I tend to agree with you - Julie, Jan, Jill and Ellen - that I'm not keen on the 2 in 1 format for the Romance books - and some others. I often buy romance titles but only by very specific authors and I'm afraid that the inclusion of an author I'm not keen on in the bok - at a higher price than a single title - would make me think more than twice about buying that book. However much I wanted it. I will be considering buying the USA editions as long as they continue to offer me just the author I want to read.
And I'm not a big fan of that washed-out cover look, either Jan. To me it looks way to
o much the way that people used to think - and some still do - of an M&B Romance- washed out, 'pink and fluffy' and totally unrealistic. Didn't any of the designers read Liz Fielding or Marion Lennox before they planned a design? (No - don't answer that. I have a nasty feeling that the answer is they didn't read very much at all. These covers are just too insipid for me. The new design doesn't work so badly on the Intrigue books though - because the cover images aren't as insipid. I don't actually mind the new layout of the covers - just those pallid images.
o much the way that people used to think - and some still do - of an M&B Romance- washed out, 'pink and fluffy' and totally unrealistic. Didn't any of the designers read Liz Fielding or Marion Lennox before they planned a design? (No - don't answer that. I have a nasty feeling that the answer is they didn't read very much at all. These covers are just too insipid for me. The new design doesn't work so badly on the Intrigue books though - because the cover images aren't as insipid. I don't actually mind the new layout of the covers - just those pallid images.
Interestingly, the Modern Romance line doesn't have new covers - and as far as I know there are no plans for the new designs for this line or the Historical line either. This creates a rather strange effect on the bokshop shelves where the books now tend to look as if they are from different publishers - is that a good or a bad thing? I don't know.Jill, you mentioned Harlequin Presents and Harlequin Presents Extra - and you've raised an interesting and rather complicated pint - so I'll talk about that in more detail in my next post tomorrow.
For a while now I've been singing the praises of The Book Depository as a place to get hold of books that are not easily available elsewhere or where postage costs are prohibitive for delivery.
Well, I just learned this morning that The Book Depository is now opening up in America, still with free delivery - and some very good prices for books that are more expensive elsewhere. I checked out the USA edition of the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance in their stock and found it here at $16.26 - and that's with free shipping. It's a great deal.
6 comments:
I agree about the covers. I preferred the old covers, which I thought were more dramatic. These new ones aren't. I don't know if it's the same for Modern but for Intrigue they now only do 6 books within a month and then they split it into 2 periods, instead of 8 single titles in one go. Gives me a chance to catch up though.
I like the old covers as well. Speaking of covers, Kate yours is wonderful!
I completely agree with everyone, the new covers are totally weak, I was under the impression that Mills & Boon, were trying to take the range forward, not backwards. I only read the Modern Line anyway, so its a real shame that they have altered the other covers to look like some total throw back to the 70's.
I only hope they don't decide to double up the Modern Line books into one book. I remember a few years back, the reason I stopped buying the Silhouette Desire books, was because they started a 2-1 version. If there was an author I didn't like, I just didn't buy it. I now buy the Desire from Amazon, who sell the single titles, which enables me to pick and choose what I like.
It has totally amazed me they think these new covers will attract new readers. Are they just relying on us all buying the books anyway? Mm, lets hope their right.
xx Karen
To my mind, the Medicals look even worse than the Romances.
I also strongly disapprove of the way MILLS & BOON is in a larger font than the author name(s)!
Bah. Grumble.
Thanks Kate for mentioning the Book Depository opening in the USA. I'll have to investigate further.
I agree with everyone about the covers. Hopefully they'll have a rethink sooner rather than later.
Post a Comment