A lot of readers enjoy it when a website, blog, library, bookstore, or whatever has a ‘if you like X, you might like Y’ list of recommendations.

For example,

“If you like STAR KING by Susan Grant, you might like GAMES OF COMMAND by Linnea Sinclair.”

or

“If you enjoyed this novel by Karen Templeton, you might also like the novels of Kara Lennox.”

It’s my opinion that readers “might” be happier with cover art if authors were given more say-so. Perhaps all pubs worry about that, so maybe new authors could be given limited say-so.

Maybe print pubs might change their ways if they saw it working with epubs.

It has nothing to do with emotional investment in the author or the book. I can’t afford hardback they take up space I don’t have to spare in my house after I read them and are a pain to carry around while I’m reading. Trade paperbacks are a scam. They are always cheaply made and fall apart faster than mmbp and the cost is way to high for the quality. I much prefer mmbp size and weight.

I use libraries both for cost and ecological reasons. I have lately come to worry about the carbon footprint of the publishing industry, I no longer get magazines or newspapers, and I’m trying like hell to get off all catalog lists. I can’t in good conscious buy a book and then throw it out. My local paper re cycler does not take books. I used to re-sell books after I read them, but some of my writer friends have broken me of that habit. I used to donate books to library/school/church sales but I’ve been told most books there end up resold as uses and again you are taking money out of writer’s pocket.

Some form of e-reader is the answer, but I can’t afford one yet and I’m not sure the technology is matured. I also have some vision issues that will need to be addressed before I’m 100% happy with e-readers, although my husband had a Kindle from work. They make reading journals far less expensive. It is not a bad thing to use but not good for reading in bed at night since we haven’t been able to find a reading light that really works well .

Apparently, the US has no equivalent. And in Canada, in order to get it, you have to register your books with the government.

But as he describes it, No, it’s not a scam — it’s the Canadian government’s annual kickback to Canadian writers to compensate them for their lost royalties on copies of their books circulated in libraries.

I don’t know how things work in the States, but in Canada, they actually track how often a book is checked out, and authors (or at least Canadian authors) whose books are checked out more than x number of times actually get a form of royalty check based on the number of times a book is checked out.

I fear that anyone seeing it in the romance shelf would think it’s misfiled. It’s not that I don’t like the cover, but the artist zeroed in on one aspect of the book, and the “romance” isn’t even a whisper.

I didn’t get to see my cover art until it was a done deal (and I noticed the artist had the cover for sale on e-Bay –it’s an original painting, not a photo.)

My take is that if someone who doesn’t read romance sees the cover, maybe they’ll be interested and read the book “by mistake”.

So it IS a risky strategy.

Cover art, as folks mentioned,
authors have absolutely no control over.
I don’t even see my art until it is final.

Titles are usually discussed
but the publisher makes the final decision.

Even final edits belong to the publisher.
I’ve heard stories of last minute heroine name changes.

What we CAN do is write the best book possible and hope it connects with some (not all, it’ll never connect with all) readers. That’s what I do.

Frances, excellent point about authors needing to be nice to even the readers who can’t buy new. Maybe they can’t right now, but someday they will. In the meantime, they’re still reading. And, and, and, as you point out, they’re often the ones who are most willing to spread the word for you and that is priceless!

COVER ART. I just thought of a helpful tip for authors who get stuck with inappropriate cover art. *It reeeeeelly pays to be very nice to your established readership.* Besides spreading the word, if you get stuck with inappropriate cover art, they can really go to bat for you. The author can’t really complain much without her publisher not taking kindly to it or readers reading or hearing her comments and thinking she’s a whiney crank. However, let your established readers know about the inappropriate cover art and they will be seriously annoyed on your behalf! If they happen to be bloggers, they’re likely to rant on and on about it all over the place. And the more they do, the more potential readers will take notice and become aware of your book. You can sell it in spite of the cover art.