There is no doubt about it: Book covers matter. The right book cover can make someone in a bookstore or grocery store aisle pick up a book, check out the blurb and perhaps purchase it. The wrong cover can make someone reject it out of hand, whether seen in the store or online.
Want an example of a book cover gone wrong?
At left is a repackaging of Anne of Green Gables (three books in one). For anyone who has enjoyed Anne of Green Gables (1908), looking at this come-hither 21st Century teenage model has to make you a little crazy. At least it does me.
Did the person in charge of the book packaging have any idea what the stories were about or the age in which they were written? Either the answer is no or they simply did not care.
At right is the 1985 movie version. It is much more representative of Anne. Don't you agree?
Most novelists with books released from traditional publishing houses have input into their covers but not final say. Sometimes a publisher reworks and reworks a cover to get it right and to the author's liking. Sometimes that doesn't happen and an author just has to grit their teeth and bear it as best they can.
My WWII novel, The Victory Club (just $2.99 for Kindle, Nook and other eReaders; on sale for limited time for $2.99 as well on audio), has had several different covers since it was first released in 2005.
2005 Trade Paper | 2006 Audio | 2011 eBook | 2013 eBook Repackaging
I'm delighted that the publisher of the eBook decided to redesign their cover as it never seemed right to me. I love the new cover that just launched.
Below is one of my RITA Award winners, The Shepherd's Voice. I never liked the first cover as it just seemed blah. It certainly didn't let the reader know that the story was a romance. The cover for the eBook (Kindle, Nook and others) and Audio editions released in 2011 is one of my all time favorite covers. It definitely says romance, and it makes my heart go sigh.
2000 Trade Paper | 2011 Ebook and Audio
I've been blessed with many wonderful covers, and I'm very grateful for the creative folks who work so hard on them. I'm especially delighted with the covers of my current series, Where The Heart Lives. They don't get much better than these three.
Belonging (2011) | Betrayal (2012) | Beloved (2013)
Do you have any favorite book covers? Any covers you remember apart from if you liked the novel itself?
~robin
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