Apparently, there’s been rumours circulating that Changeling Press (erotic fiction publishers) are going under, I didn’t know anything about it, until I received this e-mail:
We’ve had several notifications from readers attempting to order our paperbacks from Borders saying they were told we’re going out of business. News to me. We’ve just officially opened our new office and are ready to start on the next wave of paperbacks. We’re not going anywhere! Obviously I’ll be spending Monday making many interesting phone calls. Sigh. Pray for me that I don’t get arrested for choking someone through the phone lines…
All Wrapped Up is NO harder to get than any of our other books. All any bookstore has to do is order it. From the number of sales, I’d say most bookstores aren’t having ANY problem doing just that.
Margaret Riley
Changeling Press LLC
Changeling Press LLC
So there ya go folks, the good folks at Changeling aren’t going anywhere just yet. Erm, so they say anyway.
It’s been a while since I visited the Changeling site, and now I know why. They seriously need to reconsider whoever designs their front covers. They suck great big hairy donkey balls. I could do better with my eyes shut.
Here are some shining examples:
UPDATE: Had to remove covers due to not having permission from Changeling Press – See Shelby Morgen’s comment below.
Seriously, whoever came up with these covers were smoking some hard core wacky baccy. I sure hope they’re not actually getting paid for this shit. Sigh.
Sam
June 18
12:40 pm
I love the three covers I have with them. It really depends which cover artist you get, I suppose. And since the pay for e-book cover art is next-to-nothing, I don’t think it’s worth an artist’s time to spend hours and hours on a cover. And you have to admit that horrifying holds its own sort of fascination, lol.
And no, they are certainly not going out of buisness – that is Inara Press, which is folding next month.
Changeling Press is alive and very well!!
Anne
June 18
4:03 pm
Invasion of the pod people! Yikes! Those covers need definite tweaking to make the people look more realistic. THAT’S what turns me off… pod people.. I don’t want to imagine a pod H & H doing the nasty. LOL But, hey, remember the saying? You can’t judge a book by it’s cover… even if I sometimes find that hard to do. : )
Katharina
June 18
4:04 pm
Inara Press is going out of business? They just recently opened their doors, and at AAR I’ve seen a lot of advertising.
Well, but somehow I can understand it. Their covers look always so liveless and boring 😉
And Karen, I totally agree with you, CP’s covers are simply tasteless and do NOT animate to buy those ebooks .
Eve Vaughn
June 18
5:24 pm
Thanks for posting this Karen, I just heard about it this morning myself. They’re doing quite well actually.
As for the cover issue, well…I guess that’s in the eye of the beholder. I’ve yet to see any publisher where I loved every single one of their covers. I’ve gotten some good covers from Changeling, and some that weren’t exactly my favorite, but as Sam said, it really depends on the artist. It’s a crap shoot I guess.
Anonymous
June 18
5:57 pm
Animate you to buy those ebooks? Oy!
Christine
Changeling rocks!
Stella Price
June 18
6:11 pm
While i do enjoy a lot of the books at Changeling, and have even cosidered subbing to them, the one thing that holds my sister and I back from doing just that is their covers. Im Sorry, im a Coversnob, and while sometimes you cant really control (inhouse series’and lines that have a certain cover already set for them)I make it a point to have covers that can be considered MMPB worthy. All our covers, save one, have been done under strict guidance of Audra and I, and im happy with them, hell i think teo are up for cover of the Month at Erin Aslinn… so thats gotta say something.
And another thing, it is true that e cover artists get paid next to nothing, but to make a truly beautiful cover dosent take that long. I believe both our awsome cover artists havent taken more then a few hours on any of our covers and they are truly beautiful. So its just a question on style. Our covers are another way as to how we decide who we will be subbing to as well.. So poor pay isnt an excuse.
But again, just my two cents…
Stella
Anonymous
June 18
6:30 pm
I’d sub to Changeling in a hot minute if I were a writer. I don’t see anything in their covers that I don’t see in any other small press publisher. None. Besides, I follow the authors I like and the types of stories I like. I don’t give a shit about how “tasteful” the art is. I’m not going to stare at the cover and analyze it for two hours. I bought the book to read thank you very much. You can stick a solid black Spinal Tap cover on there and if it someone whose work I enjoy or a type of story I like – I’m still going to buy it people. Be snarky and “Coversnobbish” as you want but I’m a reader and I’ll bet I’m not alone in this.
Lydia M.
Sam
June 18
8:02 pm
You can’t judge a book by its cover…
😉
Karen Scott
June 18
8:06 pm
Sam, I wonder why the artists insist on using these cartoony pics. They just scream, weird to me. Changeling obviously aren’t alone when it comes to sucky covers. Venus Press used to have similarly crap covers, but I think somewhere along the line, they got a clue, and the majority of their cover art is now much better. Sam, I’ve never heard of Inara Press, I wonder why they’re shutting up shop?
Anne, I’m terribly shallow, and tend to judge a book by it’s cover, so pod people definitely don’t appeal to me either!
Katharina, most of the cover art looks computer generated to me, and I hate that.
Eve, I bet Ms Riley was mad as hell when she heard about Borders mistakenly telling folks that they’d closed down! As for the crappy covers, EC has had their share of crappy covers as well to be fair, and I know that it’s the actual book that should draw you, but if I see a sucky cover, I don’t even bother reading the blurb, never mind an excerpt.
Hi Christine
Stella, I’m a coversnob too, I should be ashamed to admit that, but what the hell, shallow be thy name! And I agree about the ability to create beautiful covers quickly. If I was a cover artist, regardless of whether or not I was getting paid for my endeavors, I’d still want to do a good job.
Lydia M said: “Be snarky and “Coversnobbish” as you want but I’m a reader and I’ll bet I’m not alone in this.”
I’m sure you’re not alone Lydia, cuz let’s face it, it’s all subjective anyway, but as a reader, I do tend to ignore books that have bad covers, unless I know for sure that the story is worth ignoring the crap cover for.
It goes back to the question of what attracts you to a book, if I don’t know the author, then I rely on the cover art or the title to catch my eye, if that fails, or if I deem the cover to be crappy, then I don’t go to the next stage of looking at the blurb. That’s just me though, I’m sure that other people are much more adventurous.
Eve Vaufgn
June 18
8:22 pm
Karen, will you amend your statement to say, even if Eve has a bad cover, you’ll still buy her books? *VBG* LMAO
Lena Austin
June 18
9:03 pm
Karen, thanks for posting this and helping us spread the word. We’re having a good laugh at Changeling and even offering a discount code to those who come to verify we’re alive and well.
Oh, and should you wish to close your eyes and create a cover, feel free. I’m sure our cover art director will give it all the attention it deserves.
Lena Austin
Marketing Coordinator
Jaynie R
June 18
10:51 pm
I’m not going to comment on the covers – I’ve been there, done that.
BUT – I gotta say Changeling’s books rock. Since I had the kids, my reading time has seriously been curtailed, and I love that with Changeling I can read something hot and short in one go. Plus they have some of my fav authors lol.
*Jaynie wishes to note that she does proof for Changeling and therefore may sound like an advertisement *g**
Ann Jacobs
June 18
11:05 pm
I can vouch for the fact Changeling Press is alive and well. Very well, indeed. I enjoy taking healthy checks from Changeling to the bank, each and every month.
As for covers, I agree some of them aren’t the greatest. But the quality of covers depends at least as much on the author’s vision as to what he/she wants as it does on the artist’s skill at making that vision come to life. If the author insists on a lot of detail, it’s not going to look great. That’s a fact of life.
More than any other publisher (electronic or New York) I’ve written for, Changeling considers the author’s wishes–even gives authors cover approval in its boilerplate contract.
Take a look at the covers for my single-title books at Changeling. I think you’ll find all of them quite acceptable–striking, in fact. That’s because I never ask for detail that’s between difficult and nigh onto impossible to render attractively.
Ann Jacobs
http://www.annjacobs.us
http://annjacobs.blogspot.com
Lauren Dane
June 19
1:44 am
There’s an announcement over at Romance Divas about Inara going under. That one is from one of hte co-owners. Sherezade (sic) is now defunct too.
Seven Wolves
June 19
2:00 am
I was going to be a lot more harsh about this….something about the initial writers experience with donkey balls, but I decided not to.
Everytime I see someone write something so inane as “I could do better with my eyes closed” I just have to say this: DO IT AND SHOW US.
I’m waiting.
Anne
June 19
2:16 am
Ummm…. Karen? I think you ticked a few people off. Yikes.
Sahara Kelly
June 19
3:49 am
Hi, I’m Sahara Kelly and I’m also an artist for Changeling Press. In addition I’m a writer and have many books available at Ellora’s Cave. So I have looked at cover art from both sides of the scene, as it were.
I’m very proud to be a member of the art staff at Changeling. We support each other, learn from each other and continue to produce unique art that reflects the writer’s vision.
Art is, by its very nature, subjective. Do I like Picasso or Chagall?? No. But I will not criticize or denigrate their work simply because it’s not to my taste. Others fail to appreciate the beauty I see in a Fragonard or a Boucher. Does that make them bad? Nope. Not as far as I’m concerned.
It’s easy to take pot shots at covers – they’re the first thing a reader sees. And many books get their contents trashed on a regular basis. Both authors and artists know this and expect it (albeit with gritted teeth – LOL). However prepared we are, though, that lousy review or harsh opinion – well, it hurts, especially after the months we spent developing the characters or the many hours we spend creating our covers. And it does take hours…many hours. Make no mistake, cover art isn’t whipped out in ten minutes any more than novels are written in a week or less.
So in defense of Changeling, I would urge everybody to remember that variety is truly the key to cover art and that although all of them may not be to your taste, others might well find them appealing.
Thanks for letting me say my piece – I appreciate the free-speaking and honest forum offered here.
Cheers,
Sahara Kelly
ShelbyMorgen
June 19
4:45 am
I’m Margaret Riley, AKA Shelby Morgen, owner and publisher of Changeling Press. I’ll admit to being more than a little ticked off at the cover art rant.
Of course Coffee Man looks like a cartoon. Did you pay ANY attention to the genre? It’s under Comic Book Heroes. It’s SUPPOSED to look like a cartoon. As for Kiss, it’s supposed to look like a fairy tail storybook. Because it is.
Of course the cover art is computer generated. The only other options available to small presses are stock photography — care to see your cover on 6 other books? NO thank you. And since we’re primarily Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Paranormal, all you’d get is head shots that have no relevance to the books whatsoever. Individual hand done art work at $2000 to $3000 a cover is simply not an option in our market. You don’t see it in New York any more, either. Most of what’s coming out of New York is either stock photography or CGI. Without CGI we’d still have sets for movies with space ships made out of Frisbees hung on a string.
Changeling is a community of authors and writers working together to produce a product. It’s never OK to insult people, and when you insult their work, they take it personally. When you insult our product, I take it personally.
Please note that all Changeling cover art is property of Changeling Press and copyright and may not be used or reprinted without my permission.
Margaret Riley
AKA Shelby Morgen
Changeling Press
Desiree Erotique
June 19
5:18 am
In my personal opinion, one of them is downright hideous. Then again, I think Andy Warhol’s stuff sucked, so who am I to say? We all have our individual tastes in art.
Hope you’re well these days, Karen. Hugs!
Renee George
June 19
8:11 am
I can say, as an author for Changeling Press, that I really like most of my covers. I think the artists do a really good job considering they are working with computer generated images.
In particular, I am very fond of my cover for “Twin Flame” which Sahara Kelly designed.
That said, cheers for free speech. If there wasn’t such a thing, we’d have nothing to argue about.
Renee
http://www.romance-the-night.com
Cat Marsters
June 19
9:22 am
Ooh, controversy and argument, my two friends.
Sahara herself did me a very pretty cover for a Changeling book that was exactly what I wanted. I’ve never been unhappy with my Changeling covers, and in fact I think some of them are beautiful (I can stare for hours at Stephanie Burke’s ‘Taboo’ cover).
Yeah, CG covers sometimes leave a little to be desired. Well, sometimes a lot. But I’ve seen way worse–a cover I was offered from another publisher was photographic, and really just looked like something I could do in twenty seconds with the free computer art program I got with my PC. Cut, stick, add fake shadow, write the title on, done. Actually I could have done better with sugar paper and school glue, aged five.
A friend of mine was offered a cover for her fantasy romance that featured a woman in a pinstripe suit. Go figure. With horrors like that, CG starts to look a whole lot better.
So. Beauty’s in the eye of the beerholder and all that. This is why books have blurbs and excerpts. Authors want details from the book, artists want simplicity, and if I knew what readers wanted I’d be a rich woman. There’ll never be a cover that pleases everyone.
Lexxie
June 19
11:39 am
I’m all three – a reader, a writer (all my releases are with Changeling Press) and an artist (I have a post-grad degree in graphic art and digital manipulation and was an artist at a newspaper for two years).
Sure, some of the covers you wouldn’t find in MOMA, but some are pretty damn fine, and all of them are creations of people who put their heart into their work… perhaps something that has been forgotten here?
(By the way, I’ve also TAUGHT art for five years at high school and I’ve heard more than one teenager say they could create an artwork with their eyes closed. I’ve yet to see it happen.)
Jane
June 19
12:13 pm
As Ms. Morgan/Reed stated:
Covers are the first thing that a reader sees.
Doesn’t that statement say it all? Covers are immensely important and if I am browsing a catalog of ebooks, I won’t be clicking on a link that has a horrible cover. And like any other commercial medium, cover art is fair game to be mocked, critisized and praised. Have none of you ever read Bam’s blog or Smart Bitches?
Jade James Truth or Dare
June 19
12:38 pm
“They suck great big hairy donkey balls.”
LOL Karen. That’s a way to describe some of the covers I’ve seen in the epublishing world.
It really is in the eye of the beholder, and if people say some of them suck, well again opinion.
Kahlua Mudslide
June 19
3:05 pm
Those covers scare me.
KatieW
June 19
6:12 pm
I agree with kahlua mudslide – CGI covers scare the shitake out of me! lol
That said, would I turn down a book because of its cover? Absolutely. Should I? No, probably not. I don’t look at the covers of my favorite authors – I just buy. It’s the writing that I go for.
But with a new author I’ve never read? I look at the excerpts, often look at their sites, and yes, I look at the covers. There was once a cover (not Changeling, fyi) where the woman had a five o’clock shadow and arms which, were they stretched out instead of bent, would have been longer than the length of her body. I didn’t buy that book because of its cover.
So, yes, covers do matter to me, and yes, if I don’t know the author, I tend to stay away from buying books with scary CGI covers.
Anonymous
June 20
1:57 am
I think it’s interesting that I love Sahara Kelly’s writing (she’s an autobuy for me and I only have a few of those) and hate many of her covers. You’d think there’d be a closer correlation in the tastes.
celeste
June 20
2:11 am
I don’t know about copyright laws in the UK, Karen, but in the US, you’re allowed to post excerpts and cover thumbnails for the purposes of commentary and review under the Fair Use doctrine, as I understand it. I’m all for the protection of creators’ rights, but I don’t think it’s in anyone’s best interests when copyright holders (or, in this case, publishers) overstep their bounds.
azteclady
June 20
2:16 am
It actually makes much more sense to me that there’s no correlation between the writing and the covers–I’ve seen some gawdawful covers on some seriously good writing in several genres, but very frequently in romance, and so covers don’t sell me the book within as a rule.
I cheer when an author I like lucks out and gets a nice cover, but won’t condemn the author if the cover sucks. I’ll kvetch about the publisher, marketing and art departments therein, but not the author–from what I hear, most of them have little to do with the covers.
Now, the writing, copyediting and other stuff related directly to writing… on that, the author is fair game as far as I’m concerned.
her
June 20
5:17 am
To every artist getting ticked off about criticisms on your covers – hold up a minute and do try to remember that this is your customer base speaking.
Vacant-eyed poser covers creep me out. Plastic-looking men with abs that look like a poorly graded road make me avert my eyes. And when you “cleverly” hide the family jewels behind a gift-wrapped box or a long, pointy object? I just skip on to the next book. If that’s what passes for sensuality, I want none of it.
It doesn’t matter how difficult it is to produce the cover art. If your potential customers think they can do the same thing on their own (regardless of how false this impression may be) then you’ve already lost the battle whet their appetite, pique their interest and possibly sell a story.
I know it sucks stanky, hairy, three-legged-donkey balls to see artistically challenged, technologically ignorant posters casually crapping on your hard work and prodigious investment in software, but when you’re trying to get someone to give you their money it often helps to give them what they want.
Keziah Hill
June 20
8:09 am
Personally I think with few exceptions, most epublishers covers are hideous. I pay no attention to them and instead read blurbs and reviews. Covers don’t affect my buying habits one way or the other. Different with print, but even then I have to know something about the book. I’d certainly buy a book with a cover I hate – I do all the time. Most romance readers do.
Anonymous
June 20
4:28 pm
aztec, I mean I don’t like the covers SHE designs.
I’m surprised when I like HER writing but not her visual work.
I pay absolutely NO attention to covers when buying ebooks. It’s not like I fold back a skank-boy poser cover and break a book’s spine when I read an ebook on the bus.
azteclady
June 20
5:22 pm
anonymous, color me ignorant–I didn’t realize Sahara Kelly both wrote and designed until just this morning.
Oooooopppppssssss
Marianne LaCroix
June 21
6:07 am
I’m sorry, I am not sure why Karen needs permission to post covers on her blog. It isn’t like she is selling the images.
I’m confused on that issue. Is it because the feedback was negative, and would this copyright issue come up if she raved over them?
I had some of my covers snarked. Eh…whatever.
Anonymous
June 23
9:46 am
Two words for you, Cobblestone Press. Have you seen their fricking covers! They’re amazing!
Kayleigh J.
June 23
7:33 pm
celeste said…
I don’t know about copyright laws in the UK, Karen, but in the US, you’re allowed to post excerpts and cover thumbnails for the purposes of commentary and review under the Fair Use doctrine, as I understand it. I’m all for the protection of creators’ rights, but I don’t think it’s in anyone’s best interests when copyright holders (or, in this case, publishers) overstep their bounds
This is absolutely true for the United States as well.
All art is subjective. And opinions, well, we all know what they are equated to. But as another commented mentioned, these opinions are coming from readers and fans, and shouldn’t be disregarded simply because they aren’t positive. The cover catches a reader’s eye. The blurb draws them in. And the story keeps their attention.
As a reader, I have bought books solely because I liked the cover. Adversely, I’ve looked at a cover, rolled my eyes, and never even read the blurb. So the cover of a novel has a huge impact on the reader, whether one chooses to acknowledge it or not.
As a writer, I am ever conscious of that.
Cover design is certainly not cheap, nor is it easy. However, if smaller presses can produce quality covers (with photo shoots, models, etc.), then I believe the larger ones can as well.
Then again, that’s my $0.02, and nothing else.
Anonymous
June 24
6:21 pm
Interesting how the majority of the people who buy these books feel the covers suck, and the majority of people who create/sell them think they’re fine. I’d say if I created/sold something that the majority of my buyers said looked like crap, I’d think about changing how my product looked instead of pontificating at my customers about how “art is subjective.”
Anonymous
June 26
7:44 pm
Indeed, just because art has a subjective element doesn’t mean it is all great. Please, people, time to hire illustrators with a wider repertoire than posing dolls.
Anonymous
July 2
11:05 pm
Product packaging is important. A bad cover isn’t the deciding factor, but it might keep me from reading the exerpt, unless somebody has recommended the writer.
I’d like to cast another vote for the Posers are creepy opinon.
Have any of the publishers considered talking to fan artists at science fiction conventions? I’ll bet there are artists who would be happy to do cover art for a few hundred dollars, not several thousand. Because that’s what they sell their art for at conventions.. and some of them are damn fine artists.
Or – even cheaper – publishers could run a ‘cover art’ contest among readers who do have the skill to do a good cover. There would be lots of rubbish, but I would bet you’d find gems in the mix, and maybe discover new artists. Why not give the “I can do better” folks a chance? Odds are some of them really could.