🧚🏽‍♀️ Part 1. Romantasy Book Covers 🧚🏽‍♀️

Slide: Justine Anweiler, Romantasy Book Covers, 2024.

How Sarah J. Mass is Courting The Muse: A Journey Through Romantasy Book Covers, The Power of the Female Market, and Taylor Swift

This will be a multi-part series so stick with me if you like trendspotting and following the constellations of cultural zeitgeists.

I finished Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) very recently and it brought up a memory followed by a haunting regret.

I remember when I worked at Pan Macmillan, we published Sarah. I wasn’t much of a fantasy book cover designer as the aesthetic was heavy on Photoshop and often featured video-game-like avatars. It wasn’t up my skillset alley and the genre wasn’t in the mood to be challenged.

I say “challenged” because at this time fantasy was quite rigid. I can’t speak to the sales figures but I imagine much of was bought for very little on the hopes it would be the next Harry Potter. Seemingly low risk but also if you got it wrong – it might not sell at all. Meaning, you wouldn’t even hit the the guaranteed readership.

It could have been fun to prototype different styles and see what could be a breakthrough – but that wasn’t where investors' heads were at.

I did, however, take on a few authors.

I created the series style for Sarah’s good friend Susan Dennard in her Witchlands Series. I based it on the success (at the time) of Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games (likely you can see the references).

And, I pushed the envelope with the Amazon best-selling author, Amanda Hocking, who turned published – by designing Frostfire to echo the charm and beauty of Karen Swan’s Christmas novels, aiming for crossover readership appeal.

But I quickly gave up on the genre.

I felt there was very little wiggle room to do something new. Something edgy, high-brow in the design world, and a standalone for its beauty.

Usually, this genre was aimed at gamers, which we now know was off-target.

So the memory that resurfaced was when my colleague who sat across from me was working on Sarah’s next book. He had done some of her other covers and I remember picking it up and feeling so not the audience for it. Even though I was mid 20s, loved a good romance, fantasy, or coming-of-age story.

I jovially asked him” Why do you work on these?”
To which he responded with “Because they are actually really good books”.

The word “actually” here is key. The covers implied the audience was narrow, YA, and not mass market.

Which had me confused…

How did a man in his 40s, who didn’t game, find this book – with a blueish woman on the front who reminded me of sexy Lynx from The Legend of Zelda – appealing?

Something wasn’t translating.

If he thought it was excellent, why were the covers so niche?
So limiting?
So kept in a box?

Years later, as the ACOTAR and Throne of Glass (TOG) series are having a MASSIVE moment – I understand what we did wrong . . .

Come back tomorrow for 🌸 Part 2. The Power of the Female Market 🌸

Article FAQs generated by Chat GPT:
1. How have Sarah J. Maas’ book covers evolved to appeal to a broader audience since the early designs you worked on?
Sarah J. Maas' book covers have evolved by embracing a design language that reflects the blend of romance and fantasy (often dubbed "romantasy"). These newer designs appeal not just to young adult readers but also to older demographics, particularly women who connect with the deeper emotional and character-driven aspects of her work. The shift likely comes from recognizing that these books aren’t just for a niche audience but have broad, mass-market appeal, especially with the surge in romantasy.

2. Why was the fantasy book cover design scene so resistant to innovation and experimentation at the time?
The fantasy book cover design scene was resistant to innovation at the time due to a combination of risk-averse investors and market expectations, which prioritized tried-and-true, formulaic designs over creative experimentation that might have broadened the genre's appeal. This stifled creative freedom and kept the designs from evolving alongside the tastes of readers who, like Maas’ audience, were looking for more nuanced storytelling and aesthetics.

3. What role does the shift in audience—particularly the female market—play in the newfound success of Maas’ books?
The role of the female market in Maas’ success has been transformative. As the industry began to recognize the growing influence of female readers, especially in the fantasy and romance crossover genres, the marketing and design for Maas’ books shifted to reflect this. Female readers were drawn not just to the fantastical elements but also to the complex relationships, emotional depth, and character development in her stories. The result was a significant shift in the branding of Maas’ books, contributing to their explosive popularity and cultural impact.