All the Buzz

You know, I've had many conversations with different editors and
agents who freely admit that many publishing houses simply do not
know how to effectively market black authors, especially those of us
who are writing romantic suspense. When I compare my romantic
suspense covers with most of my white contemporaries, the difference
is like night and day. Their covers actually convey suspense and
reflect what the story is about. I think publishers have decided
that black readers will not buy a romantic suspense novel written by
a black author if the cover does not have black people on it, or if
the cover looks too "suspenseful" or "high-concept. " It is a notion
that I find extremely insulting and narrow-minded, and I have been
fighting this misconception ever since I got published, to no avail.

My Kensington editor explained to me that their booksellers don't
want suspenseful covers, unless you are a New York Times bestselling
author (and even some of those authors are not selling as many books
as they used to). What the booksellers claim to want are sexy covers
because, of course, sex sells. I get that. I understand that many
readers will reach for a book with a fine, half-naked man on the
cover over a book with a bloody knife on the cover. (Hell, I still
drool when I see the cover to the BEST MAN anthology. Umph, umph,
umph!) But suppose you're browsing in the bookstore, and you really,
really don't like romantic suspense novels, and you pick up NO ONE
BUT YOU by Maureen Smith, an author you've never heard of before.
You pick up the book because of the chocolate brotha on the cover,
and you're expecting a different kind of story. Wouldn't you feel
deceived after you read the book and realized it was a romantic
suspense, which ain't your cup of tea? Wouldn't you feel misled by
the cover? Now, as an author, I would hope that the reader enjoyed
the book regardless, but I also couldn't get mad if she sent me an e-
mail saying the cover misrepresented the book. That's all I'm
saying. I want publishers to stop putting readers (especially black
readers) into the same one-size-fits- all box. I think it's a shame
that at the end of a glowing review I received from the San Antonio
Express-News, the reviewer had to urge readers not to judge the book
by its cover. He basically said that readers should not make the
mistake of bypassing WHISPER MY NAME simply because of its awful
cover. See what I mean??

--Maureen Smith, author of A Risky Affair