Publishers Weekly recently published an article on clinch covers. Since I've been running a segment on locating the next Fabio of romance novel models, I was immediately drawn to read the post. I was certain heaving bosoms, flowing hair, and orgasmic looks would be disclosed. I was pretty much right. Overall the article was pretty savvy I thought.
Two romance bloggers were quoted in it, Sarah from Smart Bitch and Kate of Romancing the Blog. Both bring up some very valid points on clinch covers. While never officially polled by readers in general, Sarah is confident based on several posts on trashing silly looking covers that readers hate clinch covers. They are "a complete and total embarrassment for the reader." Nothing screams trashy romance novel in my opinion more than a couple embracing on the cover!
This is why paperback book covers were created - its not to protect the book, it's to protect your ahem... virtue from the immaturity of those around you. Who here has had someone take the book they were reading and start searching for the sex sections and read them out loud? I certainly have been a victim of this. The worst instance was with purple headed warriors and womb-brooms... no joke. I was mortified even as I made fun of the passages too along side the other mockers. Who couldn't make fun of purple headed warriors? Still, when this happens you pretty much want to curl up and hide because stuff like that just gives the genre a bad name.
However, it's not just romance novels that are defined by a clinch style cover. Kate from Romancing the Blog says, "A clinch identifies the genre in a way that leaves no question about what you're getting between the covers." Can you name some clinch cliches belonging to other genres? I can - unicorns and flowery fairies with wings or sorceresses with long flowing robes make up fantasy novels. Though I am sure nobody's picked up a fantasy and mocked the reader for it... maybe a paranormal like a later Anita Blake.
Where do you fall on clinch covers? Love? Hate? Both?
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This post was written by...
Keira – who has written 1034 posts on Love Romance Passion.
Keira's favorite type of heroes are blind, scarred, and tortured... yes, she understands those should be separate, but all 3 at once is also nice! She enjoys historical romances best and adores audio books because great narrators turn books into auditory/mental movies (and she loves her romantic dramas like Pride and Prejudice/North and South!) Learn more about Keira in My Instant Turn Ons, Offs, and Ifs.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
purple headed warriors and womb-brooms??? OMG, that’s hilarious.
I actually cringe everytime I get an email with a new cover in it. “Please don’t let it be tacky” has become my mantra as I open the document to see what they’ve envisioned as my new cover.
My 1st cover did include a couple embracing, but it wasn’t bad (only a few smart remarks received). (-; Overall, my e-publisher does a good job with the covers and my print books will be with Imajinn. I have yet to see a tacky cover from them (thank goodness).
I don’t know what I’d do if I got a really skanky cover. I despise them, and if I hapen to be reading a book with a cover like that, I tend to keep it face down on my desk.
Oh I would be too – if you’ve been to Smart Bitch you can see some of the horrors they’d pulled to mock. Usually with caption contents and the like.
It’s good to hear that you’ve received some pretty great covers. I went and looked myself and nothing is embarrassing about what I saw. Woo!
I totally read the skanky-looking books face down too; whether it be in my lap or on the desk or wherever. I try very hard to hide the covers. I haven’t gone so far as to purchase a hide-a-book cover , because the books that truly need it never leave my house! lol