Covers for backlist e-books?

aruna · Dec 6, 2011

If I e-publish a backlist, rights-reverted book do I have to generate a new cover, or can I simply make it available on the old amazon page, with the old cover? Not that I think the cover is particularly brilliant but it is the page with all the reviews and the cover would be familiar to some readers. And save me some money creating a new one!
Hope this is not a silly question.

Shara · Dec 6, 2011

If your book had a publisher, and they created the cover, it is likely that the cover is copyrighted to them.

You need to check with them. If they own the copyright to the cover, you'll need to create a new one.

Shara

shaldna · Dec 6, 2011

I'm not sure but I think there might be some copyright issue about the cover. Not even sure if this would be in your contract.

Old Hack · Dec 6, 2011

The publisher owns the copyright to the cover design. If you want to use it you'll need written permission from them. The same with the back cover copy: if they wrote it, you can't use it unless they give you their permission.

Soccer Mom · Dec 6, 2011

What Old Hack said. Frankly, it's easier just to commission a new cover than to try and get the rights to the old one.

J. Tanner · Dec 6, 2011

Old Hack said:
The publisher owns the copyright to the cover design. If you want to use it you'll need written permission from them. The same with the back cover copy: if they wrote it, you can't use it unless they give you their permission.

Additionally, the artist likely owns the artwork and only licenses the rights to use it to the publisher just like writers license the manuscript. (At least, that's how my illustrator friend who does occasional book covers explained it to me in his case.) So you'd likely need to secure the artwork in addition to the design elements done by the publisher.

aruna · Dec 6, 2011

Thanks for all the info.
So that means, if I SP the book, and had my own cover, it woulc not/could not be on the same page as the original PB? Couldn't enjoy the reviews etc, but would have to have its own page with new cover? Could I at least get the reviews?

J. Tanner · Dec 6, 2011

Amazon in particular has the best tools for this.

Each edition will, by necessity have its own page. Users on that page will see the cover for that edition (e-book, OOP paper, etc).

As the author, you will be able to set up a page in Author Central which links you to all of your books. And further from there (directly, or through support, I forget which off the top of my head) you will be able to link your different editions of the same book so customers will see the other options on each edition's page and be able to quickly jump to the page for the preferred edition.

I believe reviews of linked editions will have reviews shared. I have no personal experience with that, so I do not know if it happens automatically or if you, again, need to request it through Author Central. But it does happen.

What I do know is Amazon handles this stuff pretty well in my limited experience. Your milage may vary with other bookstores. (For example half the time on B&N searches for a specific title/author don't work properly and Customer Service will basically tell you their customers don't find books through Search anyway. So self-fulfilling prophecy they appear to have no intent to correct.)

merrihiatt · Dec 6, 2011

I've been able to link my books easily on Amazon (paperback and e-book versions of the same book). I don't think it matters if the cover is different. What Amazon cares about is that you wrote the books and that they are the same text inside.

Torgo · Dec 6, 2011

Here's how not to do it.

merrihiatt · Dec 6, 2011

I clicked on your link. Changing background colors could work for a series if you have an amazing image to begin with. That series of book covers didn't really grab me, but the one thing it does have going for it is continuity. If you liked one of the books, you'd be able to find the other books in the series easily.

ETA: I clicked on four of the book covers and they ranged in rank from 1,060 to 2,670. Just FYI.

Torgo · Dec 6, 2011

merrihiatt said:
I clicked on your link. Changing background colors could work for a series if you have an amazing image to begin with. That series of book covers didn't really grab me, but the one thing it does have going for it is continuity. If you liked one of the books, you'd be able to find the other books in the series easily.

Didn't really grab you? They're abominable. The colours are uniformly foul, the typography is hideous, the sketch of the author looks like an illustration from the Necronomicon. It's a good thing Amazon slices up the results into pages, because seeing all those covers at once would lead you to instantly become both blind and insane. These covers have lead to Catherine Cookson spinning in her grave so wildly that scientists are considering strapping her corpse into a magnetic coffin, wrapping it in copper wire, and using it to generate electricity. 1993 called and wants its junk mail back. The designer of those covers needs to take a long hard look at themselves, but cannot, because they are clearly some kind of eyeless creature from the lightless depths of the ocean who would explode if it were brought close enough to the surface to be issued with a mirror. I hate them. Since I saw those covers for the first time all is ugliness, ashes, and woe.

(I'd also point out continuity is not that huge a virtue as discovery is based on typing 'Catherine Cookson' in to the search box rather than looking at what the covers look like.)

Roxy Roller · Dec 6, 2011

When I published my out of contract book on Kindle, I designed a new cover, and posted all the reviews. There's no reason not to do the latter. The reviews do not belong to the publisher.

J. Tanner · Dec 6, 2011

Torgo said:
(I'd also point out continuity is not that huge a virtue as discovery is based on typing 'Catherine Cookson' in to the search box rather than looking at what the covers look like.)

Which is also why the e-book cover is not particularly important for this case either despite its, shall we say, arguably substandard elements.

On the other hand, when you have no name recognition, an attractive cover can be critical to getting someone to even look at your book when they run across it while browsing or through "also bought" type advertising. So I agree with your basic sentiment.

aruna · Dec 6, 2011

Thanks again to all.
Does this mean that if, for instance, someone went to my amazon-listed old paperback entry they would not know that the book is also available as an ebook? That they would only know if the clicked on my author name and the other editions came up?
If that is the case I'm going to do all I can to get permission to use the old cover!

merrihiatt · Dec 6, 2011

When you get them linked together, all the editions would show up together. So, if someone clicked on the e-book, it would list both the e-book and paperback options, although the e-book option would be the page that would open. If someone clicked on the paperback version, it would list both the paperback and e-book options, and the paperback option would be the page that would open. They would both be listed on the page, no matter which format the person chose, when they are linked together.

J. Tanner · Dec 7, 2011

See this example:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0615507719/?tag=absowrit-20

That box titled Formats that includes a Kindle edition will appear when you link them as noted before.

That box will not appear prior to linking them.

James D. Macdonald · Dec 7, 2011

aruna said:
Thanks for all the info.
So that means, if I SP the book, and had my own cover, it woulc not/could not be on the same page as the original PB? Couldn't enjoy the reviews etc, but would have to have its own page with new cover? Could I at least get the reviews?

The new SP edition will be listed as (e.g. Kindle version) on the same page as the original paper edition, if and only if the title and author is exactly the same as the paper version as shown at Amazon.

For example:

Bad Blood (paper edition) has a link to Bad Blood (Kindle edition) and the reviews carried over.

Meanwhile, the new Starpilot's Grave (Kindle edition) does not link to or carry over from the old (paper) Starpilot's Grave (title is slightly different; Starpilot's Grave: Book Two of Mageworlds vice Starpilot's Grave (Mageworlds, Book 2)).

Torgo said:
Here's how not to do it.

Given that those would all show up in grey-scale on the Kindle itself ... ouch.

BillWobbleSword · Dec 20, 2011

The publisher doesn't always own the cover rights. My new publisher hires an outside company to do cover art. That company owns the rights.

Old Hack · Dec 21, 2011

That's interesting, Mr Wobblesword. And unusual, in my experience.

But it doesn't change much here: instead of having to obtain permission to use the original cover design from the publisher, the author would have to approach the designers instead.

Torgo · Dec 21, 2011

Old Hack said:
That's interesting, Mr Wobblesword. And unusual, in my experience.

But it doesn't change much here: instead of having to obtain permission to use the original cover design from the publisher, the author would have to approach the designers instead.

The more usual possibility is that the cover uses library images that haven't been cleared for digital use. That's very common for backlist stuff from even just a few years ago.

Covers for backlist e-books?

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

Shara

Fix it in the Rewrite

shaldna

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Soccer Mom

Crypto-fascist

J. Tanner

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

J. Tanner

merrihiatt

Writing! Writing! Writing!

Torgo

Formerly Phantom of Krankor.

merrihiatt

Writing! Writing! Writing!

Torgo

Formerly Phantom of Krankor.

Roxy Roller

J. Tanner

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

merrihiatt

Writing! Writing! Writing!

J. Tanner

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

BillWobbleSword

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Torgo

Formerly Phantom of Krankor.