If not for the cover of R.A. Salvatore's books I wouldn't have picked em up.

Robin wrote: "Michael did some covers for a fellow GoodReads Author Leslie Ann Moore - There is a "character" on te books but you don't see her face...I'm good with the "back to camera" or hidden face thing.

"

That was nice of him to do that. I really love those covers, especially the second one.

Robin wrote: "Michael did some covers for a fellow GoodReads Author Leslie Ann Moore - There is a "character" on te books but you don't see her face...I'm good with the "back to camera" or hidden face thing.

"

Those are lovely Robin, your husband is so good at making book covers - I love the covers of his own books they really do make you want to pick the book off the shelf.

I like the second cover more - it's more atmospheric. I think I just generally like "moody" stuff.

**

It's always kind of annoyed me that they feel the need to republish YA books in the adult section, with new covers. I get why they do it - those adults who won't read a YA book, or who will read one but don't want everyone to know they're reading one, which is sometimes given away by the cover.

But, anyway - one thing I would not expect is for the covers for the adult versions to be, imo, cheesier than the orignals. To whit, I present the covers, old and new, for The Faerie War Chronicles (by Herbie Brennan)

Original:


New Adult version (release by Tor, who I usually think has pretty good covers, actually):
(can't find one for Ruler of the Realm)

Anyway - I would be more embarrassed carrying around the adult covers, personally.

Apparently, they are also re-releasing the first two YA ones with new covers:


I would love to know the reasoning for this because my theory, fresh from the gender thread, is that the original covers might have been deemed too girly for what is, mostly, a boy's book. These news ones definitely seem more geared towards boys...

This also brushes up with one of my aforementioned cover irritations - which is changing the style mid-way. The new covers for the first two are more in line with the covers I have for the latter two (and I much prefer the original style to the new one):

Ah, beautiful work!
Kudos to Michael, and Leslie Ann Moore - those images suit your stories to a T! Very nice!

Very nice covers, Robin. Kudos to Michael.

What media is he using?

Michael did some covers for a fellow GoodReads Author Leslie Ann Moore - There is a "character" on te books but you don't see her face...I'm good with the "back to camera" or hidden face thing.

Robin wrote: "I don't really let cover art influence my choices but one thing I HATE is when they put the main character on the cover - after all part of reading is "conjuring" your own idea of what people look ..."

The covers for your husband's books are beautiful and I'd probably pick them up based on that.

And I agree, I really hate it when people are on the cover, especially their faces - I rarely ever pick those book up. I don't mind so much if it's cartoonish, or if they are just figured, got their backs turned, but I hate photos of people etc on them.

Book covers don't make me necessarily buy a book but they sure help when deciding what book to pluck from the shelf or not. Although admitedly when the cover has been exceptionally pretty... lol! Rare occasions!

I really like the covers of the wardstone chronicals by Joseph Delaney.

Hmmmmm then I'll have to look into those.. I just liked searching the borders for all the little pictures of things from the book - it reminded when I was a kid and used to read Highlights Magazine.

Lol that one was one of my least favorites she has some much better books like the forest of serre, ombria in shadow, the book of atrix wolf, and others.... = ]

I only read one McKillip - Alphabet of Thorns and the cover was amazing!!

-- Robin The Crown Conspiracy | Avempartha | Nyphron Rising (Oct 2009)

Caleb wrote: "ok my favorite of all time artist for book covers is Kinuko Y. Craft she did most of the Patricia A. McKillip book covers and she did the two newest books by Juliet Marillier including wildwood dan..."

Haha Caleb, you took the words right out of my mouth! Kinuko Y. Craft's tapestry-like covers never fail to sell a book to me. They do an excellent job of communicating the ethereal sort of magic that goes with the stories.

I love it when a cover has a certain kind of style that when you see, you recognize instantly (another example is the cover art of the Abhorsen Trilogy -- gorgeous, and instantly recognizable!). I'm also particularly susceptible to baroque sort of book covers, like Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (pictured above) or something text-heavy like Scarlett Thomas's The End of Mr. Y or this Coraline cover. Also, simple (yet at the same time, not) covers like Danielewski's House of Leaves tend to work for me.



I tend to stay away from book covers with photographs of people on them, because imagining what the characters look like for yourself is part of the fun.

I have to say it, even though it tastes pretty bad in my mouth: the Twilight covers are pretty fantastic, if the content between the covers leaves much to be desired. Proves that you really can't judge a book by its cover sometimes.

ok my favorite of all time artist for book covers is Kinuko Y. Craft she did most of the Patricia A. McKillip book covers and she did the two newest books by Juliet Marillier including wildwood dancing...

Totally agree with you Megan about the cover art work for Maria V. Snyder's book series (Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study). I have to admit that I wouldn't have read these books if not for the cover art work. The synopsis on the back made it seem a little cheesy but I was definitely not disappointed by this series! It only shows the character partially. I think I'm more drawn to the cover art work with no character or with partial character...again like Brent Weeks Night Angel Trilogy and Jacqueline Carey's series. Maybe the exception to the rule was the Sevenwaters trilogy that I read a long time ago that depicts the characters on the cover. I love the artwork for the trilogy!

So back to the original question...yes I have to admit cover art makes a difference to me.

I posted these elsewhere but since this topic is on covers...The rough of book #3 was just created.



The Crown Conspiracy | Avempartha

I thought the covers for the looking glass wars and seeing redd by Frank Beddor is pretty amazing. They are pretty artwork that is a cool through back to the old alice in wonderland stories and at the same time says hey this isn't a tradition fantasy. I think who ever did the cover art is retty genius.

P.S. checkout my book website at http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Miriam wrote: "Good points, Janny! So I guess what we as book purchasers need to do is pay more attention to individual presses and the choices they make regarding covers, so we can figure out their marketing psy..."

Actually? Ignore the psychology and look inside with an open heart. I find, sometimes, it's a delight when the cover matches. Othertimes, I find with delight, it doesn't, and found a great read as a result.

But then, I don't buy any book without reading a page or two at random. The cover or a clever title might get me to pick a book up - but it's the prose that wins me over.

Big distribution is playing far less of a role than it used to - covers are being more geared to readers, now, than in the past - but it's still the marketers deciding what to present.

Good points, Janny! So I guess what we as book purchasers need to do is pay more attention to individual presses and the choices they make regarding covers, so we can figure out their marketing psychology and try to understand what they think they're selling.

Miriam wrote: "I think what makes a good cover partially depends on genre -- for instance, a photo cover on a fairy tale or high fantasy novel seems weird to me (I guess because we're supposed to be before photog..."

Miriam - good point, if the covers are directed at readers.

One tends to forget - that the cover is generally made six to nine months to even, a year, prior to the book's appeareace. The reason for this - the book is marketed to its interrim buyers first. The cover goes into a catalog, and is presented to the chain buyers - even, goes up on Amazon, etc, long before there is any text to pair it with.

The look of that cover is geared to marketing the book, not to readers, but to distributors and wholesale buyers. If it doesn't get picked up, BEFORE publication, the press run is cut down or made minimal. The cover pre-sells the book to the shelves where readers then have the chance to find it.

Alot of the time, the cover is made to please a middle man, or, is geared to what the MARKETERS think will put that book prominently on display.

The reader comes last in the big picture equation - which really can make for some crazy-making mismatches.

I once had a lovely conversation with an independent publisher - about what he thought a book's cover should be - and he said, for his smaller market share - he felt it really didn't matter much, whether characters or landscapes, etc....only this: that whatever angle was used to present, that it should be beautiful.

People would be attracted to that, first of all, and analyze the subject matter second.

Much as I also hate the females in chainmail bikinis (even if the book's text may have them - ow!!!) they weren't designed to attract women readers who wear practical clothes - but somebody else in the chain of decision, which then lets the (more intelligent? I think so - grin) woman reader in practical clothes to look at the text and make her own decision.

"Wierderies" of the industry....I agree.

I think what makes a good cover partially depends on genre -- for instance, a photo cover on a fairy tale or high fantasy novel seems weird to me (I guess because we're supposed to be before photography was invented) whereas a photo cover on a contemporary might be okay. But really my main criteria is that the cover accurately convey something about the story or atmosphere of the book. Eg, don't put a dragon on it if there are no dragons, or a busty blonde in a chainmail bikini if the author has empowered female characters who wear practical clothes.

Personally, I prefer faces, especially eyes, although not always. Bright colors, interesting art, dynamism, anything that will attract the reader's interest is key. The trick is knowing what that is. If book publishers are looking at that list for data they're in for a shock. I just added some covers to the Book Cover list, one of mine and several from Echelon Press, my publisher.

Wow surprised that anyone would like them - I agree with you - makes me shudder.

I would hope so... but there a lot of people squeeing on her blog about how much they love them. *shudders* Maybe if I were still a teenager I'd like them better?

blackrose wrote: "Holly Black just announced that they have new covers for the Modern Faerie Tale series, and I *hate* them:..."

Wow blackrose...I'm so with you on that!! Those new covers are terrible - I really like the old ones. Maybe its like "New coke" and they will realize the original were better after all.

Holly Black just announced that they have new covers for the Modern Faerie Tale series, and I *hate* them:



I think the originals are so much prettier and more interesting:



I am so glad I got the series with the original covers, because I honestly wouldn't want the new ones on my shelves - and not just because the characters mostly don't match my image of them, and Roibin isn't pretty enough *grins*


Btw, Colin, I like the cover art for your novel. It would definitely catch my eye if I was browsing.

A series I've recently finished, the Study series by Maria V. Snyder, has great cover art.

I love the Night Angel series cover art. I'm adding that to my to read list. :)

The arch is really key. As one who is shamelessly influenced by covers, I'd recommend it. It makes you want to peak through and see what's going on.

Thanks Libby,

It is a striking image...

...and raises the question of what goes on book 2, Ossard's Hope, due in December?

I think I might try and stick with the arch as a design element. We'll see.

Colin wrote: "I've let my own book run with an original piece done by an award winning artist who has really made a name for himself over the last ten years - Shaun Tan.

The original image is from way back i..."

Good choice Colin - the cover certainly caught my interest. Very well done!

I've let my own book run with an original piece done by an award winning artist who has really made a name for himself over the last ten years - Shaun Tan.

The original image is from way back in 1994, when the novel trilogy ran as a series of very short colour text articles in a monthly fantasy magazine in Australia. I commissioned him because of his atmospheric style.

While it's a great image, of course the concern is that it is black and white, yet I think the strength of the design (the archway, in particular) and the deep contrast make it worth using.



Funnily enough, back then in Australia, I was better known than him (1994), but now the reverse is true. So, I'm not only using the cover art because I think it's a great piece, but because it's more likely to be recognised than my tired, old, not-been-seen for 13 years name.

We'll see how it works in July when it hits the shelves (in Australia). I suppose I should add, that if anyone is interested, the book is available now on Amazon.com.

Libby wrote: "Sandi wrote: "Janny, that is so fascinating about the covers appealing to the truck drivers. I would have never thought about that, but it makes a certain weird sense."

That is interesting. Go ..."

I hate that too. If my only option in buying a book, is the one with the movie cover, I typically won't buy it. Although, I have made exceptions like with The Other Boleyn Girl where I bought the movie cover edition only because it was cheaper than getting the trade paperback.

Sandi wrote: "Janny, that is so fascinating about the covers appealing to the truck drivers. I would have never thought about that, but it makes a certain weird sense."

That is interesting. Go figure, publishers are influenced by sales ;-)

I personally hate when a book is made into a movie and then they print movie covers - yuck! The book and the movie (even LOTR) are NOT the same so don't stick Hollywood actors on the book covers!

Robin wrote: "I don't really let cover art influence my choices but one thing I HATE is when they put the main character on the cover - after all part of reading is "conjuring" your own idea of what people look ..."

Very lovely covers. They convey a mood without it being the artist's interpretation of the story. I've seen some covers in my time where I couldn't even comprehend what they had to do with the story.

BTW - Covers do not influence my buying habits. I may enjoy something well done, or laugh at something ugly but I'm just as happy if it were a plain manila sheet with the title and author. Actually I think that's exactly what the LoTR box set I got as a teen looked like. I read them until they fell apart. :)

Janny, that is so fascinating about the covers appealing to the truck drivers. I would have never thought about that, but it makes a certain weird sense.

Michael wrote: "I spoke with a number of readers about book covers and at one talk one individual declared she preferred pictures of the characters on the cover, and the reason why was that it helped her to visual..."

Michael - actually, in many cases, (I personally know most of the artists working in fantasy and SF) they are a very dedicated bunch, for the most part. Many of them do try to read the books, with a few exceptions, of course. Sometimes they can't, for the simple reason that the books are not fully written, yet, or turned in, when they have to create the image and meet deadline. In most cases, covers are done nine months or even a year prior to the projected release date of the book, driven by the much earlier deadline of having the image completed for the publisher's catalog. That, long before the text is done, is what's used to solicit the marketplace, prior to the actual press run. Recently, more cover images are being selected "by committee" - the artist is simply told what to paint, with little or no choice in the matter.

The reason for the tradition of "cheesy" figures (in particular the half clothed, busty women in the brass bikinis) - some of that trend started in the ID (independent distributor) marketing - which is pretty well gone, now. There would have been about a hundred of these, per state - mostly truck drivers - they never read the books, but were the ones moving the boxes and racking the books at local airports, pharmacies, supermarkets, etc, before such buying became centralized due to a wave of mergers. Such images were primarily to get the books on the rack, first, and not to attract readers. What the truckers liked won the day, and publishers knew it.

Since the collapse of the ID to more centralized distribution, cover art trends have shifted.

In the case of the very magical Tolkein illustration referred to - that was for the Ballantine paperback? (Not the historically controversial and very raw Ace version, done earlier, or the original hardbacks, done by Allen Unwin in the UK, or Harcort, (was it? I think it was, from memory - I'd have to check) in the USA. That cover was the brainchild of Ian Ballantine, who noticed all the white empty space over the shelf tops at book shops and decided to issue a "Travelogue" style poster, with the caption "Journey to Middle Earth" - (or something along those lines) and that long, rectangular image also became the covers of the paperbacks, split in 3, and yes, it was marvelously mysterious and strange. That bit of trivial, Ian told me, himself.

Probably more history than anyone wants to know, but - a fascinating bit of creative invention by a man who was considered a visionary.

I spoke with a number of readers about book covers and at one talk one individual declared she preferred pictures of the characters on the cover, and the reason why was that it helped her to visualize them. In this regard I do recall the R.A. Salvatore Dark Elf books had some nice illustrations of Drizzt, that did just this.

Carolyn pointed out how sometimes the images don't match the descriptions. I remember how when I was trying to become a cover illustrator I was stunned to discover the artist doesn't read each book before beginning the art. Often the book is still being written/edited and the artist works from a blurb and a few notes. Given time constraints that is often all that is possible.

I personally love the original authorized American paperback covers done for The Lord of the Rings. They are a rare find these days. They have no mention of the cover artist, but I wonder if Tolkien himself might have had a hand in it as they show a similar style to his illustrations in the Hobbit.

They are very stylized, very mysterious and strange. The books, if laid side by side, create one painting, that illustrate the entire story. Just looking at it makes you want to read it to understand the images.

Oh, yes, I totally hate when they change the cover style partway through a series!

Hi there... new here (just posted an intro) and gonna jump into this thread :>

I do sometimes judge a book by its cover, especially if I don't know anything else about it. I would say that I've picked up more books based on a good cover than rejected books based on a bad one, tho. That said, I do tend to avoid the really cheesy "buff guy shielding damsel" covers.

Some examples of books I picked up because I liked the cover include:

- which are three of my faves.

There have been some not so favorable versions of the "pretty book pickup" - but I can't think of any of those currently...

I vary on the characters on covers thing. Generally I don't mind, as long as it's not too cheesy and/or doesn't look like a romance novel... But I do like these to a) match the character descriptions and b) be consistent!

There's one series I read called The Noble Dead series. In the first book, the cover is more drawn, but Magiere looks similar to how she's described - pale skin, black hair with blood red tints (she's a half vampire)... but by the last book she looks practically human, with plain brown hair!

first: last:

I also like the style of the covers to remain consistent throughout a series, whether there are people on them or not. I guess I'm a little obsessive about it, but when my series are on my bookcases I like them to look, well, like they're from the same series. I hate when they suddenly decide to change the general design, and then reissue the older books with the updated designs.

For instance:

original: new:

I kinda prefer the new versions, actually - but now I have half the series in the old format, and half in the new... because I'm not going to rebuy the first half just to have them match. (I'm not *that* obsessive).

I also get annoyed when the hardcover version of a book has a pretty cover, but the paperback has a totally different (and uglier) cover. (I don't mind so much when the new cover is nicer... I guess I'm just shallow ;)

Example:

vs

JJ, I think the new plain covers are OK, but nothing special. They remind me a bit of the covers for Diana Gabaldon's books, but Gabaldon's are better...cleaner, and more visually interesting. I think that, by this point, the WoT series is so well known, they can do anything they want and people will still buy it.

Thanks for that reply Janny, now i understand the reason for the various covers, which was always a mystery for me. It explains also why the titles are sometimes changed also.

Simone, what do you think of the new plain covers for the Wheel of Time ?

I think some of the most disappointing covers are on the Wheel of Time books, by Robert Jordan. Whoever does the cover art draws people with no necks, and tends to give all the male characters a stereotypical "body builder" type of body, which is OK for one or two of the men, but not the others. I really love that series (at least the earlier books), and I almost didn't pick it up because the cover art is so cheesy.

I too have always been impressed with Brent Week's covers - yes they have a person on them but shadowed enough - and well drawn such that I find them captivating.

Viktoria wrote: "I would not have picked up Brent Weeks' Night Angel series if not for the cover art of the first novel [bc:The Way of Shadows|3227063|The Way of Shadows (Night Angel, Book 1)|Brent Weeks|http://ec..."

OMG..I love this series. I mostly bought it for the cover then as I started reading I could not put it down

Michel wrote: "Noticed that it's by the author. Impressive. Is your hubby left handed? ..."

Interestingly enough, no he is right handed - but I do firmly believe that left handed people do have high creativity. My (middle) daughter is left handed and she is following in her father's creative footsteps she is actually in many ways a better artist than he is - she also writes but her writing has a long way to go.

Hmm, as far as characters on book covers goes, it really depends. Some are done well, and some look as bad as those Harlequin romance covers. Example, I think the cover for Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson looks pretty bad, but on the contrary, I quite like the cover for The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks.

Robin wrote: "For me, what makes something look "cheesy" is bad character art. Another reason why Michael keeps with exterior landscapes for his books rather than having characters on it."

Robin -truly, the cover of The Crown Conspiracy is stunning. It has a misty-dreamy quality to it that makes you want to 'explore within'. Noticed that it's by the author. Impressive. Is your hubby left handed?

Bradley wrote: "I went with the no cover art tact.. my cover is a nice crisp blue. See. =)

[bc:Dreamsbane of Tamalor|508388|Dreamsbane of Tamalor|Bradley James Simpson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/119743922..."

Yep, I like it. A bit sedate - but it would not make me 'not-buy' the book - hmm, let me state that in English. It wouldn't dissuade me from buying the book like some cover art might.

That is a great cover Faye

When I was looking for LeGuin's Earthsea to read in the library, I saw translated editions had very uncharming cover art, whereas Eartsea Quartet edition of Penguin Books had very attractive cover. I read the Penguin edition and the cover is still one of my favorites: