![don't judge unless [2]](https://izzyreadson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/dont-judge-unless-2.jpg?w=560)
Don’t judge a book by its cover — unless it’s an actual book.
Thank you, Coco J. Ginger, for bringing this image to my attention.
A book cover needs to hook readers and spark their curiosities before the first sentence is even read.
What makes a cover design scream “You can’t possibly leave without me”? Well, in my humble opinion, it should be . . .
- 1. Artistic and symbolic, but not too abstract and mysterious
- 2. The colors need to match the tone/mood of the story
- 3. The design speaks to the book’s genre
- 4. The font (typography) is awe-inspiring
- 5. The cover isn’t too busy
- 6. The character’s face isn’t the main focus, unless it’s designed to be symbolic or entwined with the environment.
- 7. There’s consistency (if it’s part of a series)
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What makes a book cover grab your attention? Let me know in a comment below or respond with a new post that’s linked back to mine (you can add this badge).
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Isabelle-grabs-life 
Reblogged this on Jin Okubo and commented:
Will comment tomorrow as it is my bed time
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Goodnight! Looking forward to your comment ^_^
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I think and I am most likely alone on this, but it is what I think. A book cover should be nice and connect with the mood of the book. That is all. I think people today have gotten to into covers that the sole reason they buy a book is the cover. It is reminiscent of the early days of video games. There were countless titles with very beautiful covers but more than 90% of them were crap.
This is what the ebook market is doing to books and I find it disheartening that readers will go by the cover and not by the content. Now I have been told over and over again, “I choose to buy a book on the first two chapters or after I get a good tease from it that interests me.” And while that may be good to hear I think for the majority of book buyers today they focus to much on looks, they are now what we used to be and hopefully we can see a change. But I doubt it as cover artist are growing by the minute and good writers are disappearing just as fast in the wave of crap that just happens to look better at that moment.
My two cents.
Jin
http://www.jinokubo,com
Bellow is the link to my book where you can see my cover. And I am looking for reviews on my book:
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You raise a fair point of false advertisement (life-changing covers but poor stories; of course, this would be unintentional). Readers should be more aware of what they’re buying. And writers and editors need to put a lot of care into the written work to maintain or surpass that first impression evoked by the cover. It’s a team effort!
I’m one of those who are drawn to books by their covers (if I don’t already have a specific book in mind), but I’ll read the blurb and the first few pages before I take the book home with me. Still, I’m not surprised or put off when someone tells me the cover design or the award seal was the sole determining factor in their purchase. Some of these individuals may seem more like art collectors, but the majority I know have established a reading system that works for them. 🙂 So try not to be disheartened or disturbed by this “recurring” trend.
An extra big thanks for including your own cover and the link to more information. By the cover alone, I sense a need to reevaluate things that have been concealed long enough, in hopes that the relationship, or something else, can still survive (willow tree). There’s an ebb and flow between feeling insecure and secure (dusk sky). But there’s still a strong determination to have love conquer all (bold gold title). Let’s see if I’m anywhere close 😛
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Thank you for your reply. In response to your comment on my book cover. There is the sense that something is not fully revealed through the book. There is a need to look carefully and look at it again to catch the secret.That sense that love, relationships survive everything or can survive everything is a running theme but just as much as the insecure and secure.
I would not say Love conquers all more like it is ever lasting.
So you are very close. As you read the book you get that feeling of frustration and excitment that can only come from seeing the pain be overcome, the confusion turn to understanding.
There are some things that the cover I felt should have hinted at which was that Love is not always sunshine and flowers. But that would be just picking at the scab for the tingle of pleasure and pain. 🙂
You did very well in taking the feelings that I wanted to give which run through the book. And though I may have used different words some of it was just semantics.
Thank you very much for commenting and I hope that people get the curiosity to read this book from the cover and then the need to finish it from the characters and the story telling.
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Goodness! A tricky question, part of me likes something bold but I also like the simplicity of certain book covers with maybe just two colours and little faff.
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Thanks for adding to the discussion. 😀 Covers that take a simple yet bold approach are ideal in my opinion, too. They’re a perfect way to kickstart a reader’s relationship with a book. What’s the latest book cover that caught your eye?
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I have recently got from the library To Kill a Mockingbird. The cover is black and white with a simple picture to accompany it. It’s a relatively new edition I believe.
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Ooh! Why didn’t I have that book on my list? (I’m going to add it now)
Does the cover look like this?
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No I have a copy of that one back in the UK. The one I picked up from the school library is this one…
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Can I go against the grain? Well, not really, but I do hanker after the time when covers could be plain. https://novelreading.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/raise-high-the-roof-beam-carpenters-seymour-an-introduction-j-d-salinger/
That cover came in green,grey, orange or yellow. All were plain, not a picture to be seen. My copy at home is the orange one. What I really love about that book is what’s between the covers.
It’s a good question, Izzie. Just showing my age there 🙂
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Very guilty of judging books by their cover – but it often serves me well! Loved Little Bee, A Tale for the Time Being, and The Interestings – and, of course, all of the Juniper books and Penguin Classics. Recently bought ‘Immunity’ for its cover, though, and was disappointed.
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