boring.

Link to my Amazon page:  http://www.amazon.com/Mona-Ingram/e/B001JSDJVO/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1387075112&sr=8-2-ent#/ref=la_B001JSDJVO_pg_2?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB001JSDJVO&page=2&ie=UTF8&qid=1387075166