Judging Books By Their Covers
Paul, on a related note, I'm looking at the cover of your book and thinking, "That's marketed wrong." I'm reserving judgment about Perry for now, but for all the reasons you note, marketing is important if you have a good idea and want people to pay attention to it. We wouldn't need to admonish people not to judge books by their covers if it weren't a fact that they do. That one says, "For a small circle of academics only."
How would creative people on Ricochet design a cover for that book? It should convey to the people who most need to know how interesting the words in the title really are.
I'm reminded that Stephen King wrote a great review of my brother's great novel, Fieldwork:
First the good news: This is a great story. It has an exotic locale, mystery, and a narrative voice full of humor and sadness. Reading Fieldwork is like discovering an unpublished Robertson Davies novel; as with Davies, you can't stop reading until midnight (good), and you don't hate yourself in the morning (better). It's a Russian doll of a read, filled with stories within stories. ...
If this is such a good read, what's the bad news? That's easy. As of March 26, Fieldwork was No. 24,571 on the Amazon best-seller list, and not apt to go much higher. The reason why is illustrative of how the book biz became the invalid of the entertainment industry, and why fiction sales are down across the board (with the possible exception of chick lit). Critics, with their stubborn insistence that there's a difference between ''literature'' and ''popular fiction,'' are part of the problem, but the publishers themselves, who have bought into this elitist twaddle, are also to blame. Since we're talking Fieldwork, take Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Publishing houses have two faces. In the case of FSG, Jekyll belongs to the distinguished company that has published such award-winning novels as Gilead, The Great Fire, and The Corrections. Hyde is the side which seems to proclaim ''Don't read this, it's too smart for the likes of you.''
"Don't read this, it's too smart for the likes of you" is what the cover of Paul's book says right now. Let's improve it.
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Sep '10
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
Biggest turnon: daguerreotypes, black and white or sepia photographs, portraits of historical figures.
Here is a little press house that does some interesting photographic B&W covers
and here
Jul '10
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
Bikini-clad zombies in Las Vegas.
Aug '11
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
Here's a quick shot. It's quick and dirty - another week would due it justice but I think it's headed in the right direction. Make sure to scroll down, there are two versions.
I gotta go back to some real work now.
Sep '10
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
Think So: Here's a quick shot. It's quick and dirty - another week would due it justice but I think it's headed in the right direction. Make sure to scroll down, there are two versions.
I gotta go back to some real work now. · Aug 15 at 10:11am
Could you show a boat or ship adrift at sea with the foreboding sky that you have in the first picture? Then perhaps the dramatic contrast in B&W sepia (per Diane's suggestion) would do the trick?
Sep '10
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
I like version 1 quite a bit. Version 2 is visually arresting, but the image of a lighthouse conveys security and stability--the opposite of the book's title and message.
Aug '11
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
Pseudodionysius
Could you show a boat or ship adrift at sea with the foreboding sky that you have in the first picture? Then perhaps the dramatic contrast in B&W sepia (per Diane's suggestion) would do the trick? · Aug 15 at 10:33am
I agree - I had envisioned something similar, but this is as close as Google could do in a limited timeframe. Type, color and other variations could take it a lot further as well. Such subtle refinements are what will make the casual observer stop and pick it up but are also typically the most grueling and labor intensive. As such, I gotta move on to paying client work right now :-)
Aug '11
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
dogsbody
I like version 1 quite a bit. Version 2 is visually arresting, but the image of a lighthouse conveys security and stability--the opposite of the book's title and message. · Aug 15 at 10:39am
Agreed, I just liked the color and artistic quality of the shot. A more thorough exploration/development of the final piece would be essential.
Aug '11
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
Agreed, however one of my soapbox issues is the failure of the conservative movement to effectively harness media. This caught my attention and I couldn't resist the urge to throw Claire a bone.
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
Think So: Here's a quick shot. It's quick and dirty - another week would due it justice but I think it's headed in the right direction. Make sure to scroll down, there are two versions.
I gotta go back to some real work now. · Aug 15 at 10:11am
Love Concept 1. With perhaps a more ominous sky.
Aug '11
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
Diane Ellis, Ed.
Love Concept 1. With perhaps a more ominous sky. · Aug 15 at 2:59pm
Thank you. Stretching it even a bit further...
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
Oh my. I'd buy that first one in a heartbeat.
Aug '11
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
Judith Levy
Oh my. I'd buy that first one in a heartbeat. · Aug 16 at 12:19am
Bump - Claire or Paul, any feedback on these?
Apr '11
Re: Judging Books By Their Covers
Claire Berlinski, Ed. And serious is necessarily commercially unappealing?
Isn't that precisely the problem? A separation of "people who think" from "proles to whom the plasma TV appeals?"
Since when did "dignified" mean "blank and blue?" · Aug 15 at 12:22am
Claire, I'm getting a little whiplash here.