# Matching book covers?



## EydieG (Mar 4, 2011)

This really isn't a Kindle issue, but I noticed it today while looking at Kindle books on Amazon and it is bugging me that I don't have anyone to tell about it. Two different books by two different authors have the same couple on the covers.
Samson's Lovely Mortal by Tina Folsom and Eye of the Beholder by Emma Jay.
I wonder if this happens often and I wonder if the authors/publishers know and do they care?
Oh well, just a thought.


----------



## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

I'm sure it does. When using stock images, it's rare to get the image before anyone else has bought it.


----------



## grahampowell (Feb 10, 2011)

The Rap Sheet, a (mostly) mystery fiction blog, has a series of amusing posts on this phenomenon:

http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/search/label/Copycat%20Covers

Graham


----------



## yomamma (Feb 10, 2011)

Basically you are looking at a stock photo. If you go to a website that sells the stock photos, you can license for cheap ($10-15) or you can buy outright for really expensive ($300+).

Most people just license. That's why you'll see the same couples on a lot of covers over and over again, because it's a great shot and everyone wants to use it.


----------



## WestofMars (Sep 16, 2009)

I think it's the Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books (who are absolutely brilliant women; they're more than smart) who keep a running tally of this cover replication. Lots of folk do, actually. Even GalleyCat, the hot industry gossip blog and feed, posts about it from time to time.


----------



## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

jillmyles said:


> Basically you are looking at a stock photo. If you go to a website that sells the stock photos, you can license for cheap ($10-15) or you can buy outright for really expensive ($300+).
> 
> Most people just license. That's why you'll see the same couples on a lot of covers over and over again, because it's a great shot and everyone wants to use it.


The problem with buying the exclusive license is there have usually been sales before you find the image.


----------



## Mike McIntyre (Jan 19, 2011)

It happens with CD covers, too. The image on the cover for Bob Dylan's "Modern Times"--Ted Croner's 1947 photograph "Taxi, New York at Night"--was previously used on a 1995 album by the band Luna.


----------



## EydieG (Mar 4, 2011)

Wow, I've never noticed this before.  Now with my Kindle, I look at the covers even less.
Thanks for keeping me up to date everybody!


----------



## SuzanneTyrpak (Aug 10, 2010)

Interesting post! That couple gets around.


----------



## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

What sharp eyes you have! 
To get round the problem I'm thinking of having my son (who is a gifted artist) paint the art work for my next book....certainly should be unique then.


----------



## Cindy Borgne (Mar 21, 2011)

Interesting. Well, at least the overall design is somewhat different. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## heatherjustesen (May 5, 2011)

I know after my book came out I had a friend point out another writer we know who had used the same cover art for one of her books that she'd gotten the rights back for and was putting it out on ebook. She's a much better known author than I am, (since she's published ten times as many books) but isn't pushing her backlist, so I'm just not going to worry about it. I does make me think about how to make future book covers more original, though.


----------



## Sandra Edwards (May 10, 2010)

Happens all the time. Even when you pay (some) cover artists hundreds of dollars, it doesn't mean your cover won't have some recognizable elements.


----------



## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

I've seen the same airship on a number of steampunk books. It gives me a chuckle, but it doesn't bother me. It's a great piece of art!


----------



## India Drummond (Nov 1, 2010)

I'm actually surprised it doesn't happen more!

I've seen the model on my Ordinary Angels book on another cover before, but never the same pose. I'm glad, actually, because it's a pretty distinctive photo. My publisher didn't do a lot to tweak the image to make it unique. (Just added some background texture, I think.)

I did the cover for Blood Faerie myself, and I'd bet even the photographer would do a double-take if he saw  my version. I changed her hair colour, eye colour, added all the shadows, removed her make-up (she had sparkly eye shadow and bright pink lipstick) and even skewed a few things. So, even if someone did have the same picture, it wouldn't be too same-same-same.

For my third book, I have a completely custom illustration, and I have to admit I'm excited about that. It feels good to know it'll be mine-all-mine.


----------



## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

This is the one I keep seeing:































Obviously a popular stock image, lol. This is why it might not be best to pick among the most popular or bestselling stock images.


----------



## IndiaLeeBooks (Apr 10, 2011)

Being in the entertainment industry, I look at these and think of my poor friends who have done stock photo modeling and it's just crazy how their faces can appear everywhere and they don't see a dime for it. That last model on four different books though is pretty crazy!!!

But as everyone said, it happens to big names outside of self-publishing.

Even Stephanie Meyer's not immune!!!


----------



## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

I feel really sorry for authors who find a fantastic image, only to discover that someone else decided to use it. 
Who can afford to buy the rights to an image? - it's big money.
To get round this I'm getting my son (who does happen to have a great talent for art) to paint a picture to adapt for my next book cover - he started drawing some concept ideas today and it's exciting and nerve-wracking, in equal amounts.


----------



## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Just spotted these:


----------



## Harry Nicholson (May 25, 2011)

history_lover said:


> Just spotted these:


Gordon Bennett!
I'm glad I painted my own.


----------



## joanhallhovey (Nov 7, 2010)

Yes, I'm not sure how it works but I think it would be important to make sure you have exclusive rights to a stock image so that doesn't happen.  That's the beauty of hiring a cover designer.


----------



## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

joanhallhovey said:


> Yes, I'm not sure how it works but I think it would be important to make sure you have exclusive rights to a stock image so that doesn't happen. That's the beauty of hiring a cover designer.


Even cover designers use stock images that are potentially available for many, many people to use. The only way to have guaranteed solo use of an image is to buy it outright and that costs mega $'s, and even then there's no guarantee that it hasnt been used already. 
In my view the covers sited above are just fine. They arent just a photo with text slapped on top, but have been coloured, cropped or combined in some way to make the finished cover unique.


----------



## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

grahampowell said:


> The Rap Sheet, a (mostly) mystery fiction blog, has a series of amusing posts on this phenomenon:
> 
> http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/search/label/Copycat%20Covers
> 
> Graham


Thanks for the link!


----------



## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

Yes, thanks for the link. Funny stuff - and so many of them!


----------



## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

If anyone is still interested, I just spotted another:


----------



## Cheryl Bradshaw Author (Apr 13, 2011)

Sometimes, I don't think the author knows.  That's the hard thing with stock photos sometimes  

The good thing is they are never exactly the same  but I will admit, I would cringe myself.


----------



## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

Wow, that's kinda crazy!  I was just wondering about this when I was looking through some stock photos. Interesting!


----------



## Ksenija (Jul 1, 2011)

Ups ... I wouldn't like that happening to me. When other author's covers are concerned, I probably would not even notice it. Come to think of it, it might even be free promotion in a way.  I don't think this is a bad thing if it happens, but I still wouldn't like it happening to me.  

For my book cover I used my own photos, so I don't expect to see exact same image on some other book cover. Similar yes, but not exact. Anyway, almost every morning around 6:30 when I am on the highway on my way to work I see a copy of my book cover all over the sky ... It really is a magnificent sight. And every morning I thank to the sky for promoting my book.   (next time, though, he could add the book's title as well   )


----------



## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

The vector image I used on The Overtaking is the same as one other on these boards. I can't think of the name at the moment, or I would link to the covers. 

I did change the hair just a tad, in hopes that mine would look a tiny bit different. Easier to do on vector graphics. 

EDIT: Here it is!


----------



## Alessandra Kelley (Feb 22, 2011)

I don't think you can get exclusive rights to stock images.  Stock images are by definition standard images that anyone can license.  It is a shame about the stock photography models, though -- I hadn't realized how out-of-the-profit loop they were.  The only way to guarantee original art is take photos yourself or hire someone to do so or -- even better from my perspective -- hire an artist to paint or draw something completely original.  You may have aspects similar to other covers, but you sure won't have an image anyone else has.


----------



## KateEllison (Jul 9, 2011)

India Drummond said:


> I did the cover for Blood Faerie myself, and I'd bet even the photographer would do a double-take if he saw my version. I changed her hair colour, eye colour, added all the shadows, removed her make-up (she had sparkly eye shadow and bright pink lipstick) and even skewed a few things. So, even if someone did have the same picture, it wouldn't be too same-same-same.


Nice! I think if you're doing the cover yourself and using stock photos, it's a great idea to make some changes to the image. I've seen the same stock photo as I used for my book cover on another book ... but I changed the image color, position, size, and I blended several photos. So I don't think most people would even notice it was the same photo, which made me happy.


----------



## David Alastair Hayden (Mar 19, 2011)

I think it's fine for small presses and indie publishers, but it always comes across as lame and cheap to me when a major publisher does it, especially on the cover for a major author. You can't afford original art for a Meyer cover!?


----------



## jonathanmoeller (Apr 19, 2011)

Actually, this happens even without stock photos. Behold these books:





That painting is "Vercingetorix Throws Down His Arms At The Feet Of Caesar", by Lionel Royer, and since Royer's been dead for a while, his painting is in the public domain, and turns up quite a lot on book covers.


----------



## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

I've never noticed that before. Now, when I go to the book store, I am going to spot a whole bunch of them. I will bore my wife by telling her every time I see a picture used more than once.


----------



## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

jonathanmoeller said:
 

> Actually, this happens even without stock photos. Behold these books:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, any images in the public domain are free for anyone to use but if it's historically relevant to the topic of the book, it makes sense. I could probably find several books (non-fiction or novels) on Elizabeth I which use the same paintings of her because there's only so many. With history, it's expected.


----------



## Klip (Mar 7, 2011)

Not sure if it's really helpful, but you could try a "reverse image search" on a image you are intending to use on a cover using a search engine such as "Tin Eye"

Essentially, you start your search with the image, and the search results come up with any other places that that image is used. Not sure how useful it would really be in this case but may be worth a try...

It also comes as a extension for Google Chrome too https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/haebnnbpedcbhciplfhjjkbafijpncjl


----------



## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

mashadutoit said:


> Not sure if it's really helpful, but you could try a "reverse image search" on a image you are intending to use on a cover using a search engine such as "Tin Eye"
> 
> Essentially, you start your search with the image, and the search results come up with any other places that that image is used. Not sure how useful it would really be in this case but may be worth a try...
> 
> It also comes as a extension for Google Chrome too https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/haebnnbpedcbhciplfhjjkbafijpncjl


Google has their own search too - just drag and drop an image into Google Image Search and it will look for same/similar images: http://www.google.com/insidesearch/searchbyimage.html

But I haven't had any luck finding matching book covers with either of them - they just turn up other websites where the same book has been posted.


----------



## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

EydieG said:


> I wonder if this happens often and I wonder if the authors/publishers know and do they care?


Jimmy Thomas (the male model on the above covers) has quite a following and his stock photos are on tons of romance covers, particularly small press and self-published authors. I seem to get cover requests for him nearly every week. Personally, I get a little tired of seeing the same models so much but you've gotta give the ladies what they want. 

As to your question, in my experience small publishers want to make their authors happy and the authors want extremely hot male models to portray their heroes. Since stock photos of those are in short supply (unless you cut the guys' faces out and just show their ripped abs), this results in seeing the same models a lot. There's really no getting around it unless an author wants to spend a fortune on exclusive rights to an image.


----------



## DD Graphix (Jul 15, 2011)

I see them on both small and major publishers. As a graphic designer turning to cover design, I can say that most authors really don't want to pay much for a cover. Not to be too blunt, but you really can't expect to get unique images used only for your cover for $50 to $100 a cover. And there's nothing wrong with using stock images as long as both parties know it's stock and, hopefully, the image is treated differently.

I personally would rather see a really good stock image that's used more than once but fits with the book well than a badly drawn or rendered "hand made" cover.


----------



## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

New record! I'm seeing this overlay everywhere!


----------



## marimorimo (Aug 8, 2011)

Goodreads has a very entertaining Listopia thread called "Cover Couples" on this phenomenon 

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5051.Cover_Couples


----------



## BrianPBorcky (Aug 7, 2011)

It'd be interesting to see if one singular image has been repeatedly used more than any other, sort of the "Wilhelm scream" of book covers.


----------



## UnicornEmily (Jul 2, 2011)

Wow! That's crazy! I had no idea that happened!

Wow, now I am _so_ glad I hired a cover artist to make mine totally unique.


----------



## Klip (Mar 7, 2011)

BrianPBorcky said:


> It'd be interesting to see if one singular image has been repeatedly used more than any other, sort of the "Wilhelm scream" of book covers.


Or possibly an "ahmen break" of book covers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SaFTm2bcac


----------

