The importance of book covers
I decided to revisit this topic because my cover artist Aleta Rafton has a brand new website. If you haven't already, go take a look. Fantastic work!
All of us have favorite authors, and when one of their books comes out, we go to the bookstore and buy it. But what about those times when our fav author is "between books" and we're on the prowl for something to read, something new from someone new. Unless you've had some "must read" recommendations from your book buddies, you're on your own.
So what do you look for when you're cruising the shelves? Something that catches your eye, right? And in my opinion, nothing grabs attention like a good cover. In fact, it's critical.
My agent Kristin Nelson recently did a series of blogs on the buying habits of readers (and did a survey of her own). In her Monday, June 16 post, she referenced an article in which Zogby International, in conjunction with Random House, did a survey on current readership. It includes stats on how and why readers shop, and more importantly what makes them buy. What's interesting for my post today is that according to the survey 52% of book purchasers are swayed by cover art. That's a lot of folks.
We all have our cover preferences -- that cover style that tells us "this is your kind of book, buy it now!" Ideally, the cover conveys the type of book it is, the tone and target. The type of book (epic fantasy, urban, paranormal, etc.). Tone -- meaning serious, light & fun or somewhere in between. The target for cover art is its target audience, and a publisher's art department and marketing people work with the cover artist to include elements that people who buy that kind of book will find irresistible. It's an art. Kudos to the designers and artists.
I find my covers irresistible and utterly charming. Aleta rocks! At the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Pittsburgh in April, I took part in the Giant Book Fair. I had 48 copies of my books (24 of MLTF and 24 of A&M). In approximately a two-hour period, I sold all but six copies. I had so much fun. But relating to today's post, a lot of shoppers would walk by my table and stop in their tracks to look at my covers. Whether they loved them or not isn't the point -- they stopped and looked. And I sold a lot of books. Part of that may have been due to my dazzling salesmanship (modest clearing of throat), but the truth is I had a great time. And I'd like to think that my covers catching readers' attention had a lot to do with my good sales. Though two little words in my sales pitch might have had a wee bit of influence: "hot goblins." ; )
If I were a reader cruising a bookstore shelves, my covers would definitely catch my eye. They just say "fun," which is exactly what the books are. They're exactly the kind of books I'd want to read, and if I were a reader and not the author, I'd snatch them off the shelf in a hearbeat. Others find my covers cheesy, but still loved the book. It's all about preference. One person's fabulous is another person's cheesy.
Tomorrow I'll talk about the importance of author quotes on a book's cover.
Lisa
All of us have favorite authors, and when one of their books comes out, we go to the bookstore and buy it. But what about those times when our fav author is "between books" and we're on the prowl for something to read, something new from someone new. Unless you've had some "must read" recommendations from your book buddies, you're on your own.
So what do you look for when you're cruising the shelves? Something that catches your eye, right? And in my opinion, nothing grabs attention like a good cover. In fact, it's critical.
My agent Kristin Nelson recently did a series of blogs on the buying habits of readers (and did a survey of her own). In her Monday, June 16 post, she referenced an article in which Zogby International, in conjunction with Random House, did a survey on current readership. It includes stats on how and why readers shop, and more importantly what makes them buy. What's interesting for my post today is that according to the survey 52% of book purchasers are swayed by cover art. That's a lot of folks.
We all have our cover preferences -- that cover style that tells us "this is your kind of book, buy it now!" Ideally, the cover conveys the type of book it is, the tone and target. The type of book (epic fantasy, urban, paranormal, etc.). Tone -- meaning serious, light & fun or somewhere in between. The target for cover art is its target audience, and a publisher's art department and marketing people work with the cover artist to include elements that people who buy that kind of book will find irresistible. It's an art. Kudos to the designers and artists.
I find my covers irresistible and utterly charming. Aleta rocks! At the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Pittsburgh in April, I took part in the Giant Book Fair. I had 48 copies of my books (24 of MLTF and 24 of A&M). In approximately a two-hour period, I sold all but six copies. I had so much fun. But relating to today's post, a lot of shoppers would walk by my table and stop in their tracks to look at my covers. Whether they loved them or not isn't the point -- they stopped and looked. And I sold a lot of books. Part of that may have been due to my dazzling salesmanship (modest clearing of throat), but the truth is I had a great time. And I'd like to think that my covers catching readers' attention had a lot to do with my good sales. Though two little words in my sales pitch might have had a wee bit of influence: "hot goblins." ; )
If I were a reader cruising a bookstore shelves, my covers would definitely catch my eye. They just say "fun," which is exactly what the books are. They're exactly the kind of books I'd want to read, and if I were a reader and not the author, I'd snatch them off the shelf in a hearbeat. Others find my covers cheesy, but still loved the book. It's all about preference. One person's fabulous is another person's cheesy.
Tomorrow I'll talk about the importance of author quotes on a book's cover.
Lisa
posted by Lisa Shearin at
7:47 AM
4 Comments:
Interesting comments. I won't buy a book just because I like the cover but that will prompt me to look at the blurb on the back. Also if I don't like the cover I will think twice about reading the back to see if it might be interesting. I have kicked myself for that habit when months down the road someone else recommends the book I refused to look at because of the cover and it turns out to be really good.
Generally, I go into a bookstore knowing precisely what I want -- but when I'm looking for something new, covers do catch my eye, then I'll flip to the backcover copy, if I like that I'll read a few pages here and there. If it passes that test, it's going home with me.
I show up to the bookstore with a list too. But then I will browse...which is how I found your books. Most enjoyable :)
I'm so glad you enjoyed my books. ; )
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