Del amor voluptuoso
A traves de Cruel.com me he topado con esta página sobre portadas de novelas románticas. Al principio creía que era de la chanza y la burla, pero no. Cruel.com linka a un concurso con las portadas del 2002, pero sólo a la nominación de Peor Portada del Año . Si bien es cierto que la ganadora de esta categoría es aberrantemente fea, y que una de las nominadas bien merece ser clonada en una próxima portada de los Focomelos o de MPX, a grandes rasgos tengo el grave problema de que todas las categorías, todas las portadas me parecen de un mal gusto espectacular.
Leo en la web cuáles son los requerimientos para distinguir una portada buena de una mala:
- Readers like covers that accurately depict the contents of the book. It sounds so simple, but so many covers go astray in this area. Readers notice when the cover highlights a scene that actually happens in the book, and they notice if the artist has added the right hair color. They also like the mood of the book to match the cover; paranormal books should be eerie and maybe a little foreboding, whereas Regency covers should be elegant and romantic.
- Readers like natural poses. Poses can be sexy, flirty, or even reserved - but readers like the people on their covers to look like people. No one wants to see a couple posed like Barbie and Ken dolls at the prom, and no one wants to see a hero and heroine contorted in an anatomically impossible position just because they are in a sexual frenzy.
- Readers love sexy - as long as it’s tasteful. Let’s face it; many romance readers love reading about sexy men. We don’t mind looking at sexy men either, as long as the cover shows them in a tasteful way. Covers that were sexy and modern without being tacky fared well with voters. We’d rather not see the heroine’s hand in the hero’s pants, but we’re not above a steamy, sexy shower shot.
- Authors love gorgeous covers too. This year we had more authors vote and comment in the contest than ever before. It’s a trend I applaud; after all, who has more riding on a good cover than an author? Several authors are quoted in the results column, and in most cases, I simply used their first names (as I did with reader comments).
Y no me aclara nada.
Patéense la web, y gocen del inimitable grafismo y los pomposos textos, que hacen que mi prosa parezca incluso sencilla. Por supuesto, este post está dedicado a una sabia amiga que ayer me dio una gran noticia. La quiero leyendo estas cosas pero ya.
