I woke this morning to a lovely email from Irene Hannon letting me know that my wonderful readers have made a difference! Yep, you!
You may recall my cover reveal post for Revell’s 2015 Summer lineup, included Irene’s contemporary romance novel, [easyazon_link asin=”B00QMSCKXY” locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”relzrevi-20″]Hope Harbor: A Novel[/easyazon_link], and I made this comment about the cover:
“While I like the simplicity and calm of Irene’s, I’m bothered by the angle of the shot of the model – I assume it is meant to be a woman but it looks like she could equally be a young girl.”
Some of you agreed and said things like…
Aaron: “And I agree with you about Irene Hannon’s contemporary cover, too, although it does fit in with her others at Revell of the same type.”
Sparks of Ember: “Frankly, I like all the covers except I agree with you about the woman on the cover of Irene Hannon’s book.”
Well, don’t think your comments here don’t have an impact as Irene made a note of our thoughts and polled some other people on the issue we raised in our discussion. They agreed the cover model looked too young, her publisher Revell listened and acted, making a change to the cover. I’m delighted to share the new cover with you, so here’s a closer look. I much prefer it, including the new colour and font for the title.
Never think your voice as a reader goes unheard – kudos to Irene and Revell for going to the time and expense to alter the cover.
Well, what do you think?
Much better! At first look, I thought: Changed the girl on the cover to a woman. The first looks like a coming of age story, the second like my favorite–a romance. Great catch, Rel!
Exactly, Tamara! You always have a great eye for covers 🙂 Thanks for sharing xo
Ooo! The new cover is gorgeous. I agree. The first cover could be taken as a young girl. It’s amazing what angles can do.
Thanks for sharing this story, Rel. So far, the response to the new look has been very positive. Reader opinions really do matter. When they talk, I listen! 🙂
Oh wow, what an improvement! With some subtle changes, such a dramatic difference!
Apart from the obvious, with making the model look more like a woman with her pose, things like changing how MUCH of her and the bike is shown adds extra depth to the cover, and brings it more into balance. The angle of the picture is improved, and the font changes soften the overall look and beckons the reader to open the book.
Well done Team Revell – and thank you Irene for taking note of the feedback and asking for change! 🙂
So much better!!! Great example of how a cover talks to a reader. 🙂
cool thats great to know readers have impact and a much better cover.
Wow … I can’t believe how different the two covers make me feel … even with just a few small changes. Love the new cover!
I hadn’t seen the previous post and so saw the covers for the first time today. The second is so much more appealing. Thrilled the publishers took note of readers’ opinions and even more thrilled for Irene Hannon who can be confident she now has an A-1 cover!
Hey Rel,
It is amazing how a few seemingly subtle changes make such a difference. This is a much better cover to me. The lady is definitely shown better here. And the color and font of the title is much, much better. Also, Irene Hannon’s name pops more against the gray. A great job, Rel! And kudos to Revell for listening to their author’s wishes and making changes. A win all around.
Huge improvement! The person on the first cover definitely looked like a child. I like how the bike shows up, too.
Oh yes!! The new cover is much better! There are 3 things that popped out to me in differences between the two covers – – 1. The female model looks more like a woman than a girl – – 2. The new cover gives me a more “relaxed” feeling – – 3. The word “Hope” in the title is now positioned above the sun rather than below it – which gives me an “up” feeling. A cover really is critical – it’s the readers first impression of the book and is my hand going for my wallet or moving on down the line.
Yes, this new cover is gorgeous!
The new cover is so much stronger. Love this article!