by Nadia Lee
Cover art is one of the most important -- if not THE most important -- marketing tools there is. There are literally thousands of books out there, and when you see a cover that really pops, you tend to give that book a second look. And when it comes to bookselling, getting a potential reader to glance at the blurb is half the battle.
Given this, I always try to fill out the cover art sheet with extra-special care. I sometimes copy & paste a few relevant descriptive passages if I feel that they'll be helpful to the artist.
Filling out the cover art sheet isn't usually that difficult for me... except for my characters' eye color. For some reason I can almost always remember their hair color, style, texture, the shape of their eyes, height, build, etc. but never their eye color.
I just don't notice eye color in general, probably due to my upbringing in Asia. There, people have dark eyes and so there isn't any real reason to notice another person's eye color. And this aspect of my upbringing affects how I envision my characters as well. I rarely think about their eye color, and I have to make a conscious effort to note all my characters' eye colors and record them on a separate Word document so I can keep track.
Of course, the luck would have it, I didn't have that for The Last Slayer because I lost it when my computer crashed. Thank god for the "Find" function in Word!
How about you? What features do you remember the most vividly about characters on book covers or when you imagine a character based on a description in a book? What features do you not care that much about? Answer for a chance to win an electronic copy of The Last Slayer! (Open international) Oh and don't forget to say happy birthday to Tori! :-)
Tori: Thank you Nadia! :)
Nadia Lee’s websites, social media sites:
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It's Giveaway Time!
Ashera del Cid is a talented demon hunter, but when she kills a demigod's pet dragon, the hunter becomes the hunted. Her only potential ally is Ramiel, a sexy-as-hell demon. Now the two must work together to battle dragons and demigods...and the chemistry crackling between them.
Ramiel has his own reasons for offering Ashera his protection. He knows her true identity and the real reason the demigods want her dead. What he can't predict is how she'll react when she discovers he knew who she was all along...
Ashera is shocked to discover that she is the only daughter of the last slayer. To claim her destiny, she and Ramiel must join forces to face down danger and outwit their enemies. Only then will she be able to truly accept her legacy...
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the Author
I am always surprised by books covers. Sometimes I love them, I also really love book spines and how a series looks all lined up together. What really gets me is the cover models sometimes look NOTHING like the described character. Hannah Jayne has a great series with these hard core looking UF cover model on the front, while the actual book character is far more normal and never wields a sword or wears leathers.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Tori!
ReplyDeleteI usually remember a character's hair color, eyes and height. I think I pay attention to eye color because my eyes are blue and a lot of people notice them, so I notice other people's and remember them. The features I don't care that much about are the rest of the face.
Hi Nadia, characters are pretty important to me but how they look comes the descriptions more than anything. The cover model helps but depending on the traits it may change. The traits are also what makes them memorable to me. How they interact with others, the nuances and reactions to situations.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday! Really, the only thing I tend to remember about descriptions is people's hair color. I'm not that good at picturing characters, so I tend to ignore the descriptions. I do notice clothes though more than physical characteristics.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday. I remember the characters personalities the most more than there looks. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com
ReplyDeletehappy birthday! Covers are what draws my attention to a book and check out the blurb. I like man-titty of course, but it is all about the attitude of the cover. I like dark urban fantasy so I look for covers that show kick-ass people on the front.
ReplyDeleteI don't pay much attention to the descriptions of characters. I form my own picture of them based on their personalities. Sometimes I find out my mental picture isn't anything like the actual characters description in the book .
Happy birthday. I remeber personalities more than looks.
ReplyDeleteI am often drawn to a book by its cover, it can really snag my attention but then I read the blurb and if it doesn't hold that attention I put it back. As far as characters I love descriptions that are pretty detailed so I can "picture" the character as I read, which bugs me when the description doesn't match the cover picture :-)
ReplyDeletemarielay@gmail.com
I totally agree with a book's cover being what gets me to pick up a book!
ReplyDeleteOne of the most wonderful things about books is that although the author gives a vivid description of a character, the reader is given leeway to imagine that character, to some extent.
Sometimes, while reading the book, I'll look at the cover and think to myself, "That is SO not (insert character name here)!". But, every so often, when the cover artist really "gets" the author and the character, it's magic!
elizabeth @ bookattict . com
Happy Birthday Tori!
ReplyDeleteI'm not always partial to faces on a book cover because most times they are just not right, but sometimes they hit them dead on. Bodies are usually the right route to go so then I can imagine the face myself:)
yadkny@hotmail.com
So true that folks really do judge a book by their cover. There's a website I follow that highlight the best of the worst, and I have to wonder why some authors signed on for those train wrecks.
ReplyDeleteNo worries with The Last Slayer, though. That's definitely an eye catcher!
Smiles!
Lori
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY too!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love covers because they help visualize the characters. I usually remember the hair color, especially if there is something special about it.
ReplyDeleteI love covers...Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Tori! Hope you had a great day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blogpost Nadia, and the chance to win your book. I love covers, which is the main reason I still keep buying more paper books than ebooks. And I agree with some others here, haircolor is one of the things I remember most often, and eyecolor only if it is something very unusual.
Happy Birthday, Tori!
ReplyDeleteBook covers are important to me because, well, it is the first thing to catch my eye. I love sexy hunks and heroines or dramatic covers but it is the ending (must be a HEA) and the blurb that usually decides me, and of course, reviews and recommendations of friends.
The eyes, the physique, the lighting and the background
ReplyDeleteHair is the first one I notice on book covers - and it seems to be the one cover artists always get wrong!
ReplyDeleteThe other thing is definitely physique/manner. Which is probably more related to stance and dress. But there are some covers where all I can think is "dear god she wouldn't be caught dead in that getup!"
I actually find it interesting how far afield the actual cover is from my vision of the characters. Paranormalcy is a great example of this. Not at all what I thought of Evie looking like.
ReplyDeleteMy mind tends to mesh a characters looks by combining the cover image with the description from the book.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Tori!
ReplyDeleteI must admit that though I read a characters physical traits I often forget them as I read unless it is a really unusual trait.
For me, I remember really liking Holly Black's Black Cat and White Glove covers, but those were probably the exceptions to most. :s I imagined the characters in the book as somewhat like the book covers, but with more description from the books. I usually don't like the kiddish covers of the youth Harry Potter releases for the US and prefer the adult covers. I prefer symbolic images from the novels over depictions of the characters usually because the graphic artists' interpretation of the authors' work doesn't fit mine! That being said there are some gorgeous covers out there. *__*
ReplyDeleteI remember the most... the bevel. I like it when the dust jacket has beveled words. I just kind of poke at the bubble the entire time I read.
For me, I remember really liking Holly Black's Black Cat and White Glove covers, but those were probably the exceptions to most. :s I imagined the characters in the book as somewhat like the book covers, but with more description from the books. I usually don't like the kiddish covers of the youth Harry Potter releases for the US and prefer the adult covers. I prefer symbolic images from the novels over depictions of the characters usually because the graphic artists' interpretation of the authors' work doesn't fit mine! That being said there are some gorgeous covers out there. *__*
ReplyDeleteI remember the most... the bevel. I like it when the dust jacket has beveled words. I just kind of poke at the bubble the entire time I read.
That's a way cool cover.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the birthday wishes everyone :)
ReplyDelete