Six Writers Tell All About Book Covers And Blurbs

The Awl:

Writers by definition spend a lot of time on the inside of books, which is why what happens on the outside—namely, cover art and blurbs—can feel precarious and daunting.

Read the whole story: The Awl

Comments

[zingdaddy]

03:48 AM on 04/27/2011

Yes. I have bought books solely for the cover, and either been pleasantly surprised that the book was good, or didn't mind when I discovered I didn't like it. I still liked the cover.

I mean, come on. Frank Frazetta. I rest my case.

[George Ellias]

09:17 PM on 04/08/2011

Being a musician and currently working on my latest EP's cover "wanderlust". This article was very helpful! Thanks a lot.

Also, while reading the article a mini-cooper advertisement appears about it's latest vehicle, the word "wanderlust" was on the ad. This must be a sign... A good one? I'm not sure.
-G.E.

[Fabini]

05:52 AM on 04/08/2011

Do covers sell books? Yes. Without covers and blurbs, popular book sales would decrease by 95%.

[boneyize]

01:39 AM on 04/08/2011

i'm going to judge this article by its link.

[mediamarv]

11:35 PM on 04/07/2011

"judiging a book by its cover" ... remember when journalists could spell?

[BlackJAC]

05:40 PM on 04/07/2011

Blurbs have done nothing for me.  Cover art, on the other hand, can set the tone for the entire work presented.  Consider http://www.bookninja.com/?p=4641 if you don't believe me.

[thebigbike]

05:37 PM on 04/07/2011

I'll pick up a book based on its cover once in a while, then read the flap copy, then the first few paragraphs or random sample, if these don' t speak top me , in -order, I'll let go back onthe shelf or table. If I still have it in my hand after those tests, THEN I'll look at the blurbs, the wrong names will cause me to drop a book like a sack of warm ------

The wrong cover has me leaving it right there. I believe covers do signal a lot about which genre book is marketed for, and that can help me uh screen, or triage if you will.

but then I almost NEVER buy current fiction. (no offense intended , I guess I'm a little out of the general cultural loop) But the same does apply to the non-fiction I do buy regularly

[doglove]

11:10 PM on 04/23/2011

Agree. An endorsement by Karl Rove or Stephenie Meyer is telling me "put the book down". Stephen King seems to give many gushing endorsements.
I recently found a wonderful author because the cover attracted me.
With an author I know and love, the cover doesn't matter at all.

[Lev Raphael]

02:32 PM on 04/07/2011

Covers grab my attention, yes. And so do blurbs, but only if they're by someone whose work I like or if they're unusual in some ways. Blurbs by writers I don't like or who seem to blurb everything they can ("blurb whores" in the trade) turn me off to a book before I even open it.