Covers.

I don't get a say in my book covers, but I've been extremely lucky with them, thanks to the great choices made by my publishers and the skills of the artists they chose.

I say "I don't get a say." That's not strictly true. I'm canvassed for some ideas early on and hit up for descriptions of scenes/people for the artist. Then later I see the result. It's possible that if I didn't like the finished article and threw a temper tantrum something might change - the situation has never arisen, so I don't know. But by that point a lot of time and money would have been sunk and so change would be difficult.

The thing is that authors know writing. When it comes to art they (sometimes) know what they like - but that's not the same as knowing what the market likes and what cover will sell. So it's not unreasonable to put those decisions into the hands of people who are directly involved in that end of things with years of experience.

Anyway - let's play a game. Pretend I was in charge of the cover.

I was inspired/triggered into writing Red Sister by an image that Jane Johnson, my editor at Voyager, sent me in response to a blog post I wrote about the impact of an author's gender.

The picture was by Tomasz Jedruszek and I looked up some of his other work, some of which seemed to fit what I was writing.

So, all three of the images below have cover potential, capturing a moody, dark, challenging attitude. But I've also been paying attention to all the back and forth about representation of women on fantasy covers - including the 'men in females-on-covers poses' stuff that Jim C Hines blogged on a number of times, and the talk of sexualising women on covers. It happens in romance too where men are often presented as headless carriers of an eight pack...

Anyway. I discover that whilst with some chest/butt-thrusting images the line between exploitation/poor representation and just strong/attractive is clear ... in others it's blurred.

Consider these excellently drawn Jedruszek images:

There's a poll HERE where you can vote to register your opinion.

She's sitting like many men do, but is the pose with the sword and the spread and strapping a sexualised one? Would it put a woman (or man) off buying a book if it were a cover?

Again, another dark, bold, challenging protagonist. But nipples and fishnet stocking rather undermine the image if one were considering it for a cover?

And another striking image, hardly a square inch of flesh on display. But would you see a 'cover man' holding a sword like that. Is it just me or is there some phallic symbolism at work?

My suspicion is that all three of these might deter rather than invite some readers? Yes? No?


For ease of viewing: The Poll Results with 214 respondents.

The main difference is that in moving from image 1 (the most sexualised) to image 3 (the least sexualised) the male voters are always less concerned (i.e. don't think the images are 'too' sexualised) than the female ones and consider (by majority) two of the three 'fine', whereas the majority is always for 'too sexualised' among the female voters.


An interesting exercise is to google the phrase female fantasy warriors, click IMAGES, and see how many you have to count through to find one you feel would be acceptable on a cover (i.e. wouldn't put you off picking it up).

Some comments assembled from twitter etc:

(from a man) The first image could be great for a new book. The girl is mysterious and challenging. Must have a past I would like to read
(from a woman) Lose the nips on #2 and it's the best of the lot IMO.
(from a man) strong and lethal, my favourite is the second one.
(from a man) Number 1 looks like a movie poster for a bad porn movie, number 2 is compelling, but the nips and garter belt make it a bit more sexualized than you probably want. Number 3 seems like it was created as a reaction to the other two.
(from a woman) Hugging the sword is just silly. The center one is the strongest balance IMO.
(from a man) re Michelangelo's religious works: androgynous flat-chested thin hips: saints couldnt be sexual. Run w/ what works, screw em
(from a man) 1st looks bit too fetishy for me, 2nd is good, didn't notice tights cos face is so arresting, 3rd a bit meh all round
(from a woman) (are they strong or sexualized) Both. They aren't exclusive of each other. More sexual than your covers with men, but in a way that is subtle and empowering
(from a man) if they were male would it even be an issue (me) but if they were male would they be in those poses?
(from a woman) I agree with the comments about the 2nd one. With the adjustments, it fits what you've told us about Red Sister perfectly.
(from a woman) definitely prefer the middle one, would be much less inclined to pick up a book with the first cover.
(from a woman) why do women on covers have to be showing flesh or in skin tight/see through gear? Why not properly dressed for their role?
(from a woman) 2nd image would elicit the least eye-rolling from me (though I'd still snark about the nipples & fishnets.)
(from a woman) 3rd has better clothes but the pose with the sword just seems very lame. It's not a pole to dance on.
(from a woman) 1st- eww. 3rd, um, what exactly is she doing w. that ...? 2nd striking, determined, minor demerit for silly stockings.
(from a man) The 1st says: "I'm a badass. If you wanna fuck w/ me, literally or figuratively w/o my permission, you will lose your junk.
(from a woman) love the manspread one, it feels a little tongue in cheek. Less enamoured with the other two.
(from a man) Interesting, Mark. I find the first one to be most striking. I wish there was a way to combine the mystery and power in her gaze from 1 and the military acumen and less suggestive sexuality of 2. There's a way for her sexuality to be a part of her power in the image but that line is different for everyone so good luck with that.

(from a man) Why should there be comparisons to how a male would be depicted? Take each image in its own right without gender comparison. Some of the more malicious female characters can exploit sexuality for their own gain to achieve an agenda. So, would depicting female characters in such a perceived sexual manner be far from the character's traits? At the end of the day it should be the blurb on the back cover that influences purchases. The old adage applies - don't judge a book by its cover.
(from a man) I liked the second image more...if just because it (to me) implied the more practical way to hold a sword.
(from a woman) I prefer the first one specifically because it mimics a male pose, no more or less sexual. It's a powerful pose.

EDIT:     And here is the Red Sister US cover!

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