Picture this: Walking around your favorite book store. Strolling at your leisure, enjoying a cup of coffee, picking books up and reading the description. Here’s the question: What made you pick the book up? Book Cover? Familiarity of author? Rave reviews from other friends? Just a good feeling?
Looking back over my book collection- so many of them have book covers that are eye-catching or conversation starters. My Joanne Fluke books have book covers that make you want to eat them- brightly colored with pics of food- almost embossed- even like a 3-D effect (sort-of). I’ve picked some new books by Elin Hilderbrand and Dorothea Benton Frank- both of those have summer-y, beach atmospheres.
The River Witch by Kimberly Brock has a woman on the cover, you can’t see her face, though- and it almost appears part-magical, part spiritual- it’s a compelling cover. Michael Lee West’s covers are funny, eye-catching and have titles that roll off the tongue easily.
For me, a book cover probably does influence me- I love looking at books. Once I like the author, the familiarity of the name entices me. But, for a random book in a pile of books that I know nothing about- a book cover that intrigues me is the best way to get the book bought (bonus points if the title just rolls off your tongue in a good way!)
Is there any books that have totally been disappointing with fantastic covers? Let’s discuss!
Happy reading & good luck choosing books!
Traveling With T 
I won’t even pick up a book if it has a terrible cover, so covers are the first and biggest factor in whether I will buy a book or not.
I feel the same way for the most part. Book covers are what get most people to pick books up, imo. With all the varied taste in the world of books, I imagine designing a book cover that could appeal to many people would be hard.
If I don’t know the author, and I’m not specifically looking for a book, I always start with the cover. If it catches me (and what’s interesting is different for everyone) then I read the jacket cover, or the back of the paperback. I usually know within two lines if I want to read it or not, based only on the subject matter. But without a great cover, I’d probably pass it by. Sad, but true.
Same here. Sometimes I still buy books that aren’t that good to me- the book cover/description fooled me- but I generally get books that even if I don’t love them- I can find some good things about each of them.
As a guy, what kind of book covers are catching your attention? I went to a book event the other weekend- only 75 people could attend. Out of the 75, I think there were 5 men who were there. I know some of us were discussing that women seem to read more than men. Also one of my friends started a blog about books to get men more interested in reading.
That’s interesting, but I’m not surprised. Men just don’t seem to love books as much as women do. Men like action movies, loud music, and explosions. They don’t want to sit and think about the subtleties of the human heart, for the most part. As far as book covers, I look for something haunting, something mysterious, or something dramatic. Books with people’s faces turn me off, as do the silhouettes of government buildings. I’ll take a good spooky forest any day, though.
So I guess my question for you is, as a writer, I’d like to know if the things I write about might appeal to women? I’ve had a few women read parts, and have said they liked it, but do women like reading horror as much as men? This would be a generalization, of course.
I looked at your cover art- and 1. I thought it looked great- the shadowy background, the bright red feather- Eye-catching and intriguing.
Normally, I am not into horror books- I enjoy a good suspense/mystery; but the horror genre has never been a fav (I also don’t care for horror movies, either). Reading your synopsis, though, the book does have some appeal. It’s got some details that lure a reader in. If I saw it in a bookstore, I’d probably buy it for my brother; but skim through it myself.
Thanks for the feedback! I was never comfortable with the “horror” label, but I can’t deny that some supernatural stuff takes place. I tend to think of it as a story of taking what isn’t yours. It’s nice to know that you would have gotten it for someone though! 🙂
Me too. Obviously there has to be something in the cover to catch the eye, if you’re going to pick up a random book. It doesn’t have to garish, just something that appeals to me. And then, a bad cover can make me decide not to buy a book (unless I have some reason to believe it’s good).
Interesting thoughts!
I think a bad cover is usually an unprofessional cover. Something that looks amateurish, usually indicates amateurish writing. I also don’t like things that are stereotypical for a genre, like a muscly vampire, or a depressed teenaged girl. But a teenage girl from a distance, lost in the woods, heading on a trail to a creepy castle, that would probably do it for me.