Be Careful When Selecting Cover Art For Your Stories!

I’ve produced enough written material during these past few months to finally feel comfortable calling myself a writer. Considering that I've made around $140 from reads, bonuses and tips since joining Vocal four months ago, I can even call myself a “professional writer”. I’m plotting a novel and am participating in National Novel Writer’s Month (NaNoWriMo) in November, and hope to be a published novelist one day.

As my following increases, I have started to hear from professionals offering services like editing, promotion, representation, and cover design. I’m not ready for most of that just yet, but it has given me much to consider.

As I plan my upcoming novel, I find myself developing not just plot points and characters, but an overarching design theme, tone, and brand. I think about what a hardcover would look like, and how it would translate to paperback, or electronic formats. As I consider language and art, I have to think about what might be funny, attractive, and well-received, but I also need to think about what could be ugly, misunderstood, and mocked.

I need to make sure that when the time comes, my cover art doesn’t contain an accidental dick pic.

You know what I mean. Those photos and covers that “reveal” a bit more than we planned. Or at least they seem like they do. Here are a few images that you may have encountered on the internet:

This classic "what did I just see" photo has been floating around the web for at least a dozen years. It's a perfect example of how an optical illusion can fool our eyes. In this case, it appears that the woman leaning over her friend's shoulder is completely nude. But look again, and you realize that what seems like a naked body is just the arm of the woman in front!

Another such illusion that has been frequently viewed on the internet is this sweet photo of a new parent holding their sleeping infant. Oh, those adorable little baby feet!

Hypervigilance about such photos is especially critical when it comes to children's books and products. For example, does anyone remember the Buzz Lightyear sippy cup sold at Target a few years ago?

Later, Target redesigned the cup so that the straw was on the side, but not before millions of customers saw it and wondered how something like this made it through even a single production meeting.

Similarly, there have been some questionable designs when it comes to Halloween costumes. Behold, the mighty Kraken!

Boy, oh boy! That little octopus must have been able to grab lots of candy with eight arms!

To be fair, the little blue squid costume may have been homemade, but this elephant rider costume photo came directly from the package:

It gives new meaning to "trunk or treat," doesn't it?

Children's books can also be a dangerous place to find "suggestive" photos and phrases. Some of us are old enough to remember reading primers like Fun with Dick and Jane that would never see the inside of a classroom these days. There are also some "children's" books that are deliberately suggestive in a way that is intended to amuse adults while flying right over the heads of kids. One such book, by the Cifaldi Brothers, is called Do You Want to Play With My Balls? In that story, friends help carry each others' ball sacks, and marvel at the fact that their balls are so big that they can't fit them in their mouths. Clearly, the authors are being deliberately provocative for the sake of humor, but there are plenty of kids' books that are unintentionally so.

Here's one that I found in a preschool classroom at a parochial school:

Maybe it's just me, but does The Biggest Leaf Pile look like it has a big, red dick and balls on the lower left of the cover? Perhaps I have a particularly dirty mind. Not everything looks like genitals!

Don't be ridiculous!

It's not just children's products and books that are at risk for such unintentional illusions. Many writing topics can generate concern as well. For example, if your book is about farming, this photo of piglets eating is probably not something that you should use:

If your book is about men's health, sunglasses, friendship, gardening, swimming, or any other pursuits, maybe don't use this image of close friends posing together outside of a pool.

If you are planning to write something about the military, Canada, munitions, state funerals, and the like, this photo may not be what you're looking for in a cover photo:

Often, writing about nature can open up an entirely new can of worms when it comes to avoiding the "accidental dick pic" situation.

Ultimately, it's important to have several trusted people look over your media and cover art before it is published. Several pairs of eyes can help find any unexpected humor or horror with questionable photos.

Of course, it's not always the images that are the problem. Fonts can also be dangerous! (But that's a totally different story!)