Psst… What Do You Think About My New Cover?

new cover

The House Guests, at bookstores in June 2021.

Authors wait, hope and pray while a new cover is in the works. We don’t always have a lot of choices, but Mira’s cover art department made some welcome changes on this one between the initial concept and this final version. The book (June 2021) is set in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and I was so delighted to see a marina and a sunset.

What do you think about the concept, and how does the cover make you feel? Can you tell from the artwork alone what kind of story it might be?

When it comes right down to it, what’s the most important part of a cover for you? The art work? The concept? The fonts?

Or the author’s name.

I’m listening…

22 Comments

  1. April on October 28, 2020 at 3:57 am

    The art work is what attracts me first to a book.
    I also look at the author to see if it is someone I have read and enjoyed before.

  2. Joni on October 28, 2020 at 6:01 am

    I first look at Authors name
    I love this cover!! Can’t wait to read this

  3. Terry Guerra on October 28, 2020 at 6:08 am

    I go for the author the majority of the time, But I have discovered new authors quite by accident when a cover has caught my eye. This cover is gorgeous and intriguing for sure; you know something is up! Can’t wait to read it!

  4. Kathleen O on October 28, 2020 at 8:22 am

    I usually go first to the author and then the cover, but what really sells me is the story. That has to reel me in.

    • abby moore on October 28, 2020 at 12:24 pm

      I go for the author then the title, then I read the back of the book to see if it’s something I think I would be interested in. I don’t pay much attention to the art of the cover unless its something trashy then I know it’s not something I would be interested in

  5. ROSEMARY Ann FORSTROM on October 28, 2020 at 8:24 am

    I like the cover, the placement of your name, the sense of movement, red sky over the harbor. Eye catching !

  6. Joan Leopold on October 28, 2020 at 8:26 am

    The cover is intriguing. The first thing I look for is the author’s name.
    Can’t wait for this book. Love Tarpon Springs.

  7. DELORES on October 28, 2020 at 9:03 am

    Lovely cover but love the warning, too. This will not be just romance! I think I see the scenery first, the colors. I choose most books because of a known author, but the cover definitely has to be inviting if I’m looking at random books and authors. I really hadn’t thought too much about how much a cover means until your blogs started bringing them up.

  8. Robyn Gatti on October 28, 2020 at 9:10 am

    Emilie, it is always your name that draws me in…your novels have me hooked with the first page and I know I won’t be able to put the book down once I start reading…you are always my first pick author…can’t wait until next June…

    • Emilie Richards on October 28, 2020 at 11:08 am

      Thank you so much, Robyn. I am delighted you are enjoying my books.

  9. Denise Almazar on October 28, 2020 at 10:05 am

    I really like the cover! You’re name is right on top…the picture is great. It makes me wonder what is happening in this picture. The comment on the bottom really makes me wonder what the story is about. I’m excited to read it!

  10. Diana Hopkins on October 28, 2020 at 10:55 am

    love it thats the kind i look for when shopping for books

    • Emilie Richards on October 28, 2020 at 11:11 am

      Thank you everybody for your great comments. I’m glad you find the cover appealing. It’s too late for me to do anything about it, but I never felt I needed to other than make a few comments. (The woman in the foreground, Cassie, had VERY windblown hair, which they tamed. And I asked them to tone down all the orange–sunset–and maybe add a little purple instead. They gracefully complied.) I liked the idea right away, and once we added the tag line, it seemed to do just what we hoped it would. It’s women’s fiction with suspenseful elements, or domestic suspense. I think all this with the title makes the point.

  11. Judy M Zell on October 28, 2020 at 2:11 pm

    I love this cover, the sunset, marina, and windblown hair. I read all of your books, but am sometimes attracted by the cover on a book from an author I have not read. I normally do not pay attention to fonts, but am annoyed by the current batch of books that have no real picture on the cover, just a title that looks like it was painted on a wall in a hurry with a wide paintbrush. Also, I’m surprised at the title on this book, not at all like you had originally proposed.

    • Emilie Richards on October 28, 2020 at 3:21 pm

      No, it’s not the original title. The marketing team felt it sounded too much like a collection of short stories. We batted around a bunch of other possibilities, but my editor came up with this one. I wasn’t sure it would really capture the flavor of the story (although I liked it) but when we added my tag line and then I saw the cover, I knew we’d be fine.

  12. Adelyn Grudier on October 28, 2020 at 2:17 pm

    This one looks like it wil be a real winner. The woman looks just worried enough to make you wonder. shse’s not in panic state yet but will she be before the end of the book? I like to see the authors name prominent as well. Sometimes we select a book because we know an author will deliver something worthy to be read. Then we look at the cover art and it fills in some of the blanks for us but not all. There are just enough hints to make us wonder.
    It is going to be a long wait until mid-next year to get to read this book. Bring it on…

  13. Beth Larklund on October 29, 2020 at 10:35 am

    Interesting cover and questions. By the cover on your book, I would assume it is a mystery/suspense story.
    First thing is the authors name. I do buy by author, alot. Mostly sight unseen. Especially these days, as I can’t go into a shop to browse.
    2nd is art work. Intriguing artwork will get me to pick up a book everytime. I’m very attracted to color.
    3rd is title. The title has to grab my attention.
    The rest not so much. I only notice Font if it’s so funky I can’t read it easily.
    The back cover blurb is also important. I look to see what the book is about. Then, I will read the first paragraph or so. Looking to see how the writer writes. I will never forget the time I picked up Dean Koontz “Frankenstein ” and stood in the book store for 45 mins because I couldn’t stop reading! Needless to say, I bought the book!

  14. PAMELA FEINBERG on October 29, 2020 at 3:28 pm

    Love the cover of your upcoming book. Can’t wait until it comes out. Really looking forward to reading it.

  15. Nancy C Lepri on October 29, 2020 at 3:49 pm

    I love the cover and I have to say that lots of times that’s what interests me first. Then I check out the author, read the blurb, and decide whether I want to read the book or now! Of course, I always love reading your novels, and I can’t wait to read this one. This cover is very intriguing and piques my interest.

    • Emilie Richards on November 1, 2020 at 11:24 am

      I’m so glad you and so many others here love it. And like you, I’ve had the experience of being drawn into a book by the cover, even occasionally buying one because, you know, if the cover is lovely the book has to be good. Right? (No, but that’s another blog.) In this case, I hope it’s true.

  16. Diane Williams on November 18, 2020 at 11:53 am

    How generous and humble that you look for feedback.
    I look for Authors I trust won’t waste my time on a bad story, so author’s name and placement matters. I love that yours is always prominently at the top, uppercase serif. Typeface matters.
    Your Title styles vary. I’m not sure what this all uppercase, sans serif, spaced typeface says. Not as traditional as your last book – a family of Strangers. I loved everything about that including that the message there was in the family as “strangers” juxtaposition.
    This Title is muted by the artwork which I don’t like. Title IS identifier.

    Best, best wishes. I cannot wait until it distributed.

    • Emilie Richards on November 18, 2020 at 3:00 pm

      I do appreciate feedback, and I’m delighted you’re looking forward to The House Guests. We have little input on things like fonts, and honestly, I’m so clueless myself I’m like the proverbial novice art collector: I don’t know anything about art, but I know what I like. I didn’t choose either title or artwork, but they were so much better than others I’ve had that I was beyond delighted.

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