Tuesday, November 28, 2017

The Power of the Cover with Author Seelie Kay today on #RB4U


The Power of the Cover
When I am looking for a hot read, two things push me toward the cash register: The cover and the blurb.  But the cover, oh, that cover. That can make me stop dead in the middle of an aisle, take a few steps back, and grab a book from the shelf. The blurb merely reinforces my first impression, or not.
There are all sorts of covers, of course.  For most authors, the trick is creating a cover that actually conveys the essence of the story inside and grabs the attention of the reader. That’s not easy. My publisher requires that I complete a form for each book.  I am asked about the key elements of the story and what I think would make an ideal cover. That information is submitted to a cover designer. Then, when I get the first proposed cover, we negotiate.  I tell the designer what I like and don’t like. I make suggestions as to what will make the content clearer or more appealing. And when dealing with books in my Kinky Briefs series, I make sure that the consistent elements are always present.
For example, Kinky Briefs is a collection of “Sizzling short stories about lawyers in love, with a dash of kink.” The stories are told from the perspective of a young female lawyer who toils in the backroom of a law firm. (As a former lawyer, that perspective seemed fitting.) The stories encompass everything from drama and humor to tragedy and redemption.  There are currently three books in the series and a fourth is on the way. So I need those covers to clearly convey that the book is part of a series, as well as communicate that the stories are told from the perspective of a young female lawyer, and involve romance and kink.
Here’s what we came up with. To indicate that the books are part of a series, the words “Kinky Briefs” appears on the cover in a consistent typeface, size, and color, with the position of the book in the series (Too, Thrice, Quattro) added. To convey that the stories are about lawyers in love, we added a tagline that includes the words lawyers, love, and kink. To communicate that that the stories are told from the perspective of a young female lawyer, we decided on the half-figure of a young female dressed professionally, but youthfully, not in the stuffy designer suits some older female lawyers wear. Finally, to emphasize that the stories include a dash of kink, an open briefcase with a pair of handcuffs peeking out always appears somewhere on the cover.
When the covers are placed side by side, it is clear they are part of a series. Then the blurb is used to reveal the variety of stories each volume contains. 
As to the perfect cover, the one that made me stop in my tracks, take a few steps back, and grab the book off the shelf?  I have to give that to my latest novella, A Touchdown To Remember, part of Extasy Books’ 2017 Stocking Stuffing series. Although a generic cover is used for the entire series, the gorgeous half-clothed man donning a Santa hat, a man with a bit of stubble, dark hair, and incredible blue eyes, that made my eyes glaze over with lust and my heart go pitter patter.
If I saw that cover in a bookstore, I would buy the book merely to keep the cover under my pillow to feed my dreams at night!



A Touchdown To Remember
By Seelie Kay
(Release date:  12/7/2017)

It takes more than a hard knock on the head to keep running back Tim Wheezer Douglas down. When life pelts him with the proverbial lemon—a career-threatening concussion—he simply runs the other way, right into the arms of litigator Laura Adler.

When a second concussion sidelines Milwaukee Greyhound running back Tim Douglas, the rest of his life continues full-speed ahead. A sometime law student, Tim is faced with a classic Catch 22: Whether to continue to play football and risk a third and possibly life-altering concussion or quit the game altogether to pursue a career as a sports agent. He loves the game, but his priorities change when he meets Laura Adler, a sassy, sexy young attorney and rabid Greys fan. Their sizzling romp of a romance turns serious and Laura demands that he make a decision about football before she accepts his marriage proposal. Will Tim choose football or the law, and what role will Laura play in his future?

Buy links:  None yet, but will be available from www.extasy books.com first, then Amazon Books, Barnes & Nobel, and other major booksellers.

Author links
Website:  www.seeliekay.com
Twitter:  @SeelieKay
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seelie.kay.77



1 comment:

  1. Covers do make the biggest difference with books! I wish you all the best!

    ReplyDelete