David > Status Update

We see that a lot in Portugal, David, when it's not a cover especially made for that book. I think if it's either from a bank of images or a famous work of art like The Scream by Munch that is common practice.

The publishers don't want to pay for copyright rights. This is very sad for the readers and the market, and it impoverishes the art world because there are amazing cover artists out there (mostly freelancers) capable of amazing things! Like Paula said: very common practice in Portugal.

Wow I am shocked by this Paula and Katya. I don’t think they could pull this off over here where copyright is a big thing.

There's even a list on Goodreads with books that have the same cover, David. Just search for Same Cover, Different Book.

Rita, I didn’t know about this…there are 499 books on that list. As a former graphic designer I know how wonderful it is to see a well designed cover (even better to design one) but to have it used more like a stock photo, it just saddens me. Well my bubble has been burst.

David wrote: "Rita, I didn’t know about this…there are 499 books on that list. As a former graphic designer I know how wonderful it is to see a well designed cover (even better to design one) but to have it used..."

David, I completely get your disappointment. It must be disheartening to see covers treated like stock images. Unfortunately, it's quite common, especially when budgets are tight. But don't let it burst your bubble—there are still plenty of beautifully unique covers out there to appreciate!

You are right Rita, there are many more beautiful covers than this issue of duplicates. Have a great weekend.