Friday, August 24, 2012

Judging A Book By Its Cover

Be honest with yourself, you’ve probably done it at least once. I won’t lie, I do it all the time. The cover of a book is what draws me to it, second only to the title. Third is the description, unless of course I’ve already heard about it from a friend. A great cover will make me pick up a book to learn more about it, regardless of the title, or even what I may have heard about the book. Of course a great concept will always make me want to know more about a book, and a catchy title might make me investigate further as well. But when I’m skimming through new releases, it’s the cover that gets my attention. This could be the designer in me, but I don’t think that’s the only factor.

On the opposite side of that coin, I must admit that a bad cover may make me pass over a book~even one that might have sounded interesting to me. Terribly superficial of me, I know, but as a reader I expect the publisher or author (if they are self-published) to put a good amount of thought and effort into the cover. It is the first impression after all. Case in point: I ‘m not fond of the original covers of the Sookie Stackhouse books. Some love them, but me, not so much. In fact, I disliked them so much that I never read the books until I saw the TV show and realized how great the story was. Now that I know, I couldn’t care less. Lesson learned on my part. Now I always read the first page, no matter what the cover, if a book has drawn my interest.

But the draw of a good cover remains as the main hook for most readers, therefore it’s something that warrants attention. It is an investment in the book’s future, one that can pay off well if carefully considered. I’m curious, as a reader, have you ever judged a book by its cover?

~Heather

Heather McCorkle is the author of the channeler series and the acclaimed historical fantasy, To Ride A Puca. She is also a freelance cover designer under the name of CP Design. The novella in her channeler series, Born Of Fire, is currently free on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.



8 comments:

  1. Yes I have but for me it's the other way. Too many times, more with traditional books, have I purchased books with a great concept and super cover, to realize it was mediocre and not something I loved. Maybe my expectations were too high? Or maybe they're higher for traditional books? I don't know. But now I always download samples or read the first chapter and go by the writing.

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    1. Great point, that's happened to me too with many traditional books. Or another thing is when the cover has nothing to do with the book. I hate that!

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  2. Covers are the calling card of the book-the billboard that makes us stop and take a second look. Prompts us to take that moment of time necessary to read the back cover, or sample pages. So, yes they're important.

    But I agree with Laura, they can also be misleading in the other way, more promise than is delivered. Always reading a sample is a good rule of thumb before purchasing.

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  3. I do it all the time. I can't help it. For one, the cover immediately tells me if the book is even the right genre for me. Why should I bother reading about an obviously-high fantasy book when those aren't what I'm looking for? Beyond that, a sloppy cover tells me the author didn't put much work into finishing up the product, so the inside might have problems too. It might not be fair, but I think authors have to have a professional cover on the outside if they want people to think the inside is professional as well.

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    1. Exactly! It's that first impression that can only be made once. Oh so important!

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  4. I'm the same way and choose books by their cover. I have to either love the author or have heard wonderful things about a book to read one with a cover I don't like. I know that's terrible of me.

    Great post. :)

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  5. There are SO many books out there that I want to read, so I get overwhelmed with all the choices. This is how I justify narrowing it down by the covers that call to me :)

    I usually browse pretty covers, look at what friends with similar tastes thought of it, and then decide to read it.

    Interestingly, I never read the book descriptions. They always spoil the first 50 pages for me and I hate that. I often read books without having much of an idea what they're about at all. The covers, and recommendations from people, are entirely how I pick books.

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