I love art in all of its forms, especially when there’s such unique style and character that you can recognize the artist immediately. I’m particularly a fan of fantasy and sci-fi book covers, sometimes buying them just to have them in my collection (looking at you Dune Deluxe Collector’s Edition)
This topic can be superficial and quite subjective, but I’m curious to hear how you all think about book covers.
If you’re a writer, do you hire an artist to bring your work to life? How do you feel about the relationship between writer and artist? Or is thinking about promoting your story in that manner frustrating?
Readers, do you judge a book by its cover? Would you read a story that had no cover at all? What are some of your favorite covers?
Lastly, do we have any artists among us in the Storyletter community? I can’t wait to hear your thoughts! ~ WM
Dear goddess, I hope they are inexorably tied together. I have loved the artwork in books since I was a little kid. What is Winnie the Pooh anyway without the art (including the songs!)? I love everything Jackie Morris has ever created. Brene Brown's latest book is a work of art. I just think art can add so much depth to words. Art leaves the meaning more fluid too and allows the work to grow and change with the years.
All that said, I do listen to audio books! And I totally believe you could have writing without art and there are times for that.
I recently was reading the interviews with Caroline Hax and Nick Galifianakis (her illustrator - and ex husband) about how they work together. It was fascinating. (Ok, yes, an advice column, but I love reading it and they've done it for 25 years!)
This is a great topic, and yes I do judge a book by its cover. I think an author wants to grab our attention and make us want to open and read.
There is an old saying “the clothes don’t make the man”! I, myself, don’t think that’s right because usually a person dresses how they feel and want to be perceived.
Same goes for a book. If you have the artist capture an essence of your story and display its feeling, then I think it’s a large factor in selling it.
I might read a cover less book if it’s been promoted or I’ve heard about it, or reading the preface grabs me, but most of the time the cover tells me a lot and whether I even open it to read the preface.
Am I moved by great covers? Yes. But I've not put a book back on the shelf because it was covered in plain linen with just the title embossed on it. In fact these kind of historically bound books are the ones that interest me first. The title by far will move me to open the cover more than artwork. I always skip the blurb on the back and just open the book at a random page and read.
If artwork is provided then I will judge the artwork and book as one, if none is provided I judge the writing alone. I think this is the reason I don't read comics or graphic novels and never did. I often hated the artwork and that meant I wasn't interested in the story it was illustrating. The choice of illustrator has to be done carefully for writers. I never read Dr Seuss as a kid because of the artwork, in fact remember not liking most picture books at all. I was given a Paddington Bear popup book when I was little, it was barely touched, I liked the movable parts but I never read the story.
Oh book covers… where to begin! I definitely judge books by their covers. I’ve discovered lately that I unconsciously scroll my bookbub and Amazon daily deal emails without even reading the descriptions—I just look at the covers and titles and instantly get the gist of what the book is about and whether it will appeal to me. I wouldn’t say a good cover makes me WANT to buy a book, but certain types of cover definitely turn me off from books.
I’m also a fan of plain cloth and leather bound books. Can’t go wrong with a classic.
As an artist, I’d like to get better at designing covers, but I’ll probably hire a professional to do OWAW when the time comes. I’ve also never been a huge fan of illustrations in adult fiction. I find they detract from my imagination of the story. Exception: Tolkien’s drawings.
I look at the cover first before I bother reading the book's description. In my opinion, the quality of the cover is a reflection of the author's writing, too. I know time and money is a factor for many indie writers, but there are free tools that writers can use to make eye-catching covers. I write short stories on Substack and each one has a 'cover'. I use Pixabay for free images and Canva to make the covers look presentable.
The cover art is critical if you want to sell books. I wish it wasn't, but a bad cover will bury your story amongst the millions of other books out there. Your cover either has to catch the eye, or at the very least fit in with the genre you are trying to write. I know the old adage of don't judge a book by its cover, but your story may be amazing, but a bad cover can sink it before it even sets sail unfortunately.
I was at the book store a few weeks ago (reading Steelheart now btw, so thanks for that recommend) and there were these two younger girls there. I say they picked up about 4 or 5 books, and every time they did they kept saying "Omg this is so pretty!" They were talking about each cover. I did look at each book they kept pointing out, and you can tell it was artwork the writer had a hand in creating. So there is definitely something about artwork that will catch certain eyes. Two of the books I bought had knives/swords on the cover lol.
I have just commissioned my first cover for a book I wrote that I am going to indie publish (I have put stuff on amazon before without professional covers--dumb). I am sure it will get more attention and reads for having a proper cover.
The Cover is the most important page. Thats what get's you attention. In fact the more illustrations a book has the better. Tolkien illustrated the Hobbit himself and If you want to be blown away look at Edgar Allen Poe and Harry Clarke
Dear goddess, I hope they are inexorably tied together. I have loved the artwork in books since I was a little kid. What is Winnie the Pooh anyway without the art (including the songs!)? I love everything Jackie Morris has ever created. Brene Brown's latest book is a work of art. I just think art can add so much depth to words. Art leaves the meaning more fluid too and allows the work to grow and change with the years.
All that said, I do listen to audio books! And I totally believe you could have writing without art and there are times for that.
I recently was reading the interviews with Caroline Hax and Nick Galifianakis (her illustrator - and ex husband) about how they work together. It was fascinating. (Ok, yes, an advice column, but I love reading it and they've done it for 25 years!)
This is a great topic, and yes I do judge a book by its cover. I think an author wants to grab our attention and make us want to open and read.
There is an old saying “the clothes don’t make the man”! I, myself, don’t think that’s right because usually a person dresses how they feel and want to be perceived.
Same goes for a book. If you have the artist capture an essence of your story and display its feeling, then I think it’s a large factor in selling it.
I might read a cover less book if it’s been promoted or I’ve heard about it, or reading the preface grabs me, but most of the time the cover tells me a lot and whether I even open it to read the preface.
Am I moved by great covers? Yes. But I've not put a book back on the shelf because it was covered in plain linen with just the title embossed on it. In fact these kind of historically bound books are the ones that interest me first. The title by far will move me to open the cover more than artwork. I always skip the blurb on the back and just open the book at a random page and read.
If artwork is provided then I will judge the artwork and book as one, if none is provided I judge the writing alone. I think this is the reason I don't read comics or graphic novels and never did. I often hated the artwork and that meant I wasn't interested in the story it was illustrating. The choice of illustrator has to be done carefully for writers. I never read Dr Seuss as a kid because of the artwork, in fact remember not liking most picture books at all. I was given a Paddington Bear popup book when I was little, it was barely touched, I liked the movable parts but I never read the story.
Oh book covers… where to begin! I definitely judge books by their covers. I’ve discovered lately that I unconsciously scroll my bookbub and Amazon daily deal emails without even reading the descriptions—I just look at the covers and titles and instantly get the gist of what the book is about and whether it will appeal to me. I wouldn’t say a good cover makes me WANT to buy a book, but certain types of cover definitely turn me off from books.
I’m also a fan of plain cloth and leather bound books. Can’t go wrong with a classic.
As an artist, I’d like to get better at designing covers, but I’ll probably hire a professional to do OWAW when the time comes. I’ve also never been a huge fan of illustrations in adult fiction. I find they detract from my imagination of the story. Exception: Tolkien’s drawings.
(I also bought the Dune deluxe edition :-)
I look at the cover first before I bother reading the book's description. In my opinion, the quality of the cover is a reflection of the author's writing, too. I know time and money is a factor for many indie writers, but there are free tools that writers can use to make eye-catching covers. I write short stories on Substack and each one has a 'cover'. I use Pixabay for free images and Canva to make the covers look presentable.
The cover art is critical if you want to sell books. I wish it wasn't, but a bad cover will bury your story amongst the millions of other books out there. Your cover either has to catch the eye, or at the very least fit in with the genre you are trying to write. I know the old adage of don't judge a book by its cover, but your story may be amazing, but a bad cover can sink it before it even sets sail unfortunately.
I was at the book store a few weeks ago (reading Steelheart now btw, so thanks for that recommend) and there were these two younger girls there. I say they picked up about 4 or 5 books, and every time they did they kept saying "Omg this is so pretty!" They were talking about each cover. I did look at each book they kept pointing out, and you can tell it was artwork the writer had a hand in creating. So there is definitely something about artwork that will catch certain eyes. Two of the books I bought had knives/swords on the cover lol.
I have just commissioned my first cover for a book I wrote that I am going to indie publish (I have put stuff on amazon before without professional covers--dumb). I am sure it will get more attention and reads for having a proper cover.
The Cover is the most important page. Thats what get's you attention. In fact the more illustrations a book has the better. Tolkien illustrated the Hobbit himself and If you want to be blown away look at Edgar Allen Poe and Harry Clarke