Quote:
Originally Posted by frahse
Cover art and blurbs written by 5th graders can greatly handicap a book, and yet you see them on good books by intelligent authors.
Why? Did the authors or publishers children need a Saturday project because it was raining and they couldn't go outside?
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I think in some cases, authors don't have any say. In others, they pay for the artwork, but it turns out ... not so great. And of course, just because we're good writers doesn't mean we have good taste in art. Artwork can be expensive and it's a skill that takes a lot of time to learn.
Look at the covers on the Sookie Stackhouse books (Charlaine Harris books). Both the new ones AND the old ones are some of the UGLIEST covers ever done. Yet the series is very popular and is an HBO series now. The first ones (Or were they the second) definitely have the 5th grader look to them.
I try not to let the covers influence me too much, but they do. There's no denying it.