This edition of Hump Day Heat asks which type of cover you prefer. I will use some examples of covers I’ve created. This time we’re only looking at covers with men on them: no couples or women. We might explore those another day.
WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
I know some readers prefer the headless man so they can imagine whatever face they want on that sexy body. Others like the clothes on to leave that part to their imaginations. Then there are those of us–myself included–who like the whole package: a handsome face combined with a shirtless, ripped body. 
So which type of cover gets you hot and bothered and screams out to you, READ ME? Would you pass any of these examples up based only on the factors above?
Michelle Proulx
January 23, 2013 at 10:16 am
I’m not a huge fan of the headless torso — if you’re going to stick part of the man on the cover, I say stick all of him!
Lorraine Pearl
January 23, 2013 at 12:15 pm
I couldn’t agree more, Michelle. The only reason I used the headless torso for that one cover was because it was the group’s banner pic. I mean, I’ll read a book even with a pic like that, but I like to put a face to the body–to the character.
Normandie Alleman (@NormandieA)
January 24, 2013 at 9:45 am
The overall design is more important to me than how naked the guy is. The middle one and the one on the right both are “chopped up” in the middle by the title. That’s distracting to the eye, while the one of the left is “cleaner” so I like that one best. But they’re all nice.
Lorraine Pearl
January 24, 2013 at 11:35 am
Ah, so you don’t want anything obstructing the view. Makes sense. I’ve always loved the covers that had the banners across them like that so I never thought of the “chopped up” issue before. Thanks for giving me another perspective. Still, I’m shallow. For me, it’s all about seeing the skin.