Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Nov. 10

Do you judge a book by its cover? I think we all do. We can't help it. Certain colors attract us. Certain images attract us. There are people who buy books based on author name whether they like the topic or not. Then there are the back blurb readers, the front inside flap readers and those dreaded end of the book readers. As authors we have control of the blurbs, usually. But no control over the covers. We have to trust the art department and the judgement of editors. Book sales are not usually about the book but the way it is presented. Knowing this, I've changed book titles and changed sales pitches and tried again when a book gets rejected. Sometimes it works. The unfortunate truth is, it isn't always the book that's rejected, but the cover or the way its sold.
Readers, how do you pick a book? Writers, have you ever changed the way you pitched a story and started again?

3 comments:

  1. I try not to choose a book by its cover but I do, especially in the library. It's strange the way that editors will send proofs and ask for feedback about everything except for the front cover. I also find it strange that a lot of books have different covers for the UK and the US market. Why is that?

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  2. Yes, I'm guilty of it too. I've been known to chose a book for its cover. But some covers just keep popping out at me; it's impossible to ignore them. Usually, I pick a book by the author name though.

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  3. Rosalind, publishers believe that the US and UK markets are wildly different and readers buy different visual copy. It works for Magazine and television ads as well. Funny.

    Linda, the problem with buying by name-which I do a lot- is we miss out on new authors unless they hit us over the head with their debut PR. LOL. Crazy. Cheers~

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