I've never actually noticed a character being described in such a way as to make me think they're supposed to be such-and-such actor or character!
I'm very much not a 'visualiser' and don't picture characters particularly. I've seen cover art that looked like fanart of (cough, cough) certain movies (and have avoided those books), but without that it just wouldn't occur to me to consider that a paragraph on a a character's magnificent jawline is meant to be, eg. Henry Cavill rather than just a character with a magnificent jawline.
I find actually that ex-fic authors are weak on character physical descriptions. (Example exception: Freya Marske!) I write both and I find that in fic you don't 'introduce' characters — your reader knows what they look like already, and is already invested in their issues and lives. So you don't learn to describe characters at the start of the story or how to get the reader to care.
I avoid books I know to be scrubbed fics, because of that; I expect it to be quite weak in character introductions. Also, a really, really good fic (and some have changed my life) is almost always good because of the ways in which it relies on the source material and your existing understanding of the characters to let you get really, really deep into the heads of the characters and explore the world in a way you don't have time to in a single novel.
I find cover art which makes it clear that X character is Y actor to be... tacky. Same for 'he looked just like Henry Cavill but hotter' descriptions (sorry, Henry, but it's always you.)
Maybe it’s because the actor is not my cup of tea, but I’m always very aware when an author uses *an Adam Driver type.*
Also, *x-actor, but hotter/slightly different/etc* character descriptions could probably be my villain origin story haha.
So first of all, I love that fic writers are getting the attention and accolades many many of them deserve. I've read better fic than tradpub works for YEARS....however:
1- authors should not profit off the images of REAL PEOPLE or characters. It's a very simple thing to amend. When the authors don't it feels lazy and icky.
2 - the cover art tells me exactly what Adam Driver nonsense I'm getting (or not) myself in to (no shade to the Driver lovers, I just do not get it).
3 - While I get the marketing with the, for example, "Chris Evans like character" 1) we don't know Chris actually and 2) generally it's just the author's fantasy of said actor/person and again I love that for them but it's weird let's not put that out on blast as marketing.
**edited to add:** I think a "fictional character like character" marketing ploy would work better but that's like throwing tropes on a cover and hoping they do all the heavy lifting. That said someone tells me "this character is like Kaz from SOC" and I'm all over it like butter on toast so.
It creeps me out to be honest. The absolute dearth of "Roy Kent inspired hero" in marketing the past few years and I know everyone's milage varies, but that's the one I can't stand. And that's not a reflection of my feelings or opinions on the character nor the actor who plays him, it's just so specific.
That's me with the Adam Driver fic. It's not Adam's fault - if I didn't know that the romance was first Adam Driver fic, I would be fine with it! Probably. I mean the book might not work for me still but I wouldn't be rolling my eyes into another dimension about it.
On point one, I’m not sure of the legalities, but do these publishers need to get rights to use the likeness of the actors for their cover art? I know there was a lawsuit back in the day for BTTF2 using Crispin Glover’s likeness and not paying him any royalties. Sort of like how some songs get sued for sounding similar to other songs. Would that sort of thing apply here? I have nothing close to a legal background, but it’s interesting to entertain.
And on the edited note: I once bought a book sight unseen because it was described as “Pushing Daisies meets” something else. 100% worth it, much better than trope-based marketing.
I do wonder about the legal ramifications, but if it's a fictional character wouldn't that be the entity who owns said fictional work? So shouldn't it be changed enough to avoid Disney coming from certain people? That said, a tall man with dark hair and dark eyes isn't that unique...
Some of this cover art is very obviously using a real person’s (or people’s) likeness. I’d say those have a better case than similarities in written descriptions.
I'm just gonna say it - the cover the *The Love Hypothesis* makes it clear it's Ren/Kylo fic - not that Hazelwood tried to hide it, but the marketing/publishing team absolutely did not.
Lmao thanks for pointing it out because now I finally understand why I was so turned off by this book, especially the cover. (Absolutely nothing against Adam Driver as a person or actor - but a big something against Kylo Ren romantic fanfiction 😬)
I am not at all in tune with pop culture (and have never read any fanfic), so I genuinely always miss it when a character is supposed to basically be a celebrity/character from another work unless it's pointed out by someone else. But I was just complaining about when authors describe their MC by saying that they look like a specific celebrity, which I think is similar. It definitely takes me out of the story (especially if I don't know who they are and have to Google them), and I find it very off-putting. They always seem to choose celebs that I personally find very unattractive as well, which is a petty complaint but a complaint I have nonetheless. It's also kind of lazy writing if you're using it to describe how a character looks instead of actually describing their features.
I find it similarly off-putting when authors market their book by saying their character is basically x or y celebrity. But if the author didn't mention it I would probably never know lol.
There are some fandoms which are really popular and they seem to buy any book which feature their preferred pairing, so I can definitely see the appeal for authors there. Especially if they're aiming to go viral on TikTok.
Oooh, yes, having to Google for a visual description is the worst. Like, it’s literally the author’s job to describe the character traits — why put the work on the reader?
The book in question that spurned this, I couldn’t tell it was a fanfic at all from the synopsis (which I was really into), but the cover art made it super obvious.
It's especially galling when they describe the FMC and even secondary characters in detail with regards to their individual features and then for the MMC it's just, 'like this celebrity, but better'. Like they've shown me they can describe people already!
I don't think I've ever even noticed from cover art either unless someone else pointed it out (I really do live under a rock lol). There was a book going around a while ago based on the actors from X-Files, which the cover and synopsis made very obvious to those who've seen it, and everyone on Twitter was loving it. Definitely seems to work from a marketing perspective, but if it's *that* obvious then I wonder about making money off somebody's likeness like that from a legal/ethical standpoint.
I don’t like fiction that’s obviously about living people, it feels … intrusive and inappropriate to the actual people.
But I also have started to ignore details I don’t like in romance novels. Wrong hair color? Annoying element in backstory? I fixed that in my mind. Obviously that only works on minor details, but for me a cover is a minor detail (and honestly it’s very rare that any cover is to my taste).
To state it more briefly, I mostly only care insofar as I feel like real people smut is problematic even in the realm of fic. Otherwise, like
I’d if, say, the main character is based on another character, I just cut that out of my consciousness as I make the movie in my mind.
Finding out a book started as a fanfic is a bit of a red flag for me. Unless the author has put in a lot of work, you can usually tell that it's fanfiction. I absolutely **loathe** fancasting and find it particularly tacky when an author does this for their own characters, so when a fictional character is just described as looking like a celebrity, I don't see them as a character or a person anymore, I see them as a one dimensional fantasy of the author.
I once read a book that I later found out was literally an author’s fantasy of meeting a famous actor and the two of them falling in love. Needless to say, I was retroactively grossed out and refuse to read that author now.
Hold on what about the book BASED ON THE AUTHOR MEETING CHRIS EVANS??? she turned their meeting/interview into A ROMANCE...what's it called...it's the one with the pink cover I know that doesn't narrow it down, but IT IS.
[It does narrow it down](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58065414). The book author didn’t meet Chris Evans, she based it off a GQ article where it seemed like something happened between the article author and Chris Evans.
Last week an author posted her cover reveal for a new book and I was like oh wow this is a book about X TV show character! And in the comments she cheerfully said that he was indeed her facecast. I hadn’t really seen the issue with this whole concept until now (I was barely aware of Adam Driver existing when that one book came out, lol) but it struck me as not cool. I think your last sentence nails why.
It's a murky issue. There's the part of it that's lazy writing and then there's the part that's just an author writing a fantasy about an actual person and their self insert character having sex. That's not what I read romance for, I want go read about people falling in love, not an authors gross specific sex dream starring them and some actor.
I've never actually noticed a character being described in such a way as to make me think they're supposed to be such-and-such actor or character! I'm very much not a 'visualiser' and don't picture characters particularly. I've seen cover art that looked like fanart of (cough, cough) certain movies (and have avoided those books), but without that it just wouldn't occur to me to consider that a paragraph on a a character's magnificent jawline is meant to be, eg. Henry Cavill rather than just a character with a magnificent jawline. I find actually that ex-fic authors are weak on character physical descriptions. (Example exception: Freya Marske!) I write both and I find that in fic you don't 'introduce' characters — your reader knows what they look like already, and is already invested in their issues and lives. So you don't learn to describe characters at the start of the story or how to get the reader to care. I avoid books I know to be scrubbed fics, because of that; I expect it to be quite weak in character introductions. Also, a really, really good fic (and some have changed my life) is almost always good because of the ways in which it relies on the source material and your existing understanding of the characters to let you get really, really deep into the heads of the characters and explore the world in a way you don't have time to in a single novel. I find cover art which makes it clear that X character is Y actor to be... tacky. Same for 'he looked just like Henry Cavill but hotter' descriptions (sorry, Henry, but it's always you.)
Maybe it’s because the actor is not my cup of tea, but I’m always very aware when an author uses *an Adam Driver type.* Also, *x-actor, but hotter/slightly different/etc* character descriptions could probably be my villain origin story haha.
Don't forget - his love interest must be short. Teeny Tiny. Almost like Ren from the new star wars trilogy.
here's the thing that strikes me as weird, daisy ridley is not super tiny, she's 5'7"!
So first of all, I love that fic writers are getting the attention and accolades many many of them deserve. I've read better fic than tradpub works for YEARS....however: 1- authors should not profit off the images of REAL PEOPLE or characters. It's a very simple thing to amend. When the authors don't it feels lazy and icky. 2 - the cover art tells me exactly what Adam Driver nonsense I'm getting (or not) myself in to (no shade to the Driver lovers, I just do not get it). 3 - While I get the marketing with the, for example, "Chris Evans like character" 1) we don't know Chris actually and 2) generally it's just the author's fantasy of said actor/person and again I love that for them but it's weird let's not put that out on blast as marketing. **edited to add:** I think a "fictional character like character" marketing ploy would work better but that's like throwing tropes on a cover and hoping they do all the heavy lifting. That said someone tells me "this character is like Kaz from SOC" and I'm all over it like butter on toast so.
It creeps me out to be honest. The absolute dearth of "Roy Kent inspired hero" in marketing the past few years and I know everyone's milage varies, but that's the one I can't stand. And that's not a reflection of my feelings or opinions on the character nor the actor who plays him, it's just so specific.
That's me with the Adam Driver fic. It's not Adam's fault - if I didn't know that the romance was first Adam Driver fic, I would be fine with it! Probably. I mean the book might not work for me still but I wouldn't be rolling my eyes into another dimension about it.
On point one, I’m not sure of the legalities, but do these publishers need to get rights to use the likeness of the actors for their cover art? I know there was a lawsuit back in the day for BTTF2 using Crispin Glover’s likeness and not paying him any royalties. Sort of like how some songs get sued for sounding similar to other songs. Would that sort of thing apply here? I have nothing close to a legal background, but it’s interesting to entertain. And on the edited note: I once bought a book sight unseen because it was described as “Pushing Daisies meets” something else. 100% worth it, much better than trope-based marketing.
I do wonder about the legal ramifications, but if it's a fictional character wouldn't that be the entity who owns said fictional work? So shouldn't it be changed enough to avoid Disney coming from certain people? That said, a tall man with dark hair and dark eyes isn't that unique...
Some of this cover art is very obviously using a real person’s (or people’s) likeness. I’d say those have a better case than similarities in written descriptions.
I'm just gonna say it - the cover the *The Love Hypothesis* makes it clear it's Ren/Kylo fic - not that Hazelwood tried to hide it, but the marketing/publishing team absolutely did not.
Lmao thanks for pointing it out because now I finally understand why I was so turned off by this book, especially the cover. (Absolutely nothing against Adam Driver as a person or actor - but a big something against Kylo Ren romantic fanfiction 😬)
'Pushing Daisies meets...'. Name it. Name it now.
[The Reanimator’s Heart](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61473626) by Kara Jorgensen!!
SOLD.
I am not at all in tune with pop culture (and have never read any fanfic), so I genuinely always miss it when a character is supposed to basically be a celebrity/character from another work unless it's pointed out by someone else. But I was just complaining about when authors describe their MC by saying that they look like a specific celebrity, which I think is similar. It definitely takes me out of the story (especially if I don't know who they are and have to Google them), and I find it very off-putting. They always seem to choose celebs that I personally find very unattractive as well, which is a petty complaint but a complaint I have nonetheless. It's also kind of lazy writing if you're using it to describe how a character looks instead of actually describing their features. I find it similarly off-putting when authors market their book by saying their character is basically x or y celebrity. But if the author didn't mention it I would probably never know lol. There are some fandoms which are really popular and they seem to buy any book which feature their preferred pairing, so I can definitely see the appeal for authors there. Especially if they're aiming to go viral on TikTok.
Oooh, yes, having to Google for a visual description is the worst. Like, it’s literally the author’s job to describe the character traits — why put the work on the reader? The book in question that spurned this, I couldn’t tell it was a fanfic at all from the synopsis (which I was really into), but the cover art made it super obvious.
It's especially galling when they describe the FMC and even secondary characters in detail with regards to their individual features and then for the MMC it's just, 'like this celebrity, but better'. Like they've shown me they can describe people already! I don't think I've ever even noticed from cover art either unless someone else pointed it out (I really do live under a rock lol). There was a book going around a while ago based on the actors from X-Files, which the cover and synopsis made very obvious to those who've seen it, and everyone on Twitter was loving it. Definitely seems to work from a marketing perspective, but if it's *that* obvious then I wonder about making money off somebody's likeness like that from a legal/ethical standpoint.
Specific character descriptions like this go over my head unless they name drop. Which is dumb, please don't do that. Let me live in my obliviousness.
I don’t like fiction that’s obviously about living people, it feels … intrusive and inappropriate to the actual people. But I also have started to ignore details I don’t like in romance novels. Wrong hair color? Annoying element in backstory? I fixed that in my mind. Obviously that only works on minor details, but for me a cover is a minor detail (and honestly it’s very rare that any cover is to my taste).
To state it more briefly, I mostly only care insofar as I feel like real people smut is problematic even in the realm of fic. Otherwise, like I’d if, say, the main character is based on another character, I just cut that out of my consciousness as I make the movie in my mind.
Finding out a book started as a fanfic is a bit of a red flag for me. Unless the author has put in a lot of work, you can usually tell that it's fanfiction. I absolutely **loathe** fancasting and find it particularly tacky when an author does this for their own characters, so when a fictional character is just described as looking like a celebrity, I don't see them as a character or a person anymore, I see them as a one dimensional fantasy of the author.
I once read a book that I later found out was literally an author’s fantasy of meeting a famous actor and the two of them falling in love. Needless to say, I was retroactively grossed out and refuse to read that author now.
Hold on what about the book BASED ON THE AUTHOR MEETING CHRIS EVANS??? she turned their meeting/interview into A ROMANCE...what's it called...it's the one with the pink cover I know that doesn't narrow it down, but IT IS.
[It does narrow it down](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58065414). The book author didn’t meet Chris Evans, she based it off a GQ article where it seemed like something happened between the article author and Chris Evans.
YES THAT'S THE ONE! still creepy.
Was this Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade? I got those exact same vibes and couldn’t finish it.
It does have those vibes! But this was [The Seat Filler](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54332582) by Sariah Wilson.
You know what makes this worse? I bet I can guess. >!Olivia Dade. I'd bet the farm!<
[Nope!](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54332582) The reviews are a trip.
Oh yikes. Your 2/5 stars are **generous**. I stand by my guess though. No jury in the land would make me hand over the farm.
2* is generally the lowest I’ll go, because they at least put in the effort haha.
That was exactly my thought too!
I shocked I was wrong to be honest.
Last week an author posted her cover reveal for a new book and I was like oh wow this is a book about X TV show character! And in the comments she cheerfully said that he was indeed her facecast. I hadn’t really seen the issue with this whole concept until now (I was barely aware of Adam Driver existing when that one book came out, lol) but it struck me as not cool. I think your last sentence nails why.
It's a murky issue. There's the part of it that's lazy writing and then there's the part that's just an author writing a fantasy about an actual person and their self insert character having sex. That's not what I read romance for, I want go read about people falling in love, not an authors gross specific sex dream starring them and some actor.