I'll admit...that cover is shite. And the first thing I think of when looking at it is: wow...another goddamned Laurel K. Hamilton rip-off.
However, that said: 1) Everyone already familiar with your work will not be deterred by a cover painting. 2) Readers of weird fiction have all been trained over the decades to ignore lurid cover art that does not in any way complement the content beneath it. I rather doubt anyone will be particularly turned away.
On the other hand, the cover imagery may draw more people to the book--enough to get them to read the blurb on the back. At which point they may think, "Hmmm...I bet this may have some saucy moments in it!" And then they take it home and discover, to their unremitting horror, that they're actually reading something good. Whether they burn it then or just use it as a doorstop, it doesn't matter: you've still scored a sale. Or, rather, the publisher execs who chose the cover art for its marketability scored a sale. Regardless, you'll still get a couple of cents from the sale, so....
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Date: 2009-08-17 04:42 pm (UTC)However, that said: 1) Everyone already familiar with your work will not be deterred by a cover painting. 2) Readers of weird fiction have all been trained over the decades to ignore lurid cover art that does not in any way complement the content beneath it. I rather doubt anyone will be particularly turned away.
On the other hand, the cover imagery may draw more people to the book--enough to get them to read the blurb on the back. At which point they may think, "Hmmm...I bet this may have some saucy moments in it!" And then they take it home and discover, to their unremitting horror, that they're actually reading something good. Whether they burn it then or just use it as a doorstop, it doesn't matter: you've still scored a sale. Or, rather, the publisher execs who chose the cover art for its marketability scored a sale. Regardless, you'll still get a couple of cents from the sale, so....