Genre and Book Covers (A Rant)

It's true that different genres require covers with specific design elements. An author wouldn't choose a cover with a man and woman kissing for a horror novel, for example. Nor would a romance novel use a font that's dripping blood. In fact, someone recently posited that an author shouldn't choose the most artistic cover, but the one that conveys the book's genre, no matter how ugly.

When I search Amazon for women's fiction best sellers, the most common covers I find are awash (LOL) in water ~ be it the ocean or a lake ~ and don't forget the cottage! Cottages are huge in the women's fiction game. These covers are sickening in their sameness, but they do the job they're meant to do, convey the genre.

I clicked on the preview of one, and it began with a woman pedaling a bicycle somewhere, which struck me as quite a coincidence. I rarely look at book previews, but I did so the other day (can't remember why) and the main character of that one was pedaling a bicycle somewhere, too. What? Now all my characters have to ride bikes? 

I hate it. I would never consider purchasing one of these (if I hypothetically considered buying a women's fiction novel), because I'm already annoyed just seeing the cover.

I want to slap these writers, but then I realize that they know exactly what they're doing. They're writing to expectations. And that's why they have best sellers.

There will never be a beach house on any of my covers. Apparently women only exist in the summertime, and a woman who's too poor to afford a long beach vacation doesn't count. I don't know; I may just be delusional. Maybe women's fiction readers want that escapism. Maybe they're looking for a quick empty-calorie read. I'm not sure I want those readers.

It's not that my stories are weighty, but they're real. They depict women who are still finding their way in life, and thus they're not rich. They'll probably never be rich. Rich isn't even their goal. I've seen rich people and I don't like them. They're generally as shallow as the books written about them. 

I could write books like that if I wanted a moneymaking enterprise, but writing is difficult enough, so I should at least enjoy my subject matter. 

Not one of my book covers meets the criteria. All, except for New Kaitlyn and Bad Blood, are comprised of a woman's face. That's it. The story is about her, not about the sand on the beach. Yes, I am a contrarian. That doesn't always work to my advantage. That's why I'm going to (eventually) reclassify all my published books as contemporary fiction and leave it at that. I don't fit the women's fiction mold.  

And the term "women's fiction" is so bastardized. It seems that any novel featuring a female character is now women's fiction. Romance writers tag their books as women's fiction, because apparently they're not satisfied hogging three quarters of the market; they want even more. I've had reviews in which the reviewer wanted the romance played up more. It's not a romance! I'm the furthest thing from a feminist you could find, but I do know that women want to be taken seriously for their unique talents, whatever those may be. So, my main character might be a singer or a motel renovator or a disc jockey or an RN; or she might be, yes, a traditional baker. Maybe she works in a diner, but is so competent that when the owner decides to retire, he offers to sell the place to her.

The other women's fiction trope is "a heartwarming story celebrating female friendship". Guess what? My characters rarely have women friends, so they don't all gather in someone's living room for their weekly book-and-wine-and-gossip club. By far the preponderance of my MC's friends are men. I guess I just don't fit anywhere.

I'll never find a readership because I'm too far out of the mainstream. Amazon should add a category, "Doesn't Fit Anywhere". I'd definitely browse those results. 

I'm most likely romanticizing the book market of the past. Every successful writer, except for the quirky ones who somehow caught on, has written with an eye to tropes. Tropes aren't necessarily bad. "Cliche" is bad. Copying is bad. 

Meanwhile, I'm going to hop on my bicycle and pedal over to the beach. Maybe I'll run into a gorgeous hunk who I'll mistake for a penniless itinerant, but will actually be a vacationing tech giant who's yet to meet the right woman.