Don't judge a book by it's cover

[ATDrake]

I'd rather see simple but nicely-designed covers than elaborate ugly covers.

But given that I read sf/fantasy, a genre notorious for sometimes having awful covers, and that I read sf/fantasy from Baen, a publisher notorious for often having laughably awful covers, I'm not really in much of a position to pass up books based on cover impressions.

That said, pleasantly aesthetic and strikingly designed covers do catch my attention, and I've been known to try-from-library/acquire-if-freebie books on the basis of that even if nothing else seemed particularly promising about the subject/blurb at first glance.

And really bad covers are something of a turn-off if I know nothing else about the author/imprint to offset that impression.

[Fbone]

If the cover looks like the author spent 30 seconds to create, what does it say about the amount of time and effort put into the rest of the book?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Fbone

If the cover looks like the author spent 30 seconds to create, what does it say about the amount of time and effort put into the rest of the book?

Generally, nothing at all, because the author has no say in the matter; it's the publisher who commissions the cover.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Generally, nothing at all, because the author has no say in the matter; it's the publisher who commissions the cover.

I was referring to self-publishers who do make their own covers.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

I'd rather see simple but nicely-designed covers than elaborate ugly covers.

Exactly. Simple can still be attractive.

[DianNC]

Originally Posted by mrscoach

I remember thinking once "who the crap is on the cover? It isn't the hero"

That made me laugh out loud

[kiwidude]

On a semi-related note - can anyone explain why many retail ebooks do not actually have the "attractive" artwork cover included, and instead just have some sort of stock auto-generated basic cover? Is it a licensing reason or something else? Not that I hugely care given I can replace the cover with Calibre etc (and once on the ereader I never look at it) but I am curious.

[Victoria]

I enjoy all the graphic arts, and am drawn to well designed covers - they make me stop and give the book a second look.

On the other hand, I'm sometimes turned off by covers - especially sci fy /fantasy. When they feature stereotypical images of big breasty women in leather armour - I consider it a good hint from the publisher and move on

[Joy736]

Originally Posted by kiwidude

On a semi-related note - can anyone explain why many retail ebooks do not actually have the "attractive" artwork cover included, and instead just have some sort of stock auto-generated basic cover? Is it a licensing reason or something else? Not that I hugely care given I can replace the cover with Calibre etc (and once on the ereader I never look at it) but I am curious.

I asked the same question in an other topic. And I was told it was a copy-right issue. The book-tekst and the Cover-art have different copy-right.

ps Excuse my bad English.

[kiwidude]

@Joy736 - thx for that explanation. I had attempted a search for this topic a while ago but came up with nothing.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kiwidude

On a semi-related note - can anyone explain why many retail ebooks do not actually have the "attractive" artwork cover included, and instead just have some sort of stock auto-generated basic cover? Is it a licensing reason or something else? Not that I hugely care given I can replace the cover with Calibre etc (and once on the ereader I never look at it) but I am curious.

It's because the distribution rights for the cover artwork are separate from the rights for the book, and the publisher doesn't have the rights to use the cover on the ebook.

[whitearrow]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

I judge a book by its cover - to an extent. If I see a book and it has a really amateurish cover, I'll probably avoid it. A cover won't persuade me to read it, but it might persuade me not to read it.

I agree with this too. If it's an author I've never heard of, and the cover looks extremely silly, dated or amateur, I'm probably not going to buy the book.

Simple covers are fine, but looking like a refugee from a 1950's dime store bin, not so much.

[Apache]

Why should we not judge a book by it's cover? Humans judge people by their clothes.
Apache