The Importance of Covers

aadams73 · Jul 18, 2010

So I was sitting here sipping on my morning coffee when I noticed this over at Jennifer Crusie's blog:

Some of you may remember the Trust Me On This cover post. I thought we were good to go and so did Bantam, but a major distributor hated the cover and cut its order by 35,000 copies because of that. Thatsa lotta copies, so we went back to the drawing board. The kicker: They liked the dog on The Cinderella Deal cover. They’d really like another dog. There is no dog in Trust Me On This. We thought about just slapping a dog cover on the book, but that would be dishonest. So instead, I edited the book and put a dog in. I know, I know, but you know what? I think it’s better with the dog. His name is Walter. Well, I like him.

Like Ms. Crusie said, that's a whole lot of copies, and all on the strength (or weakness) of a cover.

These are the original cover choices. None of them would entice me to pick up the book if I hadn't enjoyed some of her stories in the past (and this one is Chick Lit so I'd pass anyway unless it was a freebie).

Covers really do matter.

SPMiller · Jul 18, 2010

Got to give them credit for not doing the dishonest thing. Still, squeezing a dog into a novel where the dog was apparently unnecessary to the plot is not artistically honest. The moral of the story is that we're entertainers, not artists.

aadams73 · Jul 18, 2010

SPMiller said:
Still, squeezing a dog into a novel where the dog was apparently unnecessary to the plot is not artistically honest.

I think the dog thing is fascinating. How many times have we read books where the covers had nothing to do with the story inside? I can remember staring at covers after finishing the book, wondering how the hell did they come up with that?

Guardian · Jul 18, 2010

I think the dog thing is stupid. It's not a very interesting cover but put a dog on it and it's gold? They couldn't have picked something that was more interesting but <b>rewrote the story</b> to put a dog in it? Yeahokay. Good to know that a dog is worth 35,000 copies. I'll put ten on my cover. (That's the answer, right?)

seun · Jul 18, 2010

Never judge a book by its cover.

Or do in this case.

aadams73 · Jul 18, 2010

Guardian said:
I think the dog thing is stupid.

It is and it isn't. In the past, Crusie covers featuring a dog have sold well. She often has a cool/quirky dog in the story, too, so it's not something they've pulled entirely from thin air.

I think it's interesting because we often hear authors comment that the art department did this or that, when really the decisions about what's on the cover can come from somewhere completely different.

Paul · Jul 18, 2010

SPMiller said:
Got to give them credit for not doing the dishonest thing. Still, squeezing a dog into a novel where the dog was apparently unnecessary to the plot is not artistically honest. The moral of the story is that we're entertainers, not artists.

this

aadams73 · Jul 18, 2010

SPMiller said:
The moral of the story is that we're entertainers, not artists.

Paul said:
this

Yup. Which is why I laugh and shake my head when certain types come in and get all huffy when we tell them they're not going to get to design their own covers--and a lot of the time they won't even be entitled to input.

ChaosTitan · Jul 18, 2010

aadams73 said:
I think it's interesting because we often hear authors comment that the art department did this or that, when really the decisions about what's on the cover can come from somewhere completely different.

So true. And I've heard other stories of covers being changed because some major chain or distributor hated the original version. This is why publishers have marketing departments and cover artists--so they can design and test covers that will sell books. We, as authors and readers, may not always understand the reasoning behind certain changes, but choices are rarely made for the hell of it.

I've been chatting recently with my editor about cover ideas for Dreg City #3, and one of our ideas for the "background entity" was to go for a creature featured in the book. She then decided to go with something a little more human, to make it "sexier." I don't think my series is really very sexy (bloody, yes; sexy, not so much), but because there's a huge crossover in readership between Urban Fantasy and paranormal romance, she wants to entice as many eyes as possible.

leahzero · Jul 18, 2010

SPMiller said:
The moral of the story is that we're entertainers, not artists.

They're not mutually exclusive.

And to distill this moral from a story about a popular chick lit author's cover choice is cheeky.

Alitriona · Jul 18, 2010

I'm open to almost anything where my books are concerned. I didn't expect any imput on the cover but actually have been asked for some, although I'm well aware the end result will be decided by publisher.

I'm afraid where I would draw the line would be to change the story to suit the cover. Sounds like a total sellout to me. It's part of the reason I don't lean to reading chick lit, a lot of it is about selling books rather than writing a good story. Not all of it of course, but a lot of it.

Jamesaritchie · Jul 18, 2010

That's not the importance of a cover, that's simply the personal taste of some idiot distributor, and one of the things that seriously worng with publishing right now. All the power has moved from the publishers to the distributors, the chain bookstores, and even to agents.

It would be fine if those distributors were always right, but they're wrong so often it's frightening.

CheshireCat · Jul 18, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
That's not the importance of a cover, that's simply the personal taste of some idiot distributor, and one of the things that seriously worng with publishing right now. All the power has moved from the publishers to the distributors, the chain bookstores, and even to agents.

It would be fine if those distributors were always right, but they're wrong so often it's frightening.

QFT.

Seriously.

Libbie · Jul 18, 2010

Guardian said:
I think the dog thing is stupid. It's not a very interesting cover but put a dog on it and it's gold? They couldn't have picked something that was more interesting but <b>rewrote the story</b> to put a dog in it? Yeahokay. Good to know that a dog is worth 35,000 copies. I'll put ten on my cover. (That's the answer, right?)

If it came down to sticking with the original cover and leaving a dog out, or putting a dog in and getting 35,000 guaranteed sales (less reserve against return, of course), I'd put the goddamn dog in.

That's a lot of books. That's a lot of paycheck. Libbie gotta pay her bills, son!

aadams73 · Jul 18, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
That's not the importance of a cover, that's simply the personal taste of some idiot distributor, and one of the things that seriously worng with publishing right now. All the power has moved from the publishers to the distributors, the chain bookstores, and even to agents.

It would be fine if those distributors were always right, but they're wrong so often it's frightening.

And I don't disagree, but I do think the original cover choices were extremely weak.

I guess my point is that covers DO matter, and to more than just readers. Big decisions gets made (right or wrong) on the strength of a book's cover. I'm endlessly fascinated by the publishing business.

artemis31386 · Jul 18, 2010

I've seen covers for books that made me feel like I'd been lied to because the cover didn't match up with the story inside. At least she did the honest thing so the reader won't feel cheated.

friendlyhobo · Jul 18, 2010

Can someone explain in more detail about how covers get chosen and the different circumstances or give me a link or something? Like I had no idea that distributors get a say. I'm very curious now.

kuwisdelu · Jul 18, 2010

SPMiller said:
The moral of the story is that we're entertainers, not artists.

It has more to do with marketing than entertainment.

Meh.

I don't get why people get so bent out of shape over covers. Both writers and readers. Personally, I'd be fine if all books just had blank covers with the title and author in the center.

But then everyone would argue over the best font for the title.....

Sigh.

Xelebes · Jul 18, 2010

friendlyhobo said:
Can someone explain in more detail about how covers get chosen and the different circumstances or give me a link or something? Like I had no idea that distributors get a say. I'm very curious now.

Every link in the chain from the marketing department to the end-reader has a say on the cover. It's ultimately up to the reader if the cover grabs their attention or not. It's up to the distributors and retailer to say how much they are going to buy with certain covers, depending on how much they trust certain covers will grab reader's attention. The marketers have to sense the whims of both of these if they want to keep their jobs.

Ken · Jul 19, 2010

... writers, themselves, are in part to blame for things of this sort. If they stood up for themselves and put their foot down they'd get more respect. Sure, in the short term they'd wind up with less money on an individual level. But after awhile of saying "No" to stuff like this distributors and company would quit making such demands and writers, in general, would be much better off.

I know it's tough though. And if I was in this author's spot I'd probably be sticking a dog on the cover too along with turtles and hamsters if asked.

shaldna · Jul 19, 2010

aadams73 said:
Covers really do matter.

They sure do. A cover is what attracts me most, I know what I like and what I don't, for example, I love sci fi and urban fantasy and high fantasy and m/m romance. So a pink cover with some shoes or a shopping bag is not going to draw my interest. A big feck-off spaceship however is likely to catch my eye.

I have bought books purely on the cover art alone.

Kitty27 · Jul 19, 2010

Covers matter a great deal to me,both as a reader and a writer.

Given the epic fail with Liar,MUG and now Silver Phoenix,I cannot abide cover switchups and foolishness.

I wonder why writers don't get more input about their book covers. A proper book covers means so much.

kaitlin008 · Jul 19, 2010

shaldna said:
They sure do. A cover is what attracts me most, I know what I like and what I don't, for example, I love sci fi and urban fantasy and high fantasy and m/m romance. So a pink cover with some shoes or a shopping bag is not going to draw my interest. A big feck-off spaceship however is likely to catch my eye.

I have bought books purely on the cover art alone.

I've never bought a book purely because of the cover art, but I do generally skip over anything that looks like something I'd never want to read (which is usually anything in the chick lit section, to be honest--shoes, coffee cups, swirly writing, sunglasses, etc. Nothing wrong with it, but not my thing.) and other things just catch my eye, and I'm more apt to pick them up and see if I might be interested.

If you're browsing through a bookstore with no particular books or authors in mind, what else are you supposed to pay attention to, besides the cover and title?

backslashbaby · Jul 19, 2010

kaitlin008 said:
If you're browsing through a bookstore with no particular books or authors in mind, what else are you supposed to pay attention to, besides the cover and title?

I randomly pull books out and read the back, then the first few pages if the story seemed interesting. I don't trust covers at all, myself.

Some are really cool, though.

kaitlin008 · Jul 19, 2010

backslashbaby said:
I randomly pull books out and read the back, then the first few pages if the story seemed interesting. I don't trust covers at all, myself.

Some are really cool, though.

I always read the back of the book & first pages before I actually buy one, but I won't get to that point if the cover (and/or title) repels me.

The Importance of Covers

A Work in Progress

Prodigiously Hanged

A Work in Progress

just the worst honestly

Horror Man

A Work in Progress

A Work in Progress

Around

The colors! THE COLORS!

Attends The School of AW

Mostly purring. Mostly.

Worst song played on ugliest guitar

A Work in Progress

All around miscreant

Revolutionize the World

Delerium ex Ennui

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

So Goth That I Was Born Black

Seeing newness all the time

~~~~*~~~~

Seeing newness all the time

*