Since I’m buried in work (and writing this post well in advance), I thought that rather than post about what I don’t have time to read today, I’d post a question! I’ve noticed lately that Keith and I prefer different book covers. He almost always prefers the British cover and I almost always prefer the American cover. Obviously, this isn’t always the case, but the trend is quite marked. It’s had me wondering whether it’s a result of years of one style resulting in a aesthetic preference or whether it’s just coincidence. So, since they released both covers for the absolutely fabulous Michelle Moran‘s next book, Cleopatra’s Daughter, (which I saw on Historical Tapestry, many thanks to those lovely ladies, and about which I am very excited), I thought I’d see which one you prefer.
I find both covers appealing, but one sticks out to me as more so. Which appeals more to you?
The right one caught my eye because the gold is definitely more eye-grabbing, but ultimately the left one looks more refined.
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I like the left one better because it is simpler and the red “dress” is appealing. I’m not sure I like the fact that her head is cut off. The woman on the right cover just doesn’t look like Cleo’s daughter.
I’d pick up either of them. I like the left more. I actually prefer the font on the right and the Egyptian vibe, but I find the title a bit hard to read. Plus the hand placement on the model looks awkward to me. Not natural.
So the left wins because of simpler lines & design… but I definitely waffled for a while there…
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The one on the right. I like faces.
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I prefer the one on the left. This is terrible, but I think the one on the right looks like a porn or cheap e-book cover.
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I prefer the one on the left, too.
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I much prefer the one on the left. The model on the right looks like a Hollywood actress, not Cleopatra’s daughter, and her costume looks like a negligee–it doesn’t say “ancient Egypt” to me at all.
I prefer the one on the left too. I find that I often prefer covers that do not show actual faces of people. The only reason I can think of for that is because I like to imagine what they look like on my own.
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I am the same way Wendy!!! Today when I told Natasha that, she said “oh you’re one of those.” HA!! Glad to know you’re “one of those” with me!
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The left. I like the red, I like the simplicity, I don’t terribly like the model and there is something to be said for leaving the face to imagination.
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I’m torn. I think I’m leaning towards the one on the right; it’s more ornate, and it instantly caught my eye. It seems like the cover artist has tried to give the book a very Egyptian feel, and I like that. But at the same time, the one on the left has a lot going for it. It has more of a Greek look to it, and I feel like that captures the period a little better. I also tend to prefer photo covers that don’t show the model’s entire face. Hmmm.
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Generally, I’m not a big fan of the eyeless women book covers (They’re a dime a dozen these days, especially in historical fiction), but the cover on the left is more visually striking to me. Love the red, and the overall composition. The one on the right looks too Photoshopped to me.
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Thanks for playing along, everyone! I definitely prefer the first cover, which as you may have guessed is the American one. I’ll probably end up with the cover on the right, though, because it comes out here earlier. I think the one on the left looks much more elegant and shows the Greek influences in Egypt. I also do like faceless models. I think it’s a bit of a strange trend, but I prefer not having a pre-determined image affect how I read the book.
Hi Meghan,
I hope it doesn’t spoil the fun if I chime in, too ;] I definitely like the American cover better. As others have pointed out, the English cover looks overly photoshopped and a bit cheesy to me. I’ve been promised by my UK editor that this isn’t the final version – that the final version will “blend” better and look less like a pop-out book! But I’m not sure it will change too much.
For the American cover, we began with a face and a blue garment. However, the British model had a rather large nose, so we decided to crop half of her face and change the blue to a more passionate color. We also added a snake bangle on her arm, and this is the final product. although I am given a degree of input into the UK cover, I have much more input into the American, which is probably another reason I prefer it!
Michelle it is so great that you added your two cents in! I agree with you (and basically everyone else) in preferring the America cover. As you said I think the UK cover looks a bit cheesy right now, but I’ll be interested to see what the final version looks like and would read it no matter what!
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Of course not, thank you for stopping by! It’s really interesting to hear how these things are decided. I do hope they make the English cover look a little less outrageous, but I guess we’ll see. The content is the important part, after all. =)
Coming late to the party to say I prefer the one on the left too. I think that the yellow font gets lost on the gold dress which is a little lost in the gold background as well!
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I like the one on the left. Simple lines and the red calls out to me.
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I like the right one – it feels more Egyptian to me for some reason (maybe the clean lines on the one on the right just seem more modern?) I’m not crazy about the composition, though… I can’t really tell from the little pictures, but the photoshopping on the hair of the woman on the left looks kind of messily done.
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I like the one on the left as well because I like the red dress. It’s very striking. That and the girl on the gold cover looks a bit, well, not nice and it’s kind of annoying how she’s holding her hair.