Can a cover sell a book?

[SheliaRudesill]

On the thread about first person, I mentioned Bret Lott's "A Song I knew by Heart." The cover caught my eye and made me pick it up. I wanted to read a book written in first person and when I discovered that it was I bought it.

I think covers are extremely important as well as size compared to word count. In other words a 6X9" book with 72 pages isn't attractive to me and I probably wouldn't buy it. If the size was cut down and the number of pages went up I feel that the book would have a better chance of selling.

Your thoughts?

[maestrowork]

Methinks that's true -- the old cliche "don't judge a book by its cover" works both way... Granted, the book has to be good to begin with, but I do think a great cover helps the book. Packaging is very important in this world. Personally, I have picked up many books based on the covers themselves, and may have bought a few without actually reading a chapter or two first.

(Lott's cover is excellent -- aims right at the heart of its would-be readers.)

(I've heard a few people saying how the cover of my book is nice enough that they'd like to read the book because of that. And Sheila, I think you'll like my book -- it's written in first person. ;) )

I think a good cover should do a few things:
- evoke certain emotions
- be eye-catching -- how does it stand out among 1000 other books?
- tell you something about the theme or the story
- be dramatic

[Azure Skye]

I bought a book based on the cover once and I'll never do it again. The cover was quite nice and the story description on the back seemed ok but then I read it and wondered why I read it.

[Dev]

So Azura, how do you choose to give a new author a try? Just curious...

--Dev

[Terra Aeterna]

There are books that I've hesitated to buy because their covers were too embarrassing to be seen carrying in public.

[BradyH1861]

One of our local judges was arrested while on his way to a costume party. It appears as though he was dressed as an inmate from the county jail. The officers assumed he had escaped, and picked him up. Of course, it was sorted out with some mild embarrassment for all parties involved. The point of this story is to let you know that you cannot book a judge by his cover.

Anyway, I think covers can help sell books. If a cover catches my eye, I usually pick up the book and read the blurb on the back. If it looks good, I'll buy it. Of course, I once bought a romance novel strickly because of the cover. :whip:

Brady H.

[Azure Skye]

So Azura, how do you choose to give a new author a try? Just curious...

--Dev


Read the back of the book and if I like it, read a little bit of the book itself in the bookstore before I purchase it. I've done this with all of my book purchases lately and it seems to be what works for me. I also go by recommendations from others if it's in a genre I'm not used to reading, like fantasy.

When I go shopping for books, I usually have a book in mind before I go into the store. Very rarely do I see a book on the shelf and buy it right off. I've only done that a few times. One was mentioned above. The writing of the book was good but the subject matter wasn't my cup of tea. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. Impulse, I guess.

You know what catches my eye? A good title. I'm a sucker for a good title.:gone:

[veinglory]

A good cover will pull me and give the book a chance I have probably passed on many wonderful but drab-ly presented books.

I like the cover art to be well drawn and detailed and to show the themes of the book. The British art for Mercedes Lackey's books would be my idea of ideal (even though the books aren't).

[aka eraser]

I hope so. ;)

[LRFarley]

I think the best idea is a good looking cover, impregnated with pheromones that waft out as a person passes by, forcing them to buy up all the copies available. Or, since that technology is likely to be suppressed, a simple soaking of the cover material in the pheromone might do it.

Seriously, inasmuch as a book is combination of factors, the cover art can detract as well as add to a book's buy-me factor. Ducks in a row.

Bob/lrf

[SRHowen]

I look for authors I know, or who have been recommended to me. If I can't find anything by the author I haven't read, I browse by genre. And, yes, if a cover catches my eye I pick the book up, read the back, then read the first few pages and something from the middle of the book.

If it is written well, or for some reason makes me want to read the rest of the story, I buy it.

I hate covers that have nothing to do with what the book is about.

Shawn

[BradyH1861]

I hate covers that have nothing to do with what the book is about.

Shawn

Me too. But then again, if I ever publish a book, having scantily clad blondes on the cover might boost sales....even if it has nothing to do with the book. :Thumbs:

Brady H.

(I'm just kidding, of course)

[CACTUSWENDY]

:Jump: :Jump: :Jump: :Jump: ...............PART OF MARKETING IS THE COVER AND IT REQUIRES A GREAT DEAL OF THINKING TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE REASONS.

HOW IT'S PACKAGED CAN MAKE OR BREAK IT FOR A 'NO NAME' WRITER. (JUST MY OPINION)

BRADY.....JUDGE.....:roll: :roll: :roll:

[victoriastrauss]

Publishers and their marketing departments devote a lot of strategy to cover art and design. Some of this seems like casting runes or reading tea leaves...my most recent book has an Asian-ish setting, but I was told my editor that Asian-style covers don't sell, so we couldn't have an Asian theme (other publishers, I note, seem to do fine with Asian-style covers). I was also told that fantasy by female authors sells better if there's a female figure on the cover, so by hook or by crook there had to be a woman on the front of my book. The end result is striking, but I have no way of knowing if the chick on the cover resulted in more sales than the solo male figure that was the original cover concept.

Readers' expectations are also important. Readers in certain genres expect certain styles of covers--a thriller reader expects big blocky lettering and little or no artwork, and a fantasy reader expects something that looks like a scene or setting from the book. If you deviate too far from these expectations you can hurt sales. My novel The Arm of the Stone was part of the launch list for Eos when it was a brand new imprint. One of the things that was supposed to define the imprint was a move away from conventional representational SF/fantasy artwork toward more graphics-inspired covers, and all the launch books had funky covers that didn't look a thing like the other SF/fantasy books out there. I liked my cover (to be honest, I hate most SF/fantasy covers). But readers really didn't. The publisher got letters. I got letters. I'm sure it cost me sales. For the sequel, the publisher went with more typical fantasyish artwork.

The covers of commercially published books have a certain look to them, in part because of custom-designed lettering. Someone who sees a lot of books can usually immediately identify something that's self- or POD-published, because of the use of standard fonts.

- Victoria

[mdin]

For me it works more in the opposite. Like someone said above, if it's an embarrassing cover, I don't want to be seen reading it. There are heaps and heaps of small presses out there that put out great books with simply awful covers. Bryce is not your friend, people. Another thing that annoys me is a well-designed cover that tells you nothing whatsoever about the book. PA is famous for that.

For me, an eye-catching cover does just that. It catches the eye and immediately tells me at least the genre of the book. Then it's up to the cover blurb and first page to get my $7.99.

[Richard]

Can I double up that comment on Bryce? I don't think I'm alone in saying that I can spot a Bryce cover from miles away - and that's the pro ones. It's a great program, and you can do some great things with it, but you really have to work it hard to get something that doesn't immediately scream 'AAAAIE!'

This is one that really stuck in my head:

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/1903889626.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

You genuinely have to wonder what goes through peoples' minds when they commission a cover like this. Horrible photography, hideous fonts, terrible Bryce work and some of the tackiest paper stock I've ever felt in a commercial book. I had it to review for SFX many moons ago, and so was reading it on the train. Just to see if I was being too harsh on it, I read it fairly obviously, and you would not BELIEVE how many people took time out of their journey to spontaneously laugh at it.

[SheliaRudesill]

Maestrowork -- Is your book The Pacific Between? What genre? What publisher? Release date? First person present or past or both?

AKA eraser -- Great cover and even greater webpage! Did you design both?

Azura -- I'm a sucker for titles, too. Sometimes I think up a really great title and then see if I can come up with a story.

Brady -- I'm for non-suggestive nudity. There's nothing more beautiful than the human form. I tried to get my husband to put a female nude dancing on a red sand dune at sunset on his cover but he chose something less clever. Of course my idea was that the nude be unrevealing, yet show the feeling of true abandon which is a major part of the story.

Victoria -- All your covers are beautiful!

Can't remember who said it, but female authors with a female on the cover sounds sound. Unfortunately, I put a male on my second novel which is to be released March 10. I thought it was better than a wagon train! (It's about the Oregon Trail.)

[Vomaxx]

I read many reviews of fantasy novels at Amazon, and I am surprised by the number of reviewers who say they bought a book because of its cover. (Not just picked it up--bought it.) These reviews often then go on to say that this was a mistake, but they bought it, by golly. Covers seem to be of very great importance in fantasy.

[--E]

The covers of commercially published books have a certain look to them, in part because of custom-designed lettering. Someone who sees a lot of books can usually immediately identify something that's self- or POD-published, because of the use of standard fonts.

- Victoria


-->Hmm, except that most commercial publishers use standard fonts these days, too. Which doesn't make it any harder to tell the self-pubbed from the professionally-designed, of course. The pros not only (a) position the type more pleasingly relative to the art, they also (b) tweak the hell out of it until it's as close to a custom logotype as Quark or InDesign can make it. And they have a much better grasp of color. Self-pubs seem to think that eye-catching=good, and blazing-bright title type is the preferred method of fishooking unsuspecting eyeballs.

Two of my favorite games in the bookstore are "name that typeface" and "vanity or real?"

--E

[Richard]

MS Comic Sans. The choice of professionals.

[mistri]

If I'm browsing in a book store then a nice cover can certainly compel me to pick a book up, though I'll only buy if I like what I see on the back and maybe in the first few pages.

I buy most of my books online via suggestions, so covers don't normally come into it.

[three seven]

If I'm browsing, which I rarely do any more, it's usually the title of a book that attracts me more than the cover design. However, my most recent purchase was a boredom-induced book aisle flyby in the supermarket, where I was distracted by this book's stark cover (kind of reminded me of those nervy titles they use in films like se7en) and frisbeed it into the trolley on the basis of the tagline:

http://www.allenandunwin.com/images/CoverImages/075285903X.jpg

It wasn't that great.

[kdfrawg]

Ask yourself a question: "When was the last time you bought a bottle of wine just because you liked the label?" The follow-on question is, "How well did you like the wine?"

A good label may have some impact on how many people buy a new author's book. Maybe 10%. If the book sucks, a good cover won't make it sell.

Book cover designers may tell you otherwise, but they have an axe to grind.

[three seven]

If the book sucks, a good cover won't make it sell.
I think I just disproved that!

[CaoPaux]

I’ve bought books just for the cover (and the novels were readable, if nothing to write home about). I’ve also not bought books I wanted to read because I thought the covers hideous/distasteful. Instead, I checked them out of the library. I stopped buying one of my favorite authors because a new artist had this stiff, bug-eyed, no-neck style for the cover characters that just gave me the creeps.

[aka eraser]

AKA eraser -- Great cover and even greater webpage! Did you design both?

Thank you and thank you!

I was given a choice of four or five photos/artwork for the book's cover. I didn't hesitate when I saw this one. It was so compelling compared to the others.

All I can take credit for regarding the website are the colours, the home page concept and the content. The good people of Infinite Web Designs (http://www.infinitewebdesigns.com/) put it all together for me. They were remarkably patient as I dithered over this, that and t'other thing. I can't speak of them too highly.

Thanks again Shelia.

[pdr]

I'm getting old and crotchety but I am sick and tired of most book covers. The picture usually has no bearing on the contents. Often the blurb is misleading or emphasizes one minor aspect of the story. The quotes and comments that the book is: 'the best ever', 'Tolkien's counterpart', or 'fantastic story telling' seem to be in inverse proportion to the writing. The more enthusuastic the comments (the louder the yell) the worse the writing. I now read a good chunk of the book in the shop before buying and trust certain reviewers whose taste seems similar to mine.

Does anyone else like the distinctive covers of Joanne Harris's ('Chocolate') books?

I really don't feel most covers do a good job of selling the author which is what we all want. And those misleading covers will surely put a reader off. They do for me.

[triceretops]

Well I certainly can't stand the 700 page pb's that are mono-color, usually a stark black or red then have the author's name embossed across the whole front cover with type larger than the title. Does Jackie Collins ring a bell? Those are'nt covers--they're author sign posts.

Forget who he is/was but the guy who did the Conan fantasy covers. Now if it looks that good I can blow it up, frame it, and hang it on the wall. That's art in a cover, and I like that. Any artist who's been commisioned for a specific project shows (at least) that somebody cares about something.

Ultimately, bottom line--the author sells the book.

Tri

[Kallahan]

Fabio sold books, so yes, yes it can.

[maestrowork]

Sheila, so many questions!

My book, The Pacific Between, is mainstream/lit fic (depending on your definition). It's going to be released this year. It's not a love story; it's a story about love. And it's set in the US and Asia.

And yes, it's first person, present tense (with the back stories in past tense).

I will let you guys know more when it's finally in the stores...

[SheliaRudesill]

I got my threads all mixed up and posted a "projected" cover on the first person thread instead of this one. Somewhere we were talking about fonts. I love what my hisband did for this cover. He painted my idea of my protagonist then used the computer to swirl the picture. The font he used swirled, too -- from Word Art on Microsoft Publisher. The result is fabulous, I think. But does the "common" font look amateurish? I'll post it here and remove it from the other thread. Let me know what you think and be honest, I can take it! I've had hundreds of rejection letters.

[SheliaRudesill]

Ray -- That's one of the *BEST* covers I've seen. It makes me want to read it! Can you post a paragraph that shows first person, present tense? Well, can you post it on the First Person thread? I keep getting the two mixed up!

[maestrowork]

I posted my reply in the "present tense" thread... ;)

[maestrowork]

Ray -- That's one of the *BEST* covers I've seen. It makes me want to read it! Can you post a paragraph that shows first person, present tense? Well, can you post it on the First Person thread? I keep getting the two mixed up!

Thanks! I will post one passage in the "present tense" thread so you know what I did... now, I just need to find a kick-a** passage to show off... Bwhahahaha.

[James D. Macdonald]

A cover is a tiny point-of-sale advertising poster for the book. Its purpose is to tell the reader "this is the kind of book you enjoy." It's purpose isn't to illustrate the book; a cover painting may not reflect any particular scene in the book, merely give an idea of the feeling the book will produce in the reader.

If the book cover doesn't tell you what genre the book belongs in ... it isn't doing its job.

Cover design is a specialty.

A book cover should induce a reader to pick the book off the rack, and at least glance at the back cover blurb. With luck, the reader will then scan the first chapter. With more luck, the reader will carry the book to the cash register.

(The saying "you can't tell a book by its cover" dates from the days when the exact same pages would be custom-bound in covers that the bookbuyer specified to match his taste, his budget, and the other books in his library. That was a couple of centuries ago. Nowadays you most certainly can judge a book by its cover. The publishers rely on you to do it, and that's how most readers commonly make the first cut on selecting a book to buy.)

[Denis Castellan]

Nowadays you most certainly can judge a book by its cover. The publishers rely on you to do it, and that's how most readers commonly make the first cut on selecting a book to buy.)
That's the way I choose the books I buy. I mean, books from authors I never heard of before, and once I'm facing the shelves dedicated to the genre I fancy. It's either that or toss a coin, I guess...

In France, covers are sometimes different from the original books (foreign books, of course.) For instance, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has a different color but it's basically the same (Mona Lisa behind torn paper) while his Angels & Demons originally has a running man in a red ray of light and Michelangelo's Creation of Adam in France.

[cwfgal]

WHen Harper sent me the cover for my first novel I really liked the way it looked and felt. The design was relevant to the story and it was different from most covers I'd seen in that it didn't have the shiny, glossy kind of finish most paperbacks do but rather a flatter, sleeker, smoother finish that was kind of sexy feeling--very tactile in both the feel of the basic cover material and the raised lettering. My agent loved it and raved that because it was different from the norm it would stand out more.

It did stand out but not in a good way. That flatter, sleeker finish that looked and felt so good by itself appeared cheap and dull when it was positioned on a table or rack or shelf and surrounded by all the other glossy covers. I still like the design but if I had it to over again, I'd probably insist on the tacky gloss finish.

Beth

[maestrowork]

Beth, I like the matte finish... but are you saying by itself it's great, but next to other glossy-cover books it pales? Why?

[Canada James]

There's an old saying:
"You can't judge a book by its cover, but you can sell one."

I decide what to rent the same way. I peruse the covers until I find one I like. Then I read the back, decide if the story is interesting, and then rent it (or put it back on the shelf).

C. James

[maestrowork]

I decide what to rent the same way. I peruse the covers until I find one I like. Then I read the back, decide if the story is interesting, and then rent it (or put it back on the shelf).


In a way, it's kind of like dating. :tongue

[Bud Rudesill]

Thank you Ray for the complement on the cove I did for Shelia.

[Diviner]

I am a great patron of the library. My first choice is always the author. My second choice is the cover, followed by the publisher. Recently I found a novel with a great cover by an new author and checked it out. The book so stunned me that I ordered it over the internet, so I guess the cover sold me, or at least caught my interest enough for me to read it.

In a bookstore, the cover comes first. Always. I pick up books with great covers and read the back, the first page or so, the inside cover. If I am intrigued, I buy.

My idea of a great cover is usually original art or a photo that looks like original art. Though I have been a graphic designer, that is not what draws me. I own many books that are just lettering, but most of them are non-fiction, chosen for the subject. I have seen some wonderful graphics on covers, but that never excites my lust. The Vermeer on The Girl with the Pearl Earring excited my lust.

The only time going for the art disappoints me is if the book turns out to be a romance. Then I feel cheated, as if the marketing people had lied to me.

The sad thing about this is that I understand that writers don't get to choose their covers. I can only hope that, should that day ever come, I will at least get to approve whatever choice is made. I doubt it will be great art.

[jdkiggins]

I'll put these on my list to purchase.

To answer the original question about book covers; I read the inside cover to determine if it is something I'd like to cuddle up to on a cold winter night. :)

Joanne

[MWest]

Hello
I am new to this site so I am having a browse through all the threads. I can see there are a lot of interesting comments and opinions here. I am a published author, who works from home. I write Paranormal and Romance novels, sometimes combining the two genre's.
Okay, I'm off to be nosy on some of the other threads.
Thanks
Mags.

[James D. Macdonald]

I am a great patron of the library. My first choice is always the author. My second choice is the cover, followed by the publisher.


You're completely typical that way. The number one reason anyone buys or reads a book is because they read another book by that author and enjoyed it. The number two reason is because someone they trust recommended that book.

All the other reasons sink away into single-digit percentages.

The sad thing about this is that I understand that writers don't get to choose their covers. I can only hope that, should that day ever come, I will at least get to approve whatever choice is made. I doubt it will be great art.

The publishers have specialists who are doing their absolute best to put a cover on your book that will sell that book. I'm a heck of a writer (if I say so myself), but I don't pretend to be an art director or a salesman. I know the limits of my expertise. Covers sell books (if nothing else to those few who try new books by unheardof authors, who then recommend those books they like to their friends). No doubt about it.

A useful exercise for any writer is to go down to a bookstore and spend a day watching common folks selecting books to buy.

Do you think that publishers are wanton in rejecting books after reading only a few pages? Watch how fast readers reject books, putting them back on the shelf after glancing at a paragraph!

[Jamesaritchie]

A great cover can draw my eye to a book, and often make me pick it up, but has nothing to do with my decision to buy the book. I first read the title, then the jacket or cover blurb, and if that sounds interesting, I open the book and read page one. It's always page one that makes my buy or reject a book.

You might be able to tell what kind of book you're buying from some covers, but the only way to tell whether or not it's well written is to open the book and read a page or two.

Good covers may be fine things because they can make you pick up a book, but I've seen some really great covers on some truly awful books, and some horrible covers on some of my favorite novels.

[Spookster]

Maestro, I found myself wanting to read the blurb...

I generally find a few authors and stick with them. But, on the few occasions I have read new material, I go by cover, then blurb. If I'm still interested in the story line, I'll read two or three pages. It's enough to give you a feel of the author's writing style. If I'm still intrigued, I'll buy. I try not to judge the book by the cover, but a good cover is enough incentive for me to read the blurb.

[cwfgal]

Beth, I like the matte finish... but are you saying by itself it's great, but next to other glossy-cover books it pales? Why?

The flatter, matte finish tends to look dusty, old, and used when it's sitting next to a bunch of shiny, glossy covers. Every fingerprint shows. So yes, alone it looks fine but when next to the glossy stuff, it looks...well...old and dusty and used. I thought the black color on my first book might be a contributing factor but the second book's cover was blue and also had a matte finish and it suffered the same problems.

Beth

[Darkhaven80]

Covers can definately matter, especially when it comes to catching the readers eye in the first place. See a cool cover, have to know what the back says...closer to nabbing them anyway. :popcorn:

[fallenangelwriter]

[QUOTE=Jamesaritchie]A great cover can draw my eye to a book, and often make me pick it up, but has nothing to do with my decision to buy the book. QUOTE]

I would guess that you don't look at every book in the store, and therefore getting you to look at it plays a significant role in getting you to buy it.[/

[Diviner]

"The flatter, matte finish tends to look dusty, old, and used when it's sitting next to a bunch of shiny, glossy covers. Every fingerprint shows. So yes, alone it looks fine but when next to the glossy stuff, it looks...well...old and dusty and used. "

The shiny covers are coated to protect them, a process called "Calendaring."

As noted above, there is a good reason for this, the same as a glossy paint is easier to scrub up than a flat paint. If something is handled by several people prior to sale, the gloss keeps it from looking so shopworn.

Raised gold letters are for sales in airports and, probably supermarkets. More subtle embossing is done for hardcover thrillers.

The above information is all hearsay, except for the "calendar" terminology.

[preyer]

if i turn my head and see a book just sitting there, i can only focus on one thing at a time, either the art (if any), the title, or the author's name. if the art pops out first, that's okay with me. any picture of a robot vampire in space is all i need to know to keep a'movin'. being normal in a lot of respects, if the words are what i see first, i'll scan from top to bottom. seems to me that if it's a well-known author, their names are at top in most cases. and if they're *really* well-known, their names are as big as the title to the story, which, for me, is a turn off to be honest.

but, it's like shopping for a movie to rent. sometimes the cover art is indicative of the inside matter. other times, like in horror, it's been my experience that the worst movies often have the best covers to offset the otherwise poor quality of what's inside.

blurbs mean absolutely nothing to me. nothing. nothing. nothing. i consider them cheap bullsiht tactics to sucker in, well, suckers. you can find dozens of one-line praises for pieces of crap like 'catwoman' or 'daredevil.' obviously, i'm in the minority there. clearly, blurbs work, and while i'm personally averse to them, i understand why they're there.

while i might seek out a specific author from time to time, i also know better than just trust in name alone. you put your reputation on the line with every book, i feel. i'd bought some gawd-awful books based on someone's name and have learned my lesson. but, i see my favourite author, sure, i'm picking his book up for an on-the-spot quick review, but i won't buy it if i don't like the first couple of pages. i also check out a few random sections in the rest of the book knowing how careful most authors are to put their best foot forward and see if that quality is maintained. that's another cheap way to sell a book, if you ask me: spend all your time creating a great first impression knowing where a potential buyer is going to look, then have a continual decline in quality as the book goes on. not like that's terribly evident most of the time, but if i turn to the middle and towards the end and i start finding one cliche after another, what's that say?

oops, got off on a tangent. :) can a cover sell a book? it can get my attention, but it can't sell me in and of itself. i fear mac is 100% correct in his assessment of how and why book covers are the way they are. these people involved spend a lot of time learning how to manipulate, er, 'market' their wares: i trust in their decisions to know what they're doing. usually.

i was watching 'asia today' (don't ask me why) not long ago and they had a segment on hong kong's 'best book cover' contest. some of those covers were simply amazing, not this tired, regurgitated tripe we're used to seeing, which is probably some kind of social commentary in itself, lol. it should be noted that i don't think any of the covers were on any 'american' books. i think there may be two different marketing philosophies at work: one is to appeal to the lowest common demoninator, for lack of a better term, and get them to pick up the book at any cost using any method that works best, while the other is that a cover can and should be a work of art, too.

i like the pheromone idea. something i should have thought of myself, lol. but, doesn't pheromones smell like fermented cat piss? problem with that is the people who stock the shelf would get fired for stockroom fun, and i'd feel somewhat responsible for that. last thing i need is someone attaching my name to the reason why they lost control, lol. plus, i can see the lawsuits now: 'ryan barker made me get pregnant so he should pay my child support!' boy, if i had a nickel.... one of my more genius marketing ploys was to have five dollar off coupons in the back so the book only really costs you $2.98 (note the eight cents instead of nine-- i'm a genius!).

i wholly agree with the statement that a lot of romance books don't have covers at all, they're just satin-y background so the author's name is easier to see, often with a rose or a heart motif and generally pretty blocky lettering. these tend to be your johanna lindseys and jackie collins, and not from your zebra and leisure historical romance pubs.

i admit that one thing that does sucker me is when it says '#1 new york times bestselling author' at top, but that's sooo misleading. okay, they had one kick-*** book out of fifty, but you'll find that 'blurb'-type byline at the top of every... single... book they write, as if *this* book is that great, too. i have to notice the ones laying around my house... not a one of them is in their second printing. odd, what? or do they just naturally make double the normal amount of production from the start so they don't have to go into extra printings?

the thing with odd-sized books is a good pick, too. a lot of the time, odd-size books are self-published. they're also twenty bucks for 300 pages, softback. you ever see that glossy white page stock? that's the cheap stuff. but, that kind of paper stock you see in hardbacks that looks like the edges have been cut with a butter knife, i believe is one of the more expensive papers you can buy without being uber-environmental friendly. ah, but i digress again....

do they change covers sometimes when they go from hardback to softcover?

[SheliaRudesill]

[QUOTE=preyer]
blurbs mean absolutely nothing to me. nothing. nothing. nothing. i consider them cheap bullsiht tactics to sucker in, well, suckers.

preyer, I agree! Publishers spend so much darn time trying to get us to write "catching" blurbs and some writers can write blurbs better than stories, unfortunately. I have a great deal of trouble writing a magnificent blurb. Just last week I was trying to get a review and the reviewer asked for a 25 word blurb on my novel! Yikes! Guess he didn't like it because he hasn't written back!

[victoriastrauss]

blurbs mean absolutely nothing to me. nothing. nothing. nothing. i consider them cheap bullsiht tactics to sucker in, well, suckers. you can find dozens of one-line praises for pieces of crap like 'catwoman' or 'daredevil.'
I think a lot of readers agree with you. However, I think blurbs have become so omnipresent that even if readers don't pay attention to them, a blurbless book is at a disadvantage because people will wonder how low-rent it had to be not to get any blurbs.

I don't pay attention to author blurbs, especially the ones from blurb whores. I do often pay attention to review snippets from reputable sources, though I don't think they really influence my decision to buy.

- Victoria

[aka eraser]

Blurbs from reputable sources will often tip the scales for me when it comes to purchasing a book written by someone I've never heard of. I've come to recognize the "whores" though and avoid them. I'm also suspicious when all the blurbs are from other authors of whom I've never heard. There's a lot of mutual support/back slapping that's almost PA-like in some genre fiction.

[Jamesaritchie]

best covers to offset the otherwise poor quality of what's inside.

blurbs mean absolutely nothing to me. nothing. nothing. nothing. i consider them cheap bullsiht tactics to sucker in, well, suckers. you can find dozens of one-line praises for pieces of crap like 'catwoman' or 'daredevil.' obviously, i'm in the minority there. clearly, blurbs work, and while i'm personally averse to them, i understand why they're there.

do they change covers sometimes when they go from hardback to softcover?

Blurbs mean nothing to me, either, and I should have said "jacket copy." It's teh synopsis of the story that I read. If that interests me, I open the book and read page one.

I also ignore reviews. I find I disagree with reviewers so often that paying attention is pointless.

In the end, the writing is all that does matter to me. I don't buy books for the cover, for the title, for the blurb, or for the kind of paper it's printed on. The only thing that matters to me is how well it's written, and the only way to see how well it's written is to open it and start reading. If it hooks me, I buty it, and if it doesn't, I leave it.

Whenever possible, of course, I go to the library when I want to look for new writers. If the library has a book by a new writer, or can get it from another library, I can find out whether or not I like a writer before shelling out any money at all.

As for the cover, they always change mine when going from hardcover to paperback, and I'm very glad they do.

[Jamesaritchie]

while i might seek out a specific author from time to time, i also know better than just trust in name alone. you put your reputation on the line with every book, i feel. i'd bought some gawd-awful books based on someone's name and have learned my lesson. but, i see my favourite author, sure, i'm picking his book up for an on-the-spot quick review, but i won't buy it if i don't like the first couple of pages. i also check out a few random sections in the rest of the book knowing how careful most authors are to put their best foot forward and see if that quality is maintained. that's another cheap way to sell a book, if you ask me: spend all your time creating a great first impression knowing where a potential buyer is going to look, then have a continual decline in quality as the book goes on. not like that's terribly evident most of the time, but if i turn to the middle and towards the end and i start finding one cliche after another, what's that say?



There are six or seven or eight writers I buy automatically. Doesn't matter what they write, I'm going to buy it without even opening the book or reading the title or anything else. I think these writers are simply good each time and every time.

[PixelFish]

I bought a Melanie Rawn-Kate Elliot-Jennifer Roberson novel called The Golden Key on the basis of the Michael Whelan cover and the back cover blurb. Well, and also partly because I'd read and enjoyed several Melanie Rawn books before.

But this particular book was about painters doing magic using special painting skills, and the cover (http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0886778999/ref=sib_rdr_fc/102-0538799-0012906?%5Fencoding=UTF8&p=S001#reader-page) was a wonderful visual reference to Renaissance painting techniques. Characters were posed and painted in a court-style reminiscent of Rembrandt's portraits. Chiaroscuro was used to delineate points of light on objects....and symbolic objects (http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0886778999/ref=sib_rdr_fc/102-0538799-0012906?%5Fencoding=UTF8&p=S001#reader-page) were scattered throughout the picture. If you'd had an acquaintance with art history, you would recognise many of the visual references he was drawing from historically.


Then there are the Dave McKean (http://www.mckean-art.co.uk/) covers to the Sandman comic books/graphic novels. I picked up Sandman because the covers were so wonderfully designed. (I'm a graphic designer, and believe me, we collect good design for reference and inspiration.) The photographic elements juxtaposed amazingly with his typography.

[Canada James]

The number two reason is because someone they trust recommended that book...A useful exercise for any writer is to go down to a bookstore and spend a day watching common folks selecting books to buy.

Count how many people get frustrated at the number of books available and ask the bookseller to recommend a title (this is *especially* common in Children's/YA books). That "someone they trust" who becomes the word of mouth is more often than not The Bookseller.

(And on behalf of my people, Booksellers that is, "Jim, you're welcome." :Thumbs: )

Canada James

[Mistook]

As trite as the saying may be, I believe in it. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Of course, most people do, which is why we keep repeating the phrase - don' t judge a book by it's cover.


I grab books at random. I flip to a random page in the middle of the story. Do I wonder what the author is talking about? do I care? If both, I buy the book. I've never been conned yet.

[arrowqueen]

I do hope so - otherwise what's the point of those semi-naked ladies on mine?


;)
aq

[Sunny7L]

A nice cover can certainly capture the eye but as a seasoned reader I've learned not to act on impulse. I instead read reviews and/or read a few pages. If I'm hooked, it's a keeper. If not, back to the shelf.

But likewise, a not so interesting/wacky/etc. cover can make a really good book get overlooked.

[SRHowen]

I don't read blurbs anymore--and I get annoyed when I can't finid any nugget of info amoung the . . .

best book so far

puts so and so to shame

wounderful . . . insightful . . .

and so on.

We all know the reviewer could have said the worst trash about the book, but some editor took out the joining words to make it say what they needed it too.

That's why I like hard covers, that inside flap with the mini synop often helps me decide if I want the book.

Shawn

[maestrowork]

I guess blurbs are only helpful if they're from sources I know, and if they actually say something meaningful. Things like "powerful, haunting" doesn't tell me anything. But an actual short synopsis with commentaries might be helpful (like the NYT Review blurb for The Kite Runner).

More and more books have blurbs now. I don't think it used to be the case. I have books from 10 years ago and they don't have blurbs...


Now, can we think of any real life examples (either books you know or books you wrote) when the covers were known to have either helped or hurt the sales? Any specific studies? Or personal testimony?

[Thekherham]

I don't buy books because of the covers. I'm a Stephen King and Robert Ludlum fan so I buy anything with their name on it. I wouldn't care if the cover was just a plain old unicolored cover.
While I may look at a cover when I pick up a book by an author unknown to me, that does not influence my decision to buy the book. It's what's inside that counts. I usually look at the first paragraph, maybe two, and if that doesn't somehow move me to read further I put the book back.
Of course it also depends on how much money I got on me at the time.:D

[CaoPaux]

The above information is all hearsay, except for the "calendar" terminology.*cough* calender :scared:

http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/c1/calender.asp

[victoriastrauss]

Things like "powerful, haunting" doesn't tell me anything.The one that does it for me is "luminous". If I see "luminous" in a blurb or review snippet, I'm much less inclined to buy the book; if I see it in the jacket copy, I put the book down at once. "Luminous" for me is associated with wispy literary fiction about nothing in particular or those weepy Oprah women's fiction novels--very much not my favorite reading.

- Victoria

[dblteam]

As an example of how odd the process of assigning cover art to a book can be,
here's a quote from Glen Cook given during an interview with Quantum Muse (the full interview is here (http://www.quantummuse.com/glen_cook_interview.html)):

"The cover of The Black Company was a cover somebody made up for me. It was just an example. The marketing guy absolutely didn't want it. But, while it was on his desk, a buyer from a large chain bookstore came in and, not knowing anything about the book, said "I'll buy fifty thousand copies of anything with that on the cover," so they went with it."

If you're interested, you can see the cover here. (http://www.sflis.org/cook/black1_1.jpg)

Valerie

[Velleity]

I occasionally buy books based solely on the cover art. (The last one was a mystery with an Edward Gorey cover.)

I'm not sure I've ever read any of those books, however.

[Julian Black]

I'll read the back cover blurb, but I ignore snippets of reviews; the latter are usually so brief and out of context they're meaningless to me. Instead, I turn to the first page and start reading. If I'm still reading at the bottom of the second page, and want to continue, I buy it. Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex passed the two-page test with flying colors. I haven't managed to get back to it yet, but I really want to know why Cal's brother is named Chapter Eleven.

I admit it--I pick up books (or leave them on the shelf) because of the cover art. There are just too many books competing for my attention, and I have to start weeding them out somewhere.

This is particularly true of Fantasy/SciFi, but also for literary fiction. For example, I tend to avoid books with very bright covers. My sister reads Irvine Welsh, and I liked Trainspotting, but I've never quite brought myself to buy any more of his books because the loud covers turn me off. I'm not thinking about that as I'm browsing the shelves, but it's true.

I will pick up a book that has white text on a black background; that's how I ended up reading Charles Palliser's The Quincunx and Iain Pears' An Instance of the Fingerpost. Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is sitting on my to-be-read stack as I type this. However, I avoid books with black text on a white background. Go figure.

Though I'm no prude, I almost never buy books with nude or semi-nude women on the cover--someone I trust has to give it a wholehearted recommendation, first. I'm guess I'm just so bombarded by scantily clad women on TV, movies, and in advertising that seeing yet another nude woman on the cover of a book strikes me as cheap and gratuitous.

In fact, now that I'm looking at my bookshelves, I have very few books that feature pictures of people on the covers, and most of the ones that do are pretty vague--the two silhouetted women on the cover of Middlesex, for example. The more specific the person, the less likely I will pick up the book. The only "realistic" human figures on any of the books I have at hand are in the paintings by John Jude Palencar that grace Charles de Lint's books, and strangely enough these eerie images of women got me to pick up de Lint in the first place. Then again, Palencar's style and subdued colors are a lot like my own artwork.

Since I don't like space operas or sword & sorcery fantasy, I appreciate even the most obnoxious covers on Fantasy and SciFi books because they tell me right away, in unambiguous terms, that I don't want to pick up a particular book. Put a dragon, an elf, a fairy, or lots of Celtic knotwork on the cover of a book, and I won't touch it. Ditto spaceships and robots.

Now, I admit I'm probably missing out on a lot of books I might enjoy; had Steven Brust's To Reign in Hell been reissued with a literal depiction of Lucifer on the cover, I would have passed on it without a second thought. I didn't read the Harry Potter books until after Order of the Phoenix came out because I despise Mary GrandPre's cover art; OotP was the first one that didn't turn me off completely.

If a book is recommended highly enough, and passes the two-page test, however, I'll buy it no matter what the cover looks like. David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas has a boring cover, but the book itself is brilliant. The hardcover of Katherine Dunn's Geek Love had the Ugliest Cover Ever (which has been brought back in all it's hideousness on the latest paperback reprint), but it's one of my all-time favorite novels. So yeah, despite all my finickiness, some ugly books do make it through my filters...[laughs]

[SeanDSchaffer]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe wholeheartedly that a book cover can sell or not sell a book, depending on who's looking at it. My own book's first cover did not look all that good, and I don't think I personally would have bought it myself had I looked upon it. The book cover was quite an embarrassment to me.

My Publisher did allow me to have it changed, thankfully, and I'm hoping that eventually as the book continues to be sold, the old cover might very well disappear into oblivion.

What I must say is that the company did good for me almost all the way with my book, but being that they didn't have any artists -- everything was done by computer -- they used a rough draft drawing of mine that I had never actually intended to be used for the front cover. I looked at it, freaked out, and kindly sent them a redo, which eventually became the first cover. But I must say, it wasn't until the book cover was completely redone that I could say I was pleased with that front cover.

I would more likely buy the book now, with the new cover, than with the old cover.

By the way, this is my first post. I'm glad to be here, and look forward to getting to know all of you.