Personally, I think it’s very important. I certainly look at covers before I buy a book. I also look at the back cover blurb, the opening page and a random page within the book.
But I admit that the cover can push me one way or the other when it comes to buying the book.
A friend of mine, Bill Wheeless, sent a link to Abe Books’s “50 Iconic Book Covers.”
They’re mostly covers from older books. I’m not sure some of them are compelling enough to work in today’s world, but it’s interesting to see what Abe Books feels has stood the test of time among book covers.
Link over and see what you think.
25 comments:
Thanks for the link. It's interesting to see some of the great covers.
I admit the cover is very important to me. Some readers even told me they bought my books because of the covers, before they discovered they liked my stories.
Steamy Darcy
The book cover and title will sell the book enough for me to pick it up. The blurb and first few lines will make me buy the book. The content is what makes me buy the second book. I won't buy a book if I don't like the cover and I used to think this is because it will sit on my shelf, but it's the same for my Kindle books.
Some lovely covers there. one of my favourite covers is for Patricia Highsmith's 'This Sweet Sickness'. The book lived up to the cover, too.
I think the problem with a lot of self published books I've seen is that the covers look cheap or even HORRIBLE!
Thanks for the link...interesting. I'm sad to say that I probably have passed over many a good book just from the cover or title. But goes to show just how important both are. Talk about pressure for an author!
Are they all from the 70s? The covers I mean, not the books :) Interesting. Yeah, of course a cover matters, it't the first thing we see!
All but a few of my book purchases have been greatly influenced by the cover.
The back cover bugs me sometimes when it only mentions past works. Those types of blurbs make me hesitate.
But when I'm trying a new author it's stop or go at cover.
If the author is a favorite there's no influence by the cover.
Unless I have heard about a book or the author, it's the book cover that gets me to pick it up. From there it's the blurb that draws me in.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
I don't have a Kindle so it's interesting to me that ebooks can live or die by their covers.
Most of those are old! And simple. I prefer a complex cover and that's usually what grabs my attention first.
I agree Diane. None of those would attract me today, but for their time, they were eye catching. Wonder which of today's covers will some day be considered iconic?
Book covers do my head in because I know they are super important, and it is so hard to be objective when it's your own!
There are strong and simple. I think today's tend to be a bit more complex.
It's interesting that these covers really look dated! I don't know if they'd cut it in today's marketplace. It's almost as if the cover styles go through their own fashion swings.
Today's covers usually have more color and look sometimes almost like photographs.
I agree with Joanne about those covers looking dated. And honestly, there were only a few that attracted my interest. I didn't even like the cover for East of Eden, which was one of my favorite books.
Since I have a number of authors that I follow regularly, the cover of their latest book does not influence my decision to buy. And when I try a new author it is usually one I have been introduced to through a review or feature on someone's blog. So again, the coverart is not a significant influence.
Couldn't agree more..despite what people say, a book is always judged by its cover!
A fantastic cover is what draws me first to a book - if the synopsis is interesting and reviews decent, I'll pick it up.
Really hope my cover is interesting enough to encourage people to buy it!
You could almost picture an unhappy author looking at his first book and coining the phrase, "Don't judge a book by its cover", but that's virtually what we do every time we pick up a book from an author we don't know. Of course established authors have all the luck because as a reader you may pick up the book to see what new delights you're in store for!
Great post!
If it's an author you love and read, you probably won't be influenced by the cover. The cover is more important on authors who are new to me.
Covers can really attract me to new authors. The kids at school are highly influenced by covers as well.
Thanks for the link - I'm off to check it out :)
I have often bought a book simply based on the cover. :)
Another reason why authors who self-published really need a professional cover.
My fantasy publisher has been great with my covers. The graphic artists they employ are top rate.
My romance novel covers were okay except for one. It was so explicit one could only conclude the novel was an erotic romance but it wasn't even close to one. I couldn't market it, couldn't advertise in the usual places. It sold very poorly. Covers are extremely important as a sales tool.
Very good point, Susan.
A book cover influences me a lot. A good one should not just look good , but give a real flavour of the book.
I hope when I get my novel published that I get a good one. I've designed one possibility myself on photoshop, it'll be interesting to see if they use it or not.
I'd be interested to see what you think of it - it's under cover art at
http://publishersearch.wordpress.com
Definitely covers matter. I got a shiver when I saw Flowers in the Attic. I read that book when I was a teenager and I thought it was the scariest book ever.
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