Quote:
Originally Posted by MGlitch
Buying based on suggestion would just pass the cover art effect on to those making the suggestion. At some level it has had an effect on the purchase of the book. Buying from a known author just pushes the effect back to the point of that introduction, unless the initial book of that author was a suggestion in which case it's back to the person making the suggestion.
Again -consciously- you aren't thinking of the cover. And while the thumbnail may not be much of an image, in your case it doesn't need to be since you're buying based off the suggestion of others who have read the book, and thus seen the cover, or because of author in which case you've seen their previous books covers. Now if you were browsing ebooks and not using either the suggestion of others or authors you had read and enjoyed to guide your search, and disabled image display that would be a way to ensure you were not directly influenced. But there is still an indirect influence of the book being published, the spot it gets in search results, etc. are all influenced by the sellability of the book, and publishers do put stock in the coverart to have an influence.
I appreciate that we like to think we are above being influenced, however the publishing industry knows that isn't true.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3354504.html
http://thebooksmugglers.com/2010/04/...y-results.html
http://www.creativindie.com/8-cover-...-buying-books/
http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2014/...ure-explained/
I could go on, but it's a bit OT for the thread. |
I just went through the last 10 books I bought from looking at my spreadsheet. The only one that a cover that I remembered anything about was a negative reaction. In other words, I remember looking at the title when I was buying it and thinking that it was stupid. (the cover was a cartoon, and the book was a mystery.) In other words, I bought the cover even though I hated the cover. I bought the book because it was recommended as being a good book. I looked at the description, I checked out the "look inside" to make sure that it was something I might be interested in, and I bought it...despite thinking it had a stupid cover. For the other 9 books, I couldn't tell you what the cover was if my life depended on it. I don't care. I don't look at covers on my reader, I don't look at covers when I'm looking for books. As DiapDealer said...the articles you linked to are probably true for the population as a whole. They are NOT true for everyone, and certainly not true for me.
In any case, if the articles were true about the importance of a cover, then how would any of these books ever have sold?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BVC1SSE?psc=1
Shari