New Historical Cover Trends

Posted by Leslie on September 17th, 2007 | No Comments

Wordwenches has a fascinating post on the newest cover trend for historical romance and fiction. The use of art, instead of cover models. Instead of a male sweaty torso, we see a period-custom painting of a young woman.

I’m liking this new trend. It’s a mix of two creative lures: fiction writing and art. It automatically tells you that you are picking up an historical and yet you aren’t embarrassed to read it out in public. No more half-dressed men and women who are on her knees before them. I see, instead, a strong woman, who is beautiful and regal AND in her own time period.

Of course, Wordwenches states a few of the problems facing these types of covers:

Which leads me to my Question of the Day: With all the thousands of historical images available around the world and over time, why are publishers using the same paintings over and over?

However, for the sake of fair reporting, I have to note that fine art covers on historical romances are, in several cases, proving more confusing than enticing. Readers aren’t “seeing” these covers as romances, and seem to feel a traditional clinch (however overdone) announces a romance much better than a 19th century portrait — or so the marketing folk are whispering with trepidation.

Honestly, when it comes to the sale of my own historicals, my opinion probably won’t mean much. Very few publishers ask their authors for ideas and some even limit an author’s pushback. So we’ll see…one day…