It's Not Because I'm Bored

It’s not because I’m bored

You may have noticed that the cover images for the ebook edition of The Tale of Lunarmorte have changed. Again. And no… it’s not because I’m bored. I don’t like changing the cover images to my novels because I don’t want to appear indecisive or unprofessional.  Sometimes I’ve changed them because I’ve had the finances to better the original images. With The Tale of Lunarmorte it’s been a case of listening to my readers. I first changed the covers because reviewers felt the cover art didn’t live up to the actual story. This time around it’s because a few people have complained that the cover image for Moon Spell is ‘suggestive’ and inappropriate for a YA novel. At first I was a little taken aback by this perception of the cover. When I chose this cover art I never once thought of it as a ‘half-naked’ girl flaunting herself. I loved the green that reminded me of the forest, and the black sheath Caia is holding on tightly to was supposed to be representative of her link to the Midnight Coven (the dark coven). The slight show of flesh to me was just a symbol of what she was when metaphorically stripped – a werewolf. However, some readers have taken offense to the image and now that I’m aware of that I can’t stop thinking about it when I look at it. So I decided to change the Moon Spell cover a week or so ago. The new cover art affected sales negatively so I returned to the original cover. But again… the fact that I might be offending my target audience just doesn’t sit right with me, not at all. So I’ve uploaded a new ebook cover art for Moon Spell. It’s still soft and pretty and captures Caia’s demeanour in the first novel. Problem is… this cover art no longer matches the rest of the trilogy cover art, which I happen to be quite fond of. But needs must… I’m a bit of a perfectionist and hate that the covers don’t match. So I’ve uploaded new cover art for River Cast and Blood Solstice. I particularly love River Cast. The images harden and become more paranormal as they move from book to book, representing Caia’s developing personality and power over the course of the novels.

Since my paperback sales are low and the original images translate on the paperback so much better than they ever did on ebook, I feel reluctant to change them, so the paperback images will remain the same for now.

This is all just part of being a writer. I’ve said it numerous times. My readers mean everything. I listen to them. I adapt as a writer because of their good advice and opinion. There is a difference between remaining true to yourself as a writer (I won’t change the content of my novels because I believe I push the darker elements of YA without being offensive) and doing what you can to not deliberately offend or put people off your work. It’s amazing the impression cover art can give before you’ve even picked up a book. I know I’ve been put off by suggestive YA cover art and run-of-the-mill cover art only to read the book after a recommendation and discover what a great novel it is. So… in order not to offend… I adapt. And I will be looking at my cover art from now on from every angle before I put it out there.

Sam x