Vox Day’s conservative publishing company Castalia House has book pulled from Amazon

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I can (maybe) see a false air of "legitimacy" being gained by emulating popular covers. A "This book looks a lot like these other ones I liked--maybe I'll give it a shot" kind of thing. But I just can't see a lot of readers being outright tricked into buying the wrong book.

I agree, and I think that that's exactly what Delphi are going for here: playing off Penguin Classics' reputation as perhaps the best-known range of classics in the English-language publishing world. A "we look like them so perhaps people will think we're just as good" thing.

[fjtorres]

Intent to deceive is a pretty hard thing to prove.
Especially when tradpub covers follow genre-specific memes.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/1...-cover-cliches

Try these:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/bo...urrent-designs

Lazy cover art design is a thing.
So is spaceship covers in SF. Go looking and you'll find a dozen that look like Scalzi's, even without any attempt at deception or parody.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

You seem to be overly hung up on readers "mistaking" one book for another. Do you not believe most readers are at least as discerning as yourself when it comes to this sort of thing? Do you honestly believe that there are any relevant numbers of consumers who are being tricked by this this sort of thing?

I can (maybe) see a false air of "legitimacy" being gained by emulating popular covers. A "This book looks a lot like these other ones I liked--maybe I'll give it a shot" kind of thing. But I just can't see a lot of readers being outright tricked into buying the wrong book.

I have read some reviews where it was said that the book was bought by mistake. So yes, it happens because of the too similar nature of the cover.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have read some reviews where it was said that the book was bought by mistake. So yes, it happens because of the too similar nature of the cover.

"In relevant numbers" was the question. I've read some "reviews" where lots of things were claimed. Doesn't mean I necessarily believe them. I have every reason to suspect that this particular brouhaha is a classic Tempest in a Teapot. Day/Tingle/Castalia House are looking for a some cheap publicity, and they're unfortunately getting it.

Has Scalzi publically chimed in on any of this yet? If I was a concerned Scalzi fan, that's who I'd probably take my cues from on this.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Has Scalzi publically chimed in on any of this yet? If I was a concerned Scalzi fan, that's who I'd probably take my cues from on this.

From the comments where folks were discussing it on his blog...

Folks, let’s not go on about Beale’s nonsense here, please.

[DiapDealer]

Seems like reasonable advice.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Similar style, but very easy not to mistake one for the other.

I'm pretty sure that the one thing people who are buying books have in common is that they can read - not just look at the pretty picture on the front of a book. This is not an intelligence test anyone buying the Scalzi book should fail.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

"In relevant numbers" was the question. I've read some "reviews" where lots of things were claimed. Doesn't mean I necessarily believe them. I have every reason to suspect that this particular brouhaha is a classic Tempest in a Teapot. Day/Tingle/Castalia House are looking for a some cheap publicity, and they're unfortunately getting it.

Tingle?

[Cyberman tM]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

I'm pretty sure that the one thing people who are buying books have in common is that they can read - not just look at the pretty picture on the front of a book. This is not an intelligence test anyone buying the Scalzi book should fail.

Only if they themselves are buying the book.

What if the purchase is indirect? I.e. "When you go to *bookstore* please pick up the new Scalzi for me - "Collapsing Empire", here's a picture ".

How large does the potential group have to be until a significant number of wrong books are purchased? Unless it's written down, or the person has eidetic memory, they're only going to remember how the name sounds and the cover was blue with planets and ships and something about a ruined empire.

Yes, most sensible people will check twice. Someone in a hurry might not because they don't even imagine the possibility that there might be two similar books.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by meeera

Tingle?

I saw a tweet with "Dr Chuck Tingle"'s name mentioned in conjunction with this. Just assumed he was involved (directly or indirectly) in the "experiment."

[meeera]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I saw a tweet with "Dr Chuck Tingle"'s name mentioned in conjunction with this. Just assumed he was involved (directly or indirectly) in the "experiment."

Hell no. You might want to go back and research the history between Beale and Tingle. Theirs is not a collegial relationship.

[DiapDealer]

I'd rather not (research Beale and/or Tingle's history), actually. It's much easier to say "My mistake," instead.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by Cyberman tM

Only if they themselves are buying the book.

What if the purchase is indirect? I.e. "When you go to *bookstore* please pick up the new Scalzi for me - "Collapsing Empire", here's a picture ".

How large does the potential group have to be until a significant number of wrong books are purchased? Unless it's written down, or the person has eidetic memory, they're only going to remember how the name sounds and the cover was blue with planets and ships and something about a ruined empire.

Yes, most sensible people will check twice. Someone in a hurry might not because they don't even imagine the possibility that there might be two similar books.

Really stretching now, so if you were buying a book for someone, you would go off a vague memory of how it looked rather than the author and title?

Judging by your description they are far more likely to return with something by Asimov anyway, so that's a bonus.

The number of people getting this wrong must be close to the number of people trying to text on a Granny Smith's.

[JSWolf]

If you go to the bookstore to buy a pBook, you are less likely to buy the wrong book than you would be buying the eBook.

[DrNefario]

Every time someone posts in this thread, the man's name and the name of his publishing (out)house get pushed to the top of the forum and give him a nice little publicity boost, and I sigh.

Now I'm doing it.