Tuesday, January 24, 2023

COVER REVEAL: Sugar Plum Poisoned!!!

I haven't shared this anywhere else yet, so you are getting the first look at the newest cupcake bakery mystery! 

 COVER REVEAL!!!



JENN MCKINLAY: It's always a thrill when my editor sends me the cover design for a book! And this one is no exception. I haven't written a holiday centric mystery before so when I saw the cover with the nutcracker with a cupcake for a hat (LOL) and the gingerbread man peering over the title with his mischievous smile, I swooned. 

Yeah, yeah, we all know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover but of course we still do. It's the first impression your work will make on a reader, so it's hugely important. As a reader, the cover is what draws my interest and hopefully gives me a clue as to whether I'm going to like it or not. I don't know about you, but I have been snookered by a few really great covers on sub-par books in the past. And I am positive I've missed out on some wonderful novels because I found the covers off putting.

Now as I delved into the topic of books and their covers, I remembered an ad that popped up in my Instagram feed. It was a bookstagrammer type person who was shilling the idea that you can make money selling books without having to write them. What???!!!

Naturally, I had to see what this cod liver oil salesperson was up to and it turns out that she was telling viewers for a mere fifty dollars they could subscribe to her video series, teaching them how to take a public domain book and repackage it (new cover) and release it as the publisher of said book and make money on the sales because...public domain. I'm quite proud of the fact that this horrible grifter and their broken moral compass did not turn me into a day drinker.

Naturally, I had to look and see if people were actually doing this. Well, check out these multiple editions of The Great Gatsby - all published within the last two years (because the book became public domain* on 1-1- 2021) under sketchy publisher names. So, in short, yes, people are doing this. 



  • *The copyright on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby expired on the first stroke of 2021 and the book entered the public domain. The classic 1925 novel of love foiled, ambitions foisted, class and betrayal sold fewer than 25,000 copies before Fitzgerald died. It has since sold nearly 30 million.

You know, if they had put in the tiniest bit of effort, I might have been able to forgive them, but these covers are just so...meh...and not reflective of the novel at all. I mean...come on!

It's a strange new world out, y'all. So, tell me, have you ever been burned by a cover - either an oversell or an undersell of the book within? 










57 comments:

  1. Generally, I never paid much attention to the cover of the book . . . I’m much more likely to grab it for a title or for the author’s name. Having said that, I have to admit that you’ve made some excellent points in talking about book covers . . . and the little gingerbread guy really grabbed my attention . . . so I’ve been looking at covers more than I used to. But because in the past I tended not to pay too much attention to the cover, I haven’t ever gotten a book because of the cover and then been disappointed.

    As for the repackaging of public domain books to make money for some sneaky non-writer . . . I am so incensed. I can hardly believe anyone could actually get away with a scheme like that. [And you’re right . . . meh . . . the covers make no effort to actually appeal to readers.] Imagine what it would be like if these people used their talents for something worthwhile instead of looking for a way to cheat others and take advantage of a situation . . . .

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  2. I'm visual, so yes the cover is the first thing that grabs my attention but I won't pick it up until after I've read the synopsis.

    I did not know that people can re-packaged public domain books as their own. horrid. And I would not look twice at those covers.

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    1. It's not so much as their own because they do attribute the author but they are the "publisher" which is ridiculous. Still, if they repackage The Great Gatsby and sell it for 5.99 on Amazong, they get 70% of that. Such a scheme!

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  3. This is beyond horrible! Even if a book IS in the public domain, it should only mean that some entity like, say, Progect Gutenberg can publish it with the aim of making it available for free for the public to read. It's so slimy that someone would try to make money off something they didn't write.

    As for covers, I do notice them, but I'm guided more by book blurbs and the author's name and the summary on the back of the book.

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    1. Get the law changed or you can’t complain. If you don’t know the legal definition of “public domain”, look it up,

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    2. Yeah, we get it. You don't create on your own, you repackage other peoples' work to make a few bucks.

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  4. Yes, covers are so important, and I LOVE your new one, Jenn.

    Repackaging famous books like that? Who...? Never mind. Lots of people. And then someone else making money off the greedy ones is worse. Awful.

    The covers of my two Lauren Rousseau mysteries (my first and third novels), pubbed by a micro-press in 2012 and 2014, were awful. But now they've been reissued as Edith Maxwell books with fabulous, atmospheric coastal covers, and I love them.

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    1. Getting your rights back is a wonderful thing :)

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    2. You bet! That pen name of Tace Baker is semi-permanently retired. ;^)

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  5. Jenn, your cover is stunning!! It's so interesting to hear the publishing staff talk about prospective covers and titles. Sometimes they think a holiday cover restricts sales to that time of year, but anyone would want your book any time of year!

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    1. It's true but I look at Donna Andrews with 9 Christmas books in her 32 book series and the reality is holiday books SELL. Also, thank you. I love the nutcracker :)

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  6. JENN: Awww, I LOVE this cover! Sometimes, a cozy mystery cover has a person or dog/cat that does not come close to what is portrayed in the book. Oh, well.

    As for the Great Gatsby re-releases, those covers are meh. It's horrible that someone else can make money from publishing them again.

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    1. No kidding on the animals on covers, Grace. The author who writes as Kylie Logan has a series with a cat and she once told me the cat on the over got bigger with each book. The last one is enormous.

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    2. Miranda James's Maine Coon cat Diesel leaps to mind.

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  7. I love the new cover…it’s beautiful! I have to say the cover may attract me to a book by a new-to-me author, but the synopsis is what sells me. If I end up with a book that I don’t really like, I blame the synopsis, not the cover.

    As far as people “publishing” public domain books — that’s horrible. I always think nothing that people do surprises me anymore, but I’m always proven wrong!

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  8. I could write an essay on covers and what they do or do not reveal. I could expound upon the covers of book series and how having the same artistic style is a promise of what readers will find inside. I could explain about how the covers with half naked cowboys never appeal to me, even if it is a romance that has many 5 star ratings. I could complain that one huge drawback to reading e-books is not having the pleasure of opening that cover again when you sit down to read.

    As for the slimy "come on," it sounded more like an invitation to rewrite someone else's work, not just publish it. Many publishers jump in when a book enters public domain. They do. But plagiarism is another topic and it is despicable. Then again, themes in classical music and classical plays are reworked all the time. Romeo and Juliet - West Side Story, for example. But personally, I know when a line has been crossed and so do you.

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    1. But Judy, don't you know that all cowboys ride half naked? LOL!

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    2. And now they're talking about having AI (Artificial Intelligence) actually write the books. I need to lie down.

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    3. You know it gets hot out on the range! I'd rather admire a half naked cowboy than a woman falling out of her dress bodice!

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    4. Our son Jonathan was here last weekend and he and Irwin were discussing how difficult it is for teachers (and for business recruiters, too) to know who really wrote something. Sad commentary.

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  9. I love your cover! It's delightful and intricate. I can't really remember any covers that were misleading. I do remember buying Ordinary Grace because of the title, and not being disappointed.

    I have to say I was watching a brand new Hallmark movie this weekend, and the woman was reading The Great Gatsby--over the course of several weeks? Now I know why they chose that particular book, But hey, at least she was reading.

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    1. Yup, public domain. I think I need to figure how to not let that happen to my work - time to brush up on intellectual property law. Yikes.

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    2. You can’t! Everything loses copyright protection after a certain number of years. See the Intellectual Property Act!

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  10. Jenn, your cover is delightful! I love that nutcracker! Covers appeal to me or not, because I'm largely a visual first person, but if the synopsis or first few pages don't grab me, a cover won't keep me reading.

    And, oh, atrocious! Repubbing a masterpiece in the public domain? Get a real job, you worthless scum-suckers!

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    1. I'm sure this is just one of their many side hustles. :(

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  11. Holy cow, I am reeling from the audacity of repackaging a public domain book and selling it for profit...

    Your cover, Jenn, is spectacular. So fun and enticing. Which is how I like my covers -- enticing with a hint of what's inside, including the tone I can expect. I don't think I've been burned by a cover, but as Flora says, if the cover's got me but the first page or so misses the mark, then it's a no-go for me.

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  12. I remember pushing the book Ostrich Eye on middle schoolers when it was new. The cover was so blah and old fashioned looking, the kids wouldn’t give it a chance. Once they read it they found it to be a great book.
    The title and cover may be what grab my attention, but it is the synopsis that helps me with my final decision on whether or not to read it. Reader reviews and blurbs really don’t weigh much with me.
    Your new cover is terrific, Jenn!

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    1. Thank you. I remember pushing Star Girl by Spinelli with the same reaction from the kids. Such a great book.

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  13. Love the nutcracker cupcake hat! That is almost hard to believe that this is your first holiday-themed book, Jenn, with all your output.

    Thinking about book covers, I guess I'm no longer as trustful that what is on the cover reflects what is in the book. And that goes for titles, too. Sometimes I wonder from what celestial body the inspiration came, because it clearly was not the story therein. Reading ebooks and audio versions, too, covers are just not as important as they used to be.

    When Jonathan Franzen's book Freedom was published they used a portrait of a Cerulean Warbler (Roberta's sister's favorite bird?) on the cover, a photo taken by my brother-in-law Dave Maslowski. They kept it for every edition, and he got paid each time they used it, including for the overseas editions. I've still never read the book, so I don't know how that particular bird figures in the story, or even if it does.

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    1. Oh, that's fascinating! I'm delighted to hear that he was compensated!

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  14. Aww Jenn, what a superduper great cover! No wonder you swooned the first time you saw it! Generally it isn't the cover that entices me to get the book. But I love to look at the cover after I've finished the book and find all the bits that were in the story. Btw, when a main character is described as having raven tresses I don't like seeing the cover showing her as a platinum blonde! Thankfully I don't much read books like that anymore.

    I remember a few years ago a reviewer was raving about a book's cover. Hmm, it really didn't look all that special to me but I got the book and read it anyway. What a waste of time that was! Obviously the reviewer wanted to say something good about the book and that was the best that could be said. Live and learn. It didn't help that book that the next one read was one of the best ever. No idea what that cover looked like at all.

    I had to go look up the cover for that book. It was very simple, almost minimalist.

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    1. You just never know. Hilarious about the reviewer talking about the cover. I feel duly warned.

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  15. Love your cover, Jenn. Yes, I'm attracted to covers, but since I also read the jacket copy and the first few pages, I'm rarely burned by a great cover over a book that isn't my thing.

    I'm no great fan of Gatsby, but how horrid! And you're right. Those covers are pretty meh.

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    1. It's not just Gatsby either - Anne of Green Gables, Moby Dick, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and so many more - all public domain.

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  16. Love your cover, Jenn! The colors and the illustrations are wonderful. If I could twitch my nose like Samantha Stephens and turn these illustrated cupcakes into real cupcakes, then I would be in for yummy treats. Love the recipes in your cupcake series. Just finished your Fatal Fascinator hat mystery last night and loved it! Loved the puns too.

    Yikes! I think I saw the same ad you are talking about and I clicked "Hide ad" and when they asked why, I clicked "irrelevant". LOL. Isn't that plagarism???

    Have I ever been put off by a cover? I am sorry to say that really happened. I got a lovely Christmas gift and the cover had this illustrated face that SCARED me. It is a very popular literary fiction novel by a lovely author who wrote other books that I liked. I tried to read the book and I could not get into it. Finally gave up and donated it to the Little Free Library.

    Diana

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    1. Thank goodness for Little Free Libraries - I share many of my "couldn't get into" books with them :)

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  17. A clever cover can entice me to pick up the book but the blurb has to be really good to get me to buy the book. As for being fooled by a cover, no. So many do not relate to the story at all. I have been fooled by readers' raves about a book. I've eagerly picked it up to read and wondered what the heck all the hoorah was about upon finishing it.

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    1. Oh, I hate it when I get snookered by reviewers. Sometimes I wonder if we read the same book?

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  18. I can’t believe that this is legal! In my opinion, it’s definitely unethical. I’ve heard that the same thing is happening with Kindle, books, too.

    I love the cover of your book! A couple miles down from me there’s a bakery that makes delicious cupcakes. I’m thinking I need to get myself over there today. I have an errand in the same little shopping center, so…

    If I’m looking for a book by an author I’m familiar with, I don’t really pay attention to the cover, because I know that what’s inside will be good. I don’t really know if a cover has ever turned me off. It’s the synopsis that helps me decide if I want to read the book, especially if there’s a blurb from an author I admire. I’m sure that at times I did pick up a book or reject a book because of the cover, but right now I just can’t remember. I think it’s the titles that draw me in, more than the covers. I’m going to the library this afternoon. I’ll try to pay attention to whether or not I consider a book from a new-to-me author, based on the cover!

    DebRo

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    1. I do have auto buy authors as well whose covers don't matter but for a new to me, I need the eye catching engagement.

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  19. The cover of SUGAR PLUM POISONED is delectable, Jenn, and makes me want to read it right now, while stuffing my face with those cupcakes. (I honestly don't know how any of you who write about tasty food manage to stay in shape. THAT ought to be a future blog post!)

    I was once fooled by Danielle Steele, of all people, a writer whose prose is so awful it literally gives me a headache trying to read it. Credit to her - her stories are juicy and compelling, which is why that make fun movies, but her writing is so bad. Despite knowing this, I was in the library many years ago and saw her latest in the New Releases display. The cover was a ravishing 50s-style illustration of several high society men and girls casually posed around club chairs. The men were in black tie, the girls in ball gowns. The texture of the dresses! You could almost hear the swoosh and rub of silk. I fell for it. Checked it out. Didn't make it past page four. Can't recall the title. But, oh, that cover...

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    1. Yup, I would have fallen for that myself. You know, I don't think I've ever read a Danielle Steel book. Maybe way back when I was in high school but the story didn't stick because I truly can't recall.

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    2. My nickname for DS novels: "crying" books. I always end up crying and bawling whenever reading her novels.

      Funny story. When I was in high school, a friend who got straight A's in everything from English to Calculus to French? Spanish to Chemistry recommended Danielle Steel novels. They were books that did not require much from the reader. And another funny story. When I was at University, I was at FAO Schwartz and I saw a beautiful children's book written by Danielle Steel and there was a photo of her with her new baby Zara? The minute I put down the book, I ran into Danielle herself! Actually bumped into her and she was gracious about it. Would have loved to buy the book. However I had no money after buying a baby gift for a friend. You may like her children's books better than the novels for the grown ups?

      Noticed that DS writes books very fast! It seems that the minute I see her novel on the best seller list, there is always another NEW book in the bookshop / library. I wonder if she sends in two books to the publisher at the same time? Hmmm...

      Diana

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  20. Jenn, your new cover is absolutely delicious!! Love the nutcracker, love the gingerbread man. Your publisher's team is doing a great job on these, and we all know what a gift that is.

    I had a cruise through my local B&N last Saturday for the first time in ages. So interesting studying all the displayed covers, trying to get an idea what the latest trends are. I bought two impulse purchase hardcovers--we'll see if the covers led me astray!

    As for public domain repackaging, I find I'm not all that surprised. Grifters gotta grift, but they could have at least used a little more imagination...

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  21. Jenn, that cover of yours is fantastic! All the delightful details, such as the nutcracker's cupcake hat and the gingerbread man and the sparkly lights and the delicious-looking cupcakes. What a great package of holiday fun!

    I am a cover lover. I always notice the book covers, and I have my favorites over the years. I will buy a different edition of a book I already own just because of the different cover I like, and for favorite British authors, such as Elly Griffiths, I have been buying both the UK and the U.S. covers for a while now. I buy special editions of books I already have for the new cover, too. Two books I especially collect different covered editions of are The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Canterbury Tales. And what better books for a cover lover than books about book covers. Several that I have are 1) Classic Penguin: Cover to Cover (I do love so many different Penguin covers) 2) Children's Book Covers: Great Book Jacket and Cover Design (from 2006, looks at 200 years of children's book covers) 3) The Hooded Gunman: An Illustrated History of Collins Crime Club. I keep thinking I'll do a favorite covers post for each year, and I might just start with last year's books.

    What's really cool is that you can get prints of favorite custom made up as a collage or ones already made. I have fallen in love with Dell Mapback Books, so in this instance it's actually the back cover I'm most interested in. From Etsy I ordered a poster print of different (a lot of them) Dell Mapback covers. It shows the front and back covers. I love it. I haven't gotten it framed yet, but I will. I'm sorry to say that it's no longer available on Etsy. However, there are plenty of places you can get either premade or covers you choose prints made.

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    1. Ooooh, I love the idea of having prints made of a fave cover. I'd never thought of that. Huh.

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  22. Love the cover. I would pre-order it but it is too far out. Barnes and Noble started last fall sending me e-mails that I had to verify my credit info even though it is on file on their website. It is not a scam because the phone number is one I used to contact them before. One book was Fatal Fascinator which I have received. This current e-mail concerned Edith's latest and two of Ellen Byron's books. Has anyone else had this problem? I complained that I would stop pre-ordering far in advance at least from B&N. Does anyone know if Amazon has this problem? It is very annoying to have to call the company. They shouldn't put things on pre-order if your credit card isn't going to be good for it.

    I automatically buy my favorite authors' books or get them from the library. I do love covers, and they are a big factor in choosing new authors. However, the synopsis is probably the deciding factor.

    How are public domain books properly published? Doesn't anyone police this? It is a shame that people take advantage.

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    1. I think once it's public domain, no one polices it. I haven't had the pre-order problem, but I usually order at the 11th hour because I am unorganized like that :)

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    2. It is a Barnes &Noble problem only! It never happens on Amazon!

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