tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886184679252057946.post993449524503270864..comments2022-03-02T00:28:14.337-05:00Comments on TYPE A LITTLE FASTER: Branding or GenderingSarah Darer Littmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780738493733344947noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886184679252057946.post-40018401259496671262018-03-25T18:11:44.741-04:002018-03-25T18:11:44.741-04:00I have an MBA in Finance, and I'm still someti...I have an MBA in Finance, and I'm still sometimes bewildered by decisions publishers make. Part of the problem, IMHO, is there's so little communication with authors about the business aspects of their books. I can't tell you how many times I've found out stuff about my career by accident from a Google search. It's a strange industry. Wonderful, but very strange. Sarah Darer Littmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00780738493733344947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886184679252057946.post-6678208281965471662018-03-25T15:09:56.925-04:002018-03-25T15:09:56.925-04:00Sounds like publishers need to understand if they ...Sounds like publishers need to understand if they go with covers that appeal to both genders, they will sell MORE books (the perfect example is the baseball book with a dog on the cover). As it's a business first, that ought to have more sway with them, right?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07655734045189412543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886184679252057946.post-33072407161308705972018-03-21T23:28:40.817-04:002018-03-21T23:28:40.817-04:00Is it me, or do male authors not receive more real...Is it me, or do male authors not receive more real estate and bolder fonts for their names on their book jackets? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02161114120516967820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886184679252057946.post-59854349870492475182018-03-21T15:06:05.519-04:002018-03-21T15:06:05.519-04:00I'd add dystopian to fantasy...I'd add dystopian to fantasy...Sarah Darer Littmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00780738493733344947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886184679252057946.post-88055456729497417472018-03-21T15:05:17.916-04:002018-03-21T15:05:17.916-04:00Yes, indeed. When I looked at fantasy covers male ...Yes, indeed. When I looked at fantasy covers male vs female author they seemed to be less gendered - although I admit this was a completely unscientific and not comprehensive survey of that genre. Which begs the question: why do the powers that be who decide how a book will be marketed at publishers make gendered decisions about cover art, particularly for contemporary realistic fiction? It would be really interesting to know the logic behind such choices. Sarah Darer Littmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00780738493733344947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886184679252057946.post-55195198379964463022018-03-21T14:45:57.229-04:002018-03-21T14:45:57.229-04:00I'm also thinking about The Hunger Games--a hu...I'm also thinking about The Hunger Games--a hugely popular trilogy with a female protagonist and a female author. But with covers in black, red, and blue, and with birds and arrows on the cover, not people.Jennifer R. Hubbardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03408588432492354248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886184679252057946.post-10801474304400366462018-03-21T14:21:41.288-04:002018-03-21T14:21:41.288-04:00Thanks for this insight, Aran. It proves my point ...Thanks for this insight, Aran. It proves my point that when covers are gendered in the name of "branding", female authors like myself end up losing potential readers. I never thought about the crush aspect, but having had major crushes on several literary characters in my youth and an older brother who teased a lot, I can totally relate! Sarah Darer Littmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00780738493733344947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886184679252057946.post-38122258052216688882018-03-21T14:14:35.281-04:002018-03-21T14:14:35.281-04:00Reading this article puts me back into the mindset...Reading this article puts me back into the mindset I had as a teen. I was honestly a little embarrassed by how strong my attraction to girls was. I would have been very reluctant to hold a book with an "attractive" girl on the cover like those last three. <br /><br />I would have dreaded a parent or sibling asking me if I was "in love" with the girl on the cover. <br /><br />If I was holding The Serpent's Secret, I could just claim that I thought it was a cool cover, and have plausible deniability about my overwhelming crush on the female protagonist. <br /><br />The cover for A Great and Terrible Beauty is a perfect example of a cover that feels embarrassingly sexy to hold as a teen boy reader ... yet it is exactly the kind of story that I think boys should read.<br /><br />The Boston Jane series is an example of how much a cover matters.Look at these two:<br />This one accurately captures the feeling of the book:<br />https://goo.gl/images/WNRNnF<br />This one incorrectly makes it look like a victorian parlor drama:<br />https://goo.gl/images/VeLxHJ<br /><br /> Aranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04646619858212358028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886184679252057946.post-59134068084017690282018-03-21T12:05:33.326-04:002018-03-21T12:05:33.326-04:00Ooh, that's a great cover. And I have to talk ...Ooh, that's a great cover. And I have to talk to you sometime about the family history....Sarah Darer Littmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00780738493733344947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886184679252057946.post-5420001989298927652018-03-21T12:00:21.218-04:002018-03-21T12:00:21.218-04:00Very interesting. I pushed for a new font on the c...Very interesting. I pushed for a new font on the cover of my middle grade action adventure, Family of Spies, which is set in Paris. Even though the protagonist is a boy, the font was very scrolling, very artsy, almost romantic. It changed the entire feel of what the story inside was about. I had to drive home the point that this was a spy book set in Paris. Not a book about Paris with some spies in it. The publisher did an incredible job and I now have a super cool art deco font that screams spies! Yes!Jodi Carmichaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00744726333983892310noreply@blogger.com