Evolution of a Romance Book Cover

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This May marks my 5-year anniversary of being a published romance author! *throws confetti* My debut Happy Endings released 5 years ago, in the middle of the pandemic.

Make sure to read to the end for a chance to win a copy of Happy Endings with hand painted edges—painted by me!

I almost skipped writing this post because I’m still recovering after a 4-day road trip from Maryland to Memphis and back. Yes, you read that right: four days. We surprised my partner’s high school best friend’s 50th birthday party.

Instead of a typical “let’s celebrate my book” post, I dug through my emails and files to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the book cover process with my publisher Avon.

It’s always good to set realistic expectations. I was fully prepared to have zero say in the book cover process.I knew that not having control in many aspects of my book came with traditional publishing. (See Vanessa Riley’s recent post about Black representation on her books.)

We were at the height of illustrated covers so I (correctly) assumed Avon would go that route for mine. I didn’t think they’d shell out money for a photoshoot with an Asian woman and Black man.

Of course, I still dreamed for an amazing cover that would make me (and everyone else) gasp. I’d heard horror stories from my fellow writers and other authors on the internet. I hoped that I wouldn’t be one of those.

Remember that traditional publishing is a lot of “Hurry up and wait.” I’d turned in developmental edits in June and had a little breather before my gallbladder sent me to the ER in early July. The cover process started in late July 2020. While the process seems fast in my behind-the-scenes, these iterations happened between July 2020-February 2021.

Cutting it close with my pub date of May 2021! Whew. The United States went into lockdown in March of 2021 so I wasn’t even sure if my pub date would get pushed back with all the supply chain issues.

I’m also grateful for my agent at the time, Tara Gelsomino of One Track Literary, guided me through this process.

I learned that my publishing team held a cover conference to discuss what would work best for each book: style, reader appeal, etc. My editor had already mentioned she wanted some sort of storefront with a window display since Trixie wants to open a sex toy boutique. But it needed to be tasteful since the books would be on bookstore shelves. (Thus the comment about passing the “Wal-mart test” though they never stocked my book.)

Imagine my shock when my editor asked “tell me your vision for the cover and let’s see what we can do.” She also asked about what cover styles and colors I’d like.

After the shock wore off, I put together a small brief. (Remember this was fall of 2020).

Here’s the visual interpretation (I put this together today less you think I was so organized back then.)

I didn’t realize it until after I’d sent the brief that I’d gravitated towards that greenish-blue color. I guess we like what like.

In early November 2020, my editor sent over 8 (!) different cover renderings. They were more or less similar with some tweaks in color, font, background, etc. Here are 5 of them.

My agent and I discussed these covers before she sent feedback to my editor. We didn’t love them and felt that they didn’t have the “energy and movement” I’d put in my brief. We also wanted the couple to look as if they, you know, liked each other.

Thankfully, my publishing team took our feedback and came back with these mock-ups. Note that one of the initial title fonts (one on the right) was kept in this round.

Tara and I agreed that they had more energy than the previous versions and eagerly awaited the colored versions:

Whew, we were getting closer! We pushed back on Andre’s clothing as he wasn’t the type to wear business attire. He’s a down home guy who runs a small, homey soul food restaurant. My agent also wanted to zoom in on the couple more so they’d take up more space. I agreed.

I honestly don’t remember if I voted for the blue or purplish-pink version because we’d gone back and forth so many times.

In December of 2020, I received my final cover. My editor had gone with the blue and made some changes based on our feedback. Andre’s shirt was untucked so he looked more casual. The art team had zoomed in closer to Trixie and Andre. I was happy to have a finished cover for my public reveal.

But WAIT! In February 2021, marketing had decided the black color for the title read too serious for a rom com. The cover title was changed to a pink-ish purple.

I am extremely grateful that my agent handled the difficult conversations about the changes we wanted for the cover. As a debut author, I would’ve been worried about how much I push back without coming off as “difficult.”

I was very lucky that my editor cared so much about my opinions on the cover which isn’t always the case. Did I love the final Happy Endings cover? Not the way I hoped I would, but I think it’s a good cover.

Readers expressed how thrilled they were to see Asian/Black representation on a traditionally published romance cover. In the end, that’s what matters most to me.

Win a very limited edition of Happy Endings! One will winner will receive their choice of either the pink & blue painted edges OR the one where I painted tiny vibrators. (Though my friend Wen Wen says they look like lobster claws.)

To enter: leave a comment below and tell me what you’re currently reading. OR if you’re reading this via email, hit reply and tell me. I’ll draw a name by June 3, 2026 and contact the winner. (US addresses only due to shipping.)

You can also support me by buying my books at your favorite indie bookshop or retailer!