I’m thrilled to have S.M. Boyce visiting with me today for her Treason Blog Tour. Be sure to click on the image above for a listing of other stops. Also, check out the banner at the end of the post for a chance to win some goodies! I know we all love goodies. *wink*
Anyhoo. Without further ado, here she is.
Why Book Covers are So Important
First off, thanks for having me! I’m here on my Treasonous Blog
Tour to share a dreadful mistake I made early in my writing career. Learn
from me. Please.
Here’s the lesson: People judge books by their covers.
Yeah, that’s probably not really a surprise to you. But
here’s something I didn’t know until a bit late in the game: the covers
themselves sell books.
Sometimes, people will buy a book specifically because of
the cover. There are entire Goodreads
shelves and Listopia
lists dedicated to beautiful covers. While I haven’t bought a book just for
the cover, I will admit that it’s pretty tempting when eBooks are only a few
dollars.
But even if someone doesn’t buy a book for only the cover, the
cover image is the first line of defense when it comes to sales. When a reader
skims through dozens or even hundreds of books, only the most attractive will
catch their eye. You don’t need science for that one. Eye-grabbing covers can
trump even the most well-written back cover copy.
The bottom line is: authors must have great covers that both
represent the book’s genre and catch potential readers’ eyes. It’s a hard mix.
When I first released my debut, Lichgates, I modeled the cover after a book of magic featured in the book
called the Grimoire. The idea was people would finish the novel and then
realize they were holding the Grimoire the whole time. Nifty, right? I thought
so.
Problem is, the Grimoire itself wasn’t all that pretty. It’s
a brown leather book with a four-leaf clover symbol engraved on the front. So
while the idea was a neat one, I wasn’t thinking in terms of marketing or
sales. A cover is meant to draw readers in, not spark a neat thought after they
finish the book.
So I sat down with my husband and reworked the covers for
the entire series. After some intense discussions, we’d redesigned them such that
they were visually appealing and sparked a certain level of curiosity in those
to whom we showed the designs. Check out the before and after below.
Before
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After
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So what do you think? Do you like the old one better, or the
new? Neither? It’s okay. I can take it.
While we’re at it, what are some of the most beautiful covers
you’ve ever seen? Have you ever bought a book just for the cover?
About Boyce
S.M. Boyce is a fantasy and
paranormal fiction novelist who also dabbles in contemporary fiction and
comedy. Her B.A. in Creative Writing qualifies her to serve
you french fries, and she updates her blog a few times each week to keep you
entertained.
Connect with Boyce
Boyce’s Books
Lichgates
Amazon: USA | UK | Germany | France | Spain | Italy
Treason
Amazon: USA | UK | Germany | France | Spain | Italy
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I think Ms. Boyce is entirely correct about covers selling books! I've been guilty of lusting over a particular book simply due to it's amazing cover, and passing up what I later learn to be a wonderful book, due to an unimpressive cover. And, btw, I think your new book cover is beautiful - LOVE those colors! <3
ReplyDeleteThanks! & thanks too for commenting!!
DeleteIt is true about people judging by covers- guilty ( sometimes). I also think that the before cover looked good too- almost like an old time kind of book..the new covers look great too..
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input, everyone! I agree that the old cover has a sort of rustic charm, but I have to admit I like the new one better.
ReplyDelete