I love illustrated book covers. And, in marketing I’ve always been taught, covers with people on them sell better. Ads that feature people– sell better.

But there is a huge trend in the fantasy genre for symbolic, and sometimes very busy (to my mind) cover designs. When I look at those covers- I never feel like they tell me very much about the book. Wow- look at all those — objects— and yes they look very fancy etc. But does this convey something to the reader that i don’t decode? I don’t know.

So, Readers, please tell me. Why do symbolic covers appeal to you? How do you decode them? When you see them, what makes it resonate? How do you know this book is for you based on these covers?

Now, when they first started, I considered this a kind of passing fad, the same way a certain trope will become popular, only to fade out in a years time. But here we are several years later, and symbolic covers have only become more prevalent, at least in the fantasy genre.  This is especially true with Romantasy. Now- maybe this tells a fantasy reader: this has romance or spice in it. That’s for me. or are there more distinctive cuing signals that the pre-millennials and millennials decode that are lost on the post-millennial brain? In other words–  AM I JUST OLD? and need to get with the program?  IF SO– how do I design my covers to optimally convey the correct signals so the reader who picks it up doesn’t feel betrayed?

Here are two covers– both for WINTER MAGE.  i admit, i do like the “wow” factor of the cover I played with.. but I don’t feel like this tells me that this book is about a woman who is struggling to find her place in a world that doesn’t claim her, for a gift (magic) that it prefers to disavow.