I’m throwing a little twist into this year’s Cover Trends post! Instead of grouping them by type (ie BIG HEADS, BIG WORDS, SOMETHING GREEN), I’ve decided to sort them by genre. Now you may disagree on how I’ve classified some of these books, but I’m doing my best. I’m by no means a genre-guessing guru (sorry, I couldn’t avoid that alliteration). A lot of these books could cross into multiple categories, but I hope you can see the trends I’m trying to point out.

Contemporary

Text-y is Sexy

I found more TITLE HEAVY covers in contemporary than any other category, but this type of cover is very, very prevalent across all genres. Here are just a few I discovered:

Couples are Cuter

I mean, can you write contemporary without a romance element? (Hint: The answer is yes, but the abundance of teen twosomes on these covers makes it clear that it doesn’t happen often).

Dystopian

Barrens Abound

I know, it’s dystopian, Becky. The whole point of the genre is that the world is broken, and these covers make that pretty darn clear.

The Eyes Have It

Do great big eyes give you the creeps? Because they totally do it for me!

Fantasy

Pretty, Pretty, Princess

I may be a little bit partial, but I have soft spot for fantasy covers. Maybe it’s the colors, maybe it’s the girl main characters, maybe it’s the luscious wardrobe. But obviously there is a trend for the genre: girls in great clothes holding an interesting item.

The Enigmatic Emblem

These covers don’t tell you who the main character is, the time period the story may be set in, or the problem the people might be facing, but they draw you in with the question: What in heavens name does that mean? You want to know now, don’t you? See. Marketing at its finest.

Historical

Swirls and Girls

This trend is much harder to spot — especially because this is the first time I’ve ever looked for books to drop into a purely historical category! Again, girls make up the subject matter, but there is one thing all these covers have in common. Do you see it? The authors names are in all caps while their titles feature some sort of script. Okay, okay, I was stretching for that one. I really just wanted an excuse to show that some historical novels are in the marketplace!!

Sci-Fi

Going Green

I’m decorating my new home with fresh blues and greens. It appears the publishing industry is doing the same, especially in the science fiction category!

Thrillers

Ode to Bond

Or maybe it’s Charlie’s Angels? Either way, the thriller category seems ripe with shadow girls with killer bodies. Heh…Killer.

Other Random Things I Spotted

Halfsies

Oh! Hello boy and girl divided by two different atmospheres! I wonder if your stories have anything to do with this couple overcoming their environments in attempt to get together. Cause that’s what the covers are saying to me, but I could be totally wrong.