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is it still about the author, or is it about the title?
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I think it depends on the author. I think if you're talking about James Patterson or Janet Evanovich, the author's name will still be the most prominent thing on the cover.
I agree with T.H. Unless you are already a well-known, beloved author, your name isn't going to catch a reader's attention as much as a title (unless it's one heck of a eye-catching name!)
The cover is the most common marketing tool for selling books. It is the first thing that catches a potential reader's eye. An attractive design and intriguing title may encourage someone to check out the backmatter and peek inside.That said; A well known and popular bestselling author's name is also an effective marketing tool and will, therefore, be prominently displayed on the cover.
I agree with Jim. The cover is the first thing a reader sees. That is why it should be done professionally and done well to pull the reader in and catch their eye. As for the title, well most of us as indie authors aren't known at all so in this case aside from the cover we need our title to be engaging, catchy, clever and good enough to make the reader interested.
i feel like it can go a bunch of different ways. personally, i'm a reader who cares a lot about the cover art when it's an author that i'm not familiar with. I need to be hooked by something and if it's a new series or author to me, then the best chance of success would be in the cover art and title. I do have to say though that once i've found an author that i really enjoy - i'm a lot less picky about the cover or the title, and more interested in what he/she's going to write for me. I feel like i'm more willing to take a risk once i've established that i enjoy the writer.
I agree with all of the above. If it's an author whose work I'm in love with (Neil Gaiman comes to mind) I could care less what the title is because it's goingtobwminemineiwillownitomg. But someone new?? Yea, it's gotta be eye catching.
For me, the picture/cover design gets my attention first & gets me checking out the book. Then the little blip on the back might getme to buy it.
Ilana brings up a great point. Once I've found an author I enjoy, I am just so eager to read their next book that I don't care what the title is or how the cover art looks. However, if I am not familiar with the author at all, then yes, I need a good title that will catch my eye.
Big names earn big spaces! This can be spoofed, to a degree in making the name of an unknown author appear as thought they should be known. ("Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome.)Other than that, I would say cover before title. Good design draws you in to pay attention to the title.
An unknown name, by any other size is equally meaningless, I'm afraid.
This I suppose, is what the 'author brand' is all about. It takes a long, long time and a whole lot of hard marketing before an author can become a 'brand' - that's when the author's name can take precedence over cover design, title and blurb
Yup - I agree with everyone else. If the author is well known their name will often be larger than the title. And it's the other way round if the author is relatively new.Don't think this is a new thing...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Folio
Jason - you may just have entered into the twilight zone that I like to call "the noticing effect". When you think about something you tend to notice it when that thing happens, but ignore it when it doesn't.
That helps to explain why the other queue always seems to be faster than the one you are in. It isn't faster. It can't be because all the people in the other queue would be looking at your queue ...
What happens is that you notice it when the other queue goes faster. You don't notice it when the other queue goes more slowly.
Have you ever bought a new make or model of car and then notice how many of them there are around? Other people haven't started copying you. Those cars were always there. We simply don't notice them.
This also helps to explain why things are in the last place that you look, as well as all those "clairvoyant" experiences which are really just coincidences. It isn't spooky if you were thinking about Auntie Flo and then she phones out of the blue. Our minds are just very good at forgetting all those times when we think about Auntie Flo and she doesn't call.
I think it's also part of the explanation for conspiracy theories. We readily spot things which confirm conclusions we have already reached, but we ignore counter evidence.
If you're Stephen King or Tom Clancy then you have fans who will read anything you put out so name is more important. If I put out a book, (I'm a mostly unknown Indy author at present) then it's all about printing a title and cover art that will hopefully grab a potential readers attention well enough that they want to pick it up and maybe buy it.
David wrote: "If you're Stephen King or Tom Clancy then you have fans who will read anything you put out so name is more important. If I put out a book, (I'm a mostly unknown Indy author at present) then it's a..."Very true. In the case of well known authors is it more likely their names, their resume and who they are which means it's more about them as authors. Titles of well known authors are almost secondary and come natural because it's also more likely that if you hear a famous title of a book you immediately think of and associate it with that author.
A title can sometimes be more well known then the author who wrote it. For instance, 50 Shades of Grey, the book may be well known but if you asked a group of people who wrote it, how many of them could tell you? Books like Harry Potter or anything by Stephen King will usually get an immediate response but sometimes well known books are not always know for by their authors. I think perhaps that it is more about the title given that readers hear the title and they know what it is and other times know the author immediately.
That's a real good point, Justin. I never thought of it like that till you mentioned it - that many may know the name of a popular title, but can't tell you who wrote it. Now I feel like doing an experiment, and asking all the 50 Shades fans I know if they even know who wrote it!
As a reader the Title is what makes me pick up a book. The blurb makes it go in my shopping basket, but the author is what makes the decision on whether I ever purchase his or her book again. A catchy title is all well and good but if you don't own a thesaurus, know a good sentence from a bad one, write characters instead of sketches, or can't figure out that a scene in Walmart is less important than the final battle scene then you go in the pile with the rest of the awful to mediocre authors that are too numerous to name.
That’s right, if you are a brand (like James Patterson) then your name should be huge, in those cases the name often sells the book – but not so much if you’re not a brand and, let’s face it, most of us aren’t. This is fine, because readers also buy by genre. So you know readers who love romance or chick lit will buy that, pretty consistently.
The term big name author is literal and comes from the traditional publishing house practice of making a popular (and money making) author's name larger than the title. It doesn't matter what the title is. The author's name sells the book. JK Rowlings latest didn't sell until she was outed as its author.With the advent of ebooks and Indies, the tradition is fading, though not the draw of the big name.
With the trad publishing industry now dominated by corporate conglomerates, spreadsheets, and "super agents," the focus is now entirely on the bottom line: how much money is this author making for us?Taking a chance on a new author and the nurturing of talent are other fading traditions. I recall reading somewhere that it has never been as difficult to get trad-published as it is right now.
When I'm in the bookstore (what few are left these days), I'm either browsing with nothing specific in mind, or I'm in search of a particular title brought to my attention by some publicity somewhere.
If browsing for fiction, I find the title mostly irrelevant. My eye will likely be caught by an interesting cover or a familiar author. In nonfiction mode, it's a simple, straightforward title or an author whose prior works I've enjoyed.
If I'm there for a specific purchase, nothing catches my eye except my target book. If I violate this rule, I'll end up spending a fortune. We all know how that is!
So, IMHO it's a combination of all three: cover, title, and author.
Kind of like winning the lottery, don't you think?
With the rise of indie authors and the decline of "superstar" authors (not decline of those authors specifically, more like the decline of that type), people are becoming more interested in titles.So many books out now. Most of the books I see on a daily basis are by authors who I have no idea who they are. But if the title is good, I'd still pick them up.
Eliza wrote: "...So many books out now. Most of the books I see on a daily basis are by authors who I have no idea who they are...."Very true, Eliza. The market is very crowded and becoming more so every day. Perhaps we indies can use our sheer numbers to someday level the playing field with the conglomerates and their spreadsheets. We can only hope.
Until then, this crowded market could be considered a blessing in disguise. Maybe book-buyers will see it as an opportunity to get acquainted with some new indie authors just searching for audiences.
Who knows? Your new favorite novelist may be waiting for you out there!
As a reader, I prefer the indie route. I've found too many of the 'big' name authors get in a rut and each follow on work seems to be a re run of the previous one.As an author, I'm writing in a couple of genres and I've spelled out my middle name. I think it gives the page a nice balance and fits well with titles. By using a smaller font my name doesn't take up the same real estate as the title but it still stands out. Someday people will buy my books based on my name :>
I have to say, unless I enter the book shop looking for a particular book, the authors name does not influence my decision to buy over the cover/name. There are so many authors out there that when people ask me who my favorite authors are, I struggle to answer. I try not to stick to certain authors (though I do have some favorites, many authors seem to do recreate their old work constantly.) Therefore cover / name is paramount in choosing a new read.
I think a catchy title gets my attention first. The covers should do it, but I don't think many of the book covers I see these days are all that great. It has to be really unusual to capture my attention. However, I still want a nice cover for my books. :)
This is a really good question, and something I've never thought about before to be honest. For me, I think the answer depends on whether I've heard of the author before.There are certain authors whose books I will pretty much buy based solely on their name (Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, Stephen King, etc). If I'm being completely honest, the title really doesn't come into it for me, as I trust those authors and am confident I'll enjoy their newest book.
Similarly, if I've read something that I really hated, I'd probably avoid anything else from that author, and so the name would actually be better off being smaller on the cover...!
In terms of authors I may not have heard of, I think I probably do take more notice of the title. It's not the only thing I look at - covers are obviously incredibly important, as is the blurb, as are reviews, and so on. But it is one of the things I'd take into account when deciding whether or not to buy the book.
Just my few cents...
;-)
On another note, have you ever noticed how some authors names are just as big on the cover as the tile if not larger? I'm assuming this isn't the authors doing it's the publisher to which they are under. The publisher knows that the author is popular so they decide to sell the name rather than just the tile of the book. When people who enjoy that author see the name in big bold popping font coming off the book they are more likely to pick the book up. Also, someone mentioned J.K Rowling..one of the points that bothers me is of her latest work. She published under another name and the book didn't do all that well but yet once people found out that it was her that wrote it, they jumped up and went out and bought themselves a copy. This is a clear example of the author over the title.
If an author has successfully published and sold several novels, his or her name becomes a brand, just like Microsoft. Therefore it makes sense to give equal or even greater prominence to the title.On the other hand "I. M. Anonymous" is not going to sell anything, just as no one would by a car from Jon Doe Motors.
However, there are exceptions to this. When a big time publisher invests in an author and pumps lots of money into publicising not just the book but the author putting his face on the cover of magazines and newspapers and TV, then his name can hold equal standing. The other exception is when the author is already famous - a politician, actor, military hero etc.
V.W. wrote: "If an author has successfully published and sold several novels, his or her name becomes a brand, just like Microsoft. Therefore it makes sense to give equal or even greater prominence to the title..."Spot on, well said.
If I'm browsing, the title and the cover will catch my attention. If I know and like an author, a new book from them on a display will catch my attention. Online I'm usually looking for something specific based on a review I've read. I agree that covers are getting better and better. And blurbs. But the books don't necessarily deliver. I've started reading the first few pages and often lose interest!
I'll chime in again with a very simple statement,If it's a well known or best-selling author then it's about the author, if it's a self published indie author then it's about the title.
Libby wrote: "I definitely think for some readers, they'll follow particular authors and be really loyal to them. But I don't think that it's the majority!"I don't know about "really loyal", but known authors are more likely to produce something I want to read, and hence I would more readily accept it regardless of the title or despite the title so long it is in a genre and subject I like.
I think a lot of people will follow the same authors...but that's my experience, I used to work in libraries and names really meant something. A couple of signings I did, I was passed over for a "known" factor, even though I promise I was sweet and charming and not pushy at all.(Maybe that was the problem!)
For me it's about trust. I will follow an author if I trust them. There are so many books on a shelf, and sometimes it is hard to decide who gets my few dollars. That's why I love library sales? Because then I can go by gut, and for me the gut is fueled by:
(Positively) Known name? No brainer, goes in the bag.
Nice cover
Interesting title
Good jacket information.
Cindy
If you were sweet, charming and not push, then you're the best type of writer possible :-) I find the ones who are pushy turn me right off. Sometimes it feels like, if you aren't pushing then THAT must be why sales are slow - but I don't think that's true. I think that authors who are aggressive about pushing their books put off a lot of readers. Your approach is best!
"Pushy" not "push" - sheesh, I wish I'd finished my coffee before trying to respond to your post.
Author, if seeking a specific technical and conceptual writing style.Title, if seeking a specific genre or story line.
Think about advertising in general; do you know what the double yellow arches mean or do you really need a picture of the Big Mac to know what they want you to spend your money on?To me, symbols are even more powerful than titles. Your name and brand value come only after someone (reader, customer, etc) learns the value of your work. Symbols are a really awesome way to pique interest and force people to ask questions.
The good news is that Indie Authors are the foundation of writing today. The bad news is that a foundation always remains at the bottom of a pyramid. We have no "name" to lean on. Our weapons remain good titles, good covers, good writing, good grammar, good formatting, and good storylines. Those are the things we control.
I'm not going to lie, there are some books I buy just because a certain author wrote it. They could be writing about Flying Underpants in the Magical Land of Skidmarks, and I'd still read it, because I associate them with quality.
This is relevant to me right now, as we determine the cover details for my next book, Dagonsong that goes live in February.If I'm browsing in a bookshop my eye tends to go first to the prominent tables at the entrance designed to catch my attention. There, I scan for authors I know or perhaps a title I've previously made a mental note of.
But often the cover of an unknown book catches my attention. If the author is unknown to me the size and prominence of the typeface is unimportant. But the colour of the book? An eye catching illustration? An intriguing title? A bi-line by a named author I know? All these things might encourage me to take the crucial next step - to pick up the book, turn it over and read the back cover blurb.
This, if well crafted and enticing, determines whether I am motivated to look inside - and then I'm sold... maybe.
The moral for authors is to make ALL these elements work for you - leave no tone unturned in the search for reader attention.
Thank you for this post Michael. You are not wrong about the cover of a book making all the difference to a buyer in a store, and online. I'm a professional graphic designer (and writer) and the connection a potential buyer has with the image, color and message of a cover is essential. The trick is making sure the artwork speaks to the books audience. In the end, it's the books story that will carry you to success. If the cover attracts the wrong reader, they won't enjoy the story, and you won't be a success.The right author writing for a specific audience with the right cover is a home run.
Good luck on your cover. I designer my own cover for my first novel "Blue Moon Bench". I really believe in the book.... and the cover.
D L Blanchard
Are people starting to be more interested in titles than actual author’s names? We have seen an explosion of book series over the last ten years. Do you actually need your name to sell a book or is it about the title these days.