tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790588464158346040.post2145708236011799304..comments2024-03-29T03:07:36.305-04:00Comments on Suleikha Snyder : Bollywood Confidentially: A Hard Look BackSuleikha Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06949092310094712391noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790588464158346040.post-20928122983385581892015-04-15T12:42:24.933-04:002015-04-15T12:42:24.933-04:00But I also think very successful authors have an a...But I also think very successful authors have an advantage over those of us who are up and coming or just starting out. Their readers are more willing to pick up MC/IR covers because they're a known quantity. Suleikha Snyderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06949092310094712391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790588464158346040.post-28865787339088956802015-04-15T12:18:50.318-04:002015-04-15T12:18:50.318-04:00Eventually, yes. That's the goal!Eventually, yes. That's the goal!Suleikha Snyderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06949092310094712391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790588464158346040.post-76462123684352817372015-04-15T12:17:56.690-04:002015-04-15T12:17:56.690-04:00I think finding models of color is a huge problem,...I think finding models of color is a huge problem, too. The fact that there's a dearth of stock art and few publishers have photo budgets is just sad. Because if covers with more POC *were* marketable to the mainstream, then there should be a source for them! Suleikha Snyderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06949092310094712391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790588464158346040.post-73150533370139706792015-04-15T11:35:27.473-04:002015-04-15T11:35:27.473-04:00I love all three of these covers. They're beau...I love all three of these covers. They're beautifully done and I think they match your writing style. It's so rare to see this! Any cover (or title, or author name) that hints of POC could be a problem for some readers. Catering to those readers seems counterproductive. But maybe an object cover would bring you more sales. It's so hard to say why something isn't working.<br /><br />I think POC covers do very well for some authors/lines. I know of a Kimani author who writes some white characters and gets all POC covers. I imagine this is because Kimani readers like to see POC on the cover. <br /><br />For other demographics, I just don't know. There seems to be two (often separate) markets for romance: mostly AA and mostly white. Books that don't fit neatly into either market have a harder time finding an audience. I've talked to Jeannie Lin and others at length about this. Of course it's a lot of speculation and "they say..." info. <br /><br />I hope we'll see more POC covers and more crossover and less silent acceptance (from authors and readers) of whitewashing. Every time an author, especially a very successful author, accepts a cover that clearly depicts a white model instead of a POC, they're adding to a negative cycle. POC covers can't sell if they aren't there.<br />Jill Sorensonhttp://www.jillsorenson.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790588464158346040.post-44699296942461172882015-04-15T04:57:12.058-04:002015-04-15T04:57:12.058-04:00Can you get the rights reverted and then do (most ...Can you get the rights reverted and then do (most of) these things differently?Roshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02669423378438380019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790588464158346040.post-53745712907945337042015-04-08T23:26:34.263-04:002015-04-08T23:26:34.263-04:00Cringing at number one. My Inbetween series has no...Cringing at number one. My Inbetween series has nothing but non-white male leads and the publisher I'm with wanted the eye candy (the incubi I write) on the cover. Understandably. They're sexy as hell. For book one, we had to color-correct a white guy. There were no Egyptian models to be found. Book two has a man from central Africa. Book three will have a Native American lead. Based on your experiences and what I've seen, book one will be the best seller of the group, only because the cover model can still "pass" as white. And it pisses me off. This shouldn't be an issue still.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790588464158346040.post-55554542695222577142015-04-08T15:54:47.705-04:002015-04-08T15:54:47.705-04:00Thank you. <3. It's hard because I think I ...Thank you. <3. It's hard because I think I had more fun and more drive when I was writing just to write. When you turn it into a business, it becomes work and all that comes with work -- including the business of getting it into readers' hands. And that requires a different muscle than the creative one!<br /><br />I have to hang on to how much I love the actual writing, and how much it means when people love to read it! <br />Suleikha Snyderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06949092310094712391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790588464158346040.post-90172841242437822182015-04-08T15:32:22.390-04:002015-04-08T15:32:22.390-04:00This is a tough read, but I'm glad that you...This is a tough read, but I'm glad that you're letting people know about the very real difficulties of marketing romance that centers on POC characters. I'll never forget only being at RT for, what, a few days (?), when we went to Lady Jane's and you read from Spice and Smoke — it blew me away, and I bought the book five minutes later. I'd have read a whole book about Avi and Michael, but you had to follow your instincts at the time.<br /><br />I tell you this all the time to your face, but I'm happy to say it here, too: You are doing good work and don't undersell or downplay that in your self-analysis. That doesn't mean you can't wish for more people to read and buy your books, or that you shouldn't want to market accordingly; just don't let the $$ be the final say on your worth as a writer, or as a person. Sometimes we just need to remember that the work is what we have and what we can control. You're amazing. <3 Regina Smallnoreply@blogger.com