Last week I was hit soundly over the head with "You can't judge a book by it's cover." I was thunked several times. I'm judging a contest and I cheer every time that UPS man rings my doorbell with more free books.
After I opened the first box, I studied each book, read the author bio and scanned the cover. I never read back cover copy because I don't want any hints about what will happen in the book. Three of the authors I'd read before. One of these books I already owned and had enjoyed it. The rest I'd never heard of. First, I read the most famous author's book. The cover was gorgeous. Rich colors, with a graphic and title that truly set the mood and gave a hint of what to find inside.
I was disappointed. The characters were flat, the plot was forced, and there were several illogical jumps as the characters solved the mystery. After the first 30 pages I went back and reread the pages more slowly, convinced I'd missed something key about the hero because I couldn't "see" him. Nope. He was literally unformed. Drove me crazy through the whole book. I made myself finish the book even though I wanted to put it down several times. By the way, that catchy title didn't jive with the story.
The second book I picked up hesitantly. It had a truly unfortunate cover. One I would have wrinkled my nose at and immediately passed over in a store. The story was terrific. A first person POV with a fresh character and a great, unusual hook. I couldn't put it down. When I was finished, I felt angry for the author. Who designed and signed off on this horrid cover? How many sales had the author lost because of the stupid cover?
I wasn't very interested in picking up the third book, because I thought I knew what it was about by looking at the picture on the cover. Whoever designed the cover got it totally wrong. I was expecting one type of story but got a tight, fast paced educational suspense with fantastic characters. The story never went to the pristine location pictured on the cover. The heroine in the story never dressed in anything glamorous like on the cover. She was a refugee-looking woman who'd been through utter hell for five years. She barely had hair let alone the fantastic mane the picture portrayed. High heels? Yeah, right. Once again I was highly annoyed with the publisher.
Elisabeth told me she had to fill out a long questionnaire about her story before the art department tackled her book. What happened with these books? Maybe this publisher does it differently. I've often read the author is powerless when it comes to covers. But what about the editor? Did these editors read the same books I did? I can't imagine pouring my heart and soul into a book only to have the cover suck. I'd cry.
Have you picked up a book even though the cover was weird or ugly? Pubbed writers--I want to hear your cover stories.
You knew I'd include this. My pirate, rock star, and Gabriella from High School Musical 2. (Yes, she is wearing a wig.)
8 comments:
Aw, what cute trick-or-treaters, Kendra! We hardly had any at our house. I was so disappointed because I love greeting them at the door to see their cute costumes.
Since I'm published with two small presses, and both were amiable to me doing my own cover design (Speculation Press even paid me $300 to do it), I've lucked out getting exactly what I wanted. I'd say 9 out of 10 small press covers are horrid and to me, the cover is a good indication of the quality of story inside.
I designed the cover for my Wild Rose Press novella, too, but the publisher, R.J. (I forget her last name), gave herself 100% credit for it because it had that dorky Legacy of the Celtic Brooch logo in the corner.
I don't buy a book because of its cover, at least not any more. I used to. Now I buy a book by referral only. So if someone refers a book and the cover looks like crap, I'll buy it anyway.
Cute girls! They look like they were ready for some fun on Halloween.
Covers. I hated my first two. At TWRP we do fill out a long page about characters, settings, time period. I love the cover of the book that just came out, mainly because it's my horse and my daughter took the photo. But it is still a great cover. I like that they allow an author to take a picture and send it to either give the cover artist an idea of what works or in my case they use the photo. My first book now has a new cover (also a photo my daughter took) so it would match the rest in the series. The third Halsey brother book has a photo I took and we (daughters and I) need to go to a museum so I can stage pictures for the last two books in the series.
A cover might catch my eye, but it isn't what makes me buy a book. It's the back cover blurb or the author that makes me put my money out for a book.
Hi Kendra,
That jury you mention?
We're on it together.
I've been tryihg to coordinate with you on titles, but the email that Allison Brennan listed for you isn't working. Would you kindly send me another one?
Thanks,
Leighton Gage
leighton@leightongage.com
PS: This is my second comment to your website - and the most recent. Tuesday, the 4th at 1:41 EST
Alice, do you have a favorite cover from your books? I'd love to see it. My youngest's hair is an amazing blend of light brown, red, and blonde. My hairdresser is fascinated with her hair because of all the different colors. I am too. She'll probably hate it when she is a teen.
Karen, we had very few trick or treaters. I think a lot of people were gone because the holiday fell on a weekend. That is the best part; getting to see the costumes! And what a deal! Getting to create your own cover and getting paid for it.
Paty, I like the idea of sending in a photo. A good way to show the art department what's in your head. I don't buy books based on covers, either. I look at author name. But I'm sad to say I have passed over many a book because of its cover.
My apologies to Leighton! I missed his first post! (Actually it was a ploy to get a man to post on our site.) :)
Sending positive thoughts Elisabeth's way. I think today is her husband's surgery.
Adorable pics, Kendra!!!
Ah, covers. I am so totally thrilled with my first cover, I thank the cover gods every day.
Seriously, the cover is completely out of the hands of the author. And this is where publishers support really comes in. If they believe in your book, they're more willing to put the $$ behind it and pay for a good cover for the author. If not...you get what you get. I was lucky in that my publisher liked my book so much, they got me a kickass cover and paid the big bucks to get a renowned artist to design it. (One they usually reserve for bestsellers and lead authors). But this is definitely something to think about when negotiating a contract - maybe not the cover itself but what the pub is willing to do to give your book a good boost and fighting chance.
Thanks for the good wishes, Kendra. No surgery today after all. It's being held up because of insurance issues. (Don't get me started.) We don't have a date yet, but it'll (hopefully) be within the next few weeks.
Ah, covers. I feel soooo fortunate that I was able to design the covers for my first three books--the first one with an awesome photo that Danita took. So I'm very pleased with those covers.
From my experiences as a graphic designer, I also have to say that "attractive" covers--or any art work--is very subjective. What is grossly ugly to one person is perfection to someone else. When I do graphic jobs for someone else, I work within their parameters. Most of the time they rely on my expertise and give me a lot of latitude. However, on rare occasions, a client's parameters are so restrictive that I think they should have saved their money and done it themselves or had that proverbial third-grader do it for them. I don't usually work for that person again.
Then there's the issue that a cover just doesn't represent the story inside. Was someone sloppy? Lazy? Overwhelmed? Going for what supposedly sells rather than truth in advertising?
I know the author many times doesn't have control over the cover. And perhaps the cover artist doesn't have all the information that would have resulted in a perfect cover for that story. However, for me, it's a mark against the publisher that someone wasn't paying enough attention or their standards for truthful representation don't match mine. And I tuck that tidbit of information away for future reference. Yeah, pretty harsh and judgmental of me.
However, that being said, most of the books I buy are authors I know or that someone has recommended, so I usually know if the cover is a clinker or not. So I buy the story anyway.
However, on the rare occasions that I'm simply cruising a bookstore, a cover is indeed the first thing to catch my eye. Then I look at the back cover blurb. If that sounds intriguing, I'll skim through the first page or so. If I'm sufficiently hooked, I'll buy the book. Again, it's rare that I buy books like that any more, as I know enough authors to keep me well supplied with good stories for a long while.
By the way, Kendra, your girls are beautiful!
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