Matching Book Covers

The Harry Potter Covers in Thailand

 

One Cookie or the Entire Bag?

I'm over at the Here Be Magic blog today discussing whether readers are willing to start a series without knowing when the next book will come out, or if they'd rather wait for several books to become available before buying.

Which one are you?

The Sad Little Cover Flat

Everyone already knows about book covers. But whenever I get my newest one, there's also a "flat" attached to the email, which features the front as well as the back cover and spine. And, frankly, I think the backs are just as pretty! However, since ebooks are becoming so popular, there's less and less need for back cover art. Such a shame. I have some pretty fantastic flats. Below are just a few.

This? Or This?

This?

Or this?

Lately I've noticed a lot of authors posting their flats. (A flat is the full cover a print book, which includes the spine and back.) In the ebook business, ebooks don't get flats because there's no need for a spine or back cover.

Personally, although I like to see what the whole book will look like, most of the time I prefer to show just my cover. It takes up less room, for one thing. And the front appears much more dramatic without the rest of it.

But curiosity prompts me to ask people if a flat makes any difference when they peruse a cover. Comments?

Duplicate Covers - Not Wise IMHO

There has been a lot of talk about the same basic photo being used, reused, and over-used on book covers. Considering the fact that there are a LOT of romance novels coming out now in e-books, it’s bound to happen. I can especially understand if I’m thinking I’m seeing a book I’ve already bought (being a visual learner, this sort of thing catches my eye), only to find out it’s a different story from a different author and a different publisher.

What I don’t quite gander are these "theme" books where every author basically gets the same photo and cover. Even the font is duplicated. The only difference is the title and author. For me, when I’m flipping through Fictionwise, the covers are the first thing I notice. If I see a photo that jogs my memory, my senior-aged brain says, "Got it. Read it.", and I go on. But when I see two, three, four, or more covers that look exactly the same, then I’m in a quandary.

As an author, I pride myself on having covers that look a bit different from other covers. I like my covers to be as unique (different, strange, odd, unusual - pick your adjective :) as my stories. It takes a skilled cover artist to take a shot already rendered countless times and fuse it into a fresh idea. But I understand publishers have a bottom line, and those iStock photos, or wherever they’re gotten from, cost money. So duplication is to be expected.

But, shoot fire, couldn’t there be something done to make each cover a little different from the one before and after it?