Got your attention didn’t I. That’s because sex sells. It’s a fact. Non negotiable. You put a picture of a semi-nude model, male or female, on the cover of a book and you are going to garner interest ( translation: interest = sales). You use a semi-nude pic of GI Joe and with the exception of a few people you are going to have them pass right by  (translation:pass right by =no sales). Yes that’s putting it in very simplistic terms but I’ve been arguing this point for nearly two years now and I am really tired of it.

Renders versus Live Models has been the bane of my professional existence from day one. I have good friends who render. I have good friends who are industry famous models. Both camps are filled with people just as passionate on the subject as I am. Hold up. Before I go any further I have to put this disclaimer in here. My opinions about the render industry have nothing to do with the people IN the industry. I respect my render artist friends for their talent at what they do. Just because I have little regard for 90% of the work produced by the industry in no way means I do not hold THEM in high regard. Okay with that said the rant can continue.

Again putting it in very simplistic terms – who would you rather see rolling around on the sheets – GI Joe and Ken or oh…I don’t know… how about CJ Hollenbach and Julian Fantechi? For those voting for GI Joe and Ken you might want to just go ahead and toddle off. This blog is definitely not for you. For the rest of us voting for the CJ and Julian fantasy smack down (lol I couldn’t resist) I have to ask- Why don’t the publishers get this? Time and time again I keep getting slammed with either “readers don’t care about the covers as much as you think” or “Bottom line babe. We’re here to make money and model shoots cost too much. Renders are cost effective and the way of the future. Deal with it.”

Deep Breath

Yes I can hear each and every one of you saying WTF!

Take another deep breath and I’ll go on.
The first fifty times I heard this I was new to the publishing biz. I had very few people to consult who knew enough about the industry to help me understand or convince me what was what. I took it on the cheek and kept going. Then I got knocked on my ass by an internet harpy who said I was childishly naïve about the business and should simply pack up my crayons and go home. Sooooo, after picking myself up off the floor, I reached out to a few people. By some weird twist of fate I tripped over a cover model who happens to be very business savvy. Bless his heart he took the time to explain “the cover art” biz in little words so I would be sure to get it all. He broke it down to – yes publishers are in the business to make money but no it doesn’t cost THAT much to hire a model to do a shoot. Yes renders are the way of the future but no he wasn’t sure it was going to last because readers are picky about covers and it would –in his humble opinion- swing back around. Yes fans do care that the model on the cover doesn’t look anything like the hero in the book and no he didn’t understand why publishers weren’t getting the message. Yes he was getting booked for shoots so obviously someone still wanted live models on their covers and no he didn’t have any plans for next Thursday- dinner would be fine. Ooops…. TMI…. ahem….he educated me about the cover model business over the course of about ten e-mails but I got it loud and clear. Use of renders versus live models was up to each individual publisher and I would have to be careful who to sub to if I did not want GI Joe and Ken on my covers under the covers as it were.

So here we are back at the core question. Your fingers are walking thru the online catalogue of an e-publisher or braving the elements to go to your local bookstore. Which cover is going to entice you to buy that 8.99 book? GI Joe giving Ken his come hither plastic gaze or CJ and Julian rolling around on a king size bed wearing nothing but a 1000 count Egyptian cotton sheet? Sorry but my money’s on the sheet. How about you?

TTFN
AERYN