Thoughts on Book Covers

We all know we’re not supposed to judge books by their covers, but come on, who doesn’t?

What some of you may not know is that authors don’t really have control over their book covers, though they really do try and can sometimes get the ability to weigh in into their contract. It’s really more of an editorial and marketing decision.

But I thought it was interesting when I walked by the book section in Sam’s Club a few weeks ago and saw this:

Apparently we’re in a new phenomenon in sword-wielding, lightning-fighting guys in middle grade/YA novels, similar to the brooding and glamorous vampire/zombie/fairy-tale trysts in teen novels.

Seriously, though, how are you going to know which book to buy? Or do publishers just hope that readers will just pick up all of them?

Obviously Percy Jackson and any Riordan creation will be at the top of the pack, but after that, aren’t kids going to be burned out of reading the same kind of story over and over again? You’re going to need good author blurbs and recommendations if you want to get ahead.

If publishers want to prove that their clients’ stories are unique, then I think their book covers should also reflect that, don’t you?

-On that same vein, I just love this hilarious analysis of YA book covers, showing how unoriginal they have become. 2010 was the season of “wind-blown hair,” lol.

-The Book Cover Archive has a great collection of excellence in book covers that can inspire you on what your book could possibly look like one day!

–Covers from design firm, Fsiw, another great place to waste time looking at beautiful designs.

-Here’s a cool how-to on optical illusion book covers!