Books and Their Covers

[mtlawson]

Before Christmas, CBS Sunday Morning ran an article called Judging Books by their Covers, which highlighted the emphasis placed on the cover --by both the publishing industry and the consumer.

Link to the Video Clip

Now admittedly, this was a fairly short piece, and it stuck mainly to the best sellers and general fiction, with only a few nods in the

Comments

[jimhines]

Listening to the authors who are more active with e-books, covers definitely still matter. The details are different -- it's much more important that e-book covers be clear as thumbnails, for example -- but covers are definitely important. That thumbnail is full of visual clues, and the eye processes those faster than any text description or summary.

[mtlawson]

Thank goodness. I wonder if that means the trend will be toward less complexity in the cover.

[mela_lyn]

Have you seen the covers for Maggie Stievater and Stephanie Myers? Those are pretty streamlined.

I love the trend that started with Di: white backgrounds. So much stands out and it's brighter and easier to see.

[mtlawson]

I was actually thinking of those two covers with the caveat that I don't actually read those books, but yeah. The very busy style of cover with a full background painting is harder to see in a small format, but that could be my eyes.

[karen_w_newton]

I concur! Covers still matter, but they get harder for the artist because the design has to work in thumbnail size and full screen. I would not be surprised to see ebooks having different covers than print, in some instances, which would be nice for artists-- more work!

I went to a great panel on book covers once at WFC, and one artist said something I've never forgotten: The cover is the face of the book.

I suppose that's why I feel so cheated when I open an ebook and find it has only a generic cover with the publisher's name. It makes that book faceless. (I'm talking to you, Ballentine Books!)

[mtlawson]

But here's a question: will the push toward eBooks and independent publishing also mean a deterioration in the quality of the cover? Maybe not so bad as the Publish America book that had a photoshopped Orlando Bloom as the cover, but a definite deterioration in quality?

[jimhines]

The push toward e-books =/= a push toward independent publishing. These are two separate issues.

A lot of independent publishers and self-published authors are adopting e-books, just as they adopted print-on-demand technology 10+ years ago. But every major publisher is also moving more into e-books. All of mine are available electronically, for example, and at a cheaper price than the paperbacks.

[mtlawson]

Yes, I should have clarified. I was thinking of the drumbeats of the "power to the people" portion of the eBook movement. Been reading too many blog posts surrounding that subset, I suppose.

[bondo_ba]

I admit I used to do that a lot when I was younger. Now, since most of my book purchases are premeditated, I tend to ignore covers altogether. But a lot of the books and series I now own were chosen because they looed like soemthing I would enjoy.

[mtlawson]

There are a few books I see on the stacks that I see the cover and think "that looks so cool!" And then my brain comes back with "but you hate that sort of book."

That's when you have to rein in the "ooo... shiny!" reaction and get past the cover.

[bogwitch64]

I judge a book by it's cover too, I hate to say. Cover first, blurb second. IF I'm in a bookstore--which I seldom am. Many books I buy are word of mouth, so covers end up coming second.

Ebooks? Cover art is still important. Maybe moreso. The more a book depends upon the visual being a selling point (as in a catalog or online or even a hard copy seen in a store then ordered) the more cover art counts.

[mtlawson]

Good to see you're just as infatuated with the "Shiny!" as the rest of us, Terri!

The more a book depends upon the visual being a selling point (as in a catalog or online or even a hard copy seen in a store then ordered) the more cover art counts.

I hadn't thought of it that way, that the eBook would eliminate the physical act of picking a book up and turning it over, checking it out. What remains is the visual, the cover.

[tracy_d74]

I am a sucker for a pretty cover. Then the blurb. Then the last page. Yep, I read the last page before I buy. I'm a cheater...I admit it. But I believe ebooks will still have to capture a person's eye. People are visually stimulated, in general.

[mtlawson]

I still don't understand how you can read the last page, Tracy. If I ever publish something, I'll make sure to not give anything away in the last page. ;-)

[tracy_d74]

I just look to see who is on the last page. It rarely says anything of any import...but I know who makes it to the end. :)