Why Book Covers Are so Important
It could be said that a book cover is no longer as important as it used to be because more than 50% of book sales are electronic and the reader doesn't actually have a book in their hands. I still buy hardback books to put on my bookshelves and consider them part of the interior design of my room. A bad cover will not only upset the author, it will substantially reduce sales.
Traditionally published writers are lucky if they have much input into their cover design. Publishers have a team of designers and marketers will come up with an idea which is then shown to the author. Even if they didn't like the cover, I know of cases where this has still been used as the marketers say it will produce more sales.
The saying, "you can't tell a book by its cover" is somewhat misleading. I'm sure that anyone faced with a row of designs without the lettering could still pick out the genre. A chick-lit book is likely to be a pastel shade with easily recognised cartoon like figures skipping across the cover. A thriller is often dark with a silhouette of some sort; an empty road is often used. A historical cover should have the figures dressed appropriately so the era will be immediately obvious, although this is often not the case.
Faced with a book with a semi naked, muscle-bound man, and a woman with a revealing brightly coloured dress, one would naturally assume it was a "bodice ripper". (I dislike that term but I think it explains what I mean.) I wouldn't even consider buying it as this is not the sort of book I like to read. If the content is in fact a tame, non-explicit Regency romance, then the buyer will feel cheated and the author thoroughly annoyed.
Initially the criticism of indie published books was that the covers were amateur. I have first experience of this problem because when I started putting up my long backlist on Amazon I did my own covers. I bought the photographs and then added the lettering – they were not dreadful –but they were quite obviously not professional. I decided to employ a wonderful designer, Jane Dixon-Smith, and had all my book covers redesigned and overnight my sales doubled. These are e-books – and this proves that a professionally designed cover is just as important for nonphysical books as it is for paper books.
To return to that saying, "you can't tell a book by its cover", I would say that a book with an amateur and unprofessional cover is often the same inside. Whatever format the book is produced in the cover is the first thing a potential reader sees – therefore having a good cover is essential.
World War II brings divided loyalties and tough decisions in this page turning drama from Fenella Miller.
Hannah Austen-Bagshaw’s privileged background can’t stop her falling in love with working-class pilot, Jack, but Hannah has a secret. Torn between her duty and her humanity, she is sheltering a young German pilot knowing she risks being arrested as a traitor. Hannah’s worst fears are realised when Jack finds out what she has done and their love begins to unravel.
Will her betrayal be too much for Jack to forgive?
Will her betrayal be too much for Jack to forgive?
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Genre – Historical fiction
Rating – PG
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