I'm a member of a closed group for writers on Facebook. A few days ago, another member boasted that - after no sales on Amazon - he changed the title, author's name, and cover image of his e-book and it started selling.
I've just posted the following comment (I can't separate paragraphs in Facebook comments):
"So, you feel that it's perfectly alright to use a "sexy" image of a headless woman (like a piece of meat) to sell your book. +++ 380 members of Russia's parliament feel that it's perfectly alright for men to beat their wives. They've just decriminalised wife-beating (the vote was 380-3!!!) +++ Thousands of Spanish men feel that it's perfectly alright to kill women with whom they have personal problems. (There's a Spanish saying: "I killed her because she was mine.") So far this year (as of 20th Feb.), 11 of them have carried through. +++ Donald Trump feels that it's perfectly alright - FOR HIM - to make a grab at any woman's genitals. *** Just 4 points on the nasty, sleazy spectrum of misogyny. At least now I'll know to avoid any books by Scott Butcher / Tabitha Scott. But don't worry! You'll get the readers that you deserve."
What do the rest of you think? Is everything permissible to get people to buy your book?
I haven't seen the cover or read the book so I can't objectively judge but I do take offence at your comments Mr. Hopkins. The reality is that we live in a rape culture, perpetuated by the availability of such images, literature, t.v shows and so on that make you feel it's ok to say one man's misogyny is another woman's 50 shades. It follows that one woman's rape is another man's ' she was unconcious', 'she is my wife' or 'she was just playing hard to get'. I don't mean to say that you feel this way but by excusing misogyny as a matter of perspective opens the door to the Trumps and Putins.
Jimmy, you could have included the novel title and blurb as well, as marketing ploys to lure a reader.
Obviously, your talking about a self-published author. But even so, it's not permissible to use any image to sell a book. That's cheating the reader - fraud. A good way to fail to build a readership.
Sleazy and sloppy cover designs go hand-in-hand with self-published, and would-be authors.
A respected publisher, however, will go to great lengths to make sure the cover design is a good representation of the novel.
The images at the front and back of the jacket usually reflect the main theme of the novel, and, or, are symbolic. They may also relate to the title and the blurb. All clues as to what the reader can possibly expect from page one.
This may seem obvious to you, but I'm sure many of us have seen novels with near identical cover designs, or exactly the same one, which has been downloaded from the internet.
It appears there is nothing some authors won't do to promote their non-seller. Make false claims about it. Get family, friends and associates to give it rave reviews - and, spice up the cover design.
Unfortunately, we live in a world full of spin and a world full of false information..
One could argue the best way to sell a murder mystery would be to advertise you're the perpetrator. Most wouldn't consider going that far, so the answer to your question is 'no'. But cover art is much like content - it's in the eye/mind of the beholder. One man's misogyny is another woman's 50 shades.