# How important is cover art? Any favorite artists?



## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

I’ve learned over the past few months just how important cover art can be when creating a selling a book, especially if you write in genre’s like fantasy or romance. A good cover can help set the tone of the book even before you open the cover or download it to your Kindle. Fantasy especially has a history of eye-catching cover art, both good and bad taste, and some things that just defy comprehension at all…

But that’s just my opinion…any thoughts on the matter? How much do you think cover art helps make or break a book? Any particular artists you favor (I’m a Michael Whelan fan myself…the man has a talent that approaches the sublime…)


----------



## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Mel Grant
Todd Lockwood
Brandon Dorman

None of whose work I'll be able to afford any time soon.  Gorgeous stuff, simply gorgeous stuff.

Maria


----------



## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

I would have to say that cover art has very little effect on me when I am purchasing an e-book.  Most of these purchases are based on a recommendation either from here on the Kindle Boards or a suggestion from Amazon as a follow-up to something I've already bought.  Once I have purchased the book I only go to the cover to make sure that I am really starting at the beginning of the story. However, if I am buying an actual paperback or hardback, it is a different story.  I have spent many hours in bookstores browsing, and I am influenced by the attractiveness of the cover - especially if the author is not familiar to me.  Books with interesting covers do attact my attention.  I don't think a cover would ever cause me to not buy a book (unless it were pornographic or graphically violent.) 

Occasionaly I will read a book and notice a character on the cover and realize that he or she does not look the way I pictured him or her while reading the story.  For me it is always the author's words rather than the illustrator's images that control my reaction to a story.


----------



## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

The cover of a book has always been one of the key selling points for me. If I don't like the cover I'll never even read the flap copy.

In the fantasy domain, I am a huge Larry Elmore fan and, of course, Boris Vallejo. But I also love Chris Achilleos' work.


----------



## NickSpalding (Apr 21, 2010)

I have about as much artistic talent as a drunk chimp wearing boxing gloves, so I'm not really the best person to consult over what makes good cover art or not.

However...I'd say if you can't produce an illustrative masterpiece, you should at least make sure your cover looks professional and that it'll look ok when thumbnail size.

I've had the problem where the genre my book falls into (comedy autobiography anecdote type thing) isn't easy to define with a cover image. Hence the BIG LETTERS with lots of little picturesof the type of subjects I cover in the book.


----------



## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Oh and Dan Sipley.  He does very good modern, contemporary covers--great atmosphere.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Todd Lockwood is awesome.

David Dalglish


----------



## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Here's another artist, Mark Simonetti--check this stuff out:

Click on the link and then the 3D off on the sidebar and page through-it's an absolutely incredible tour of an old abandoned castle (artwork done by the artist, of course).

http://www.marcsimonetti.com/test/corps.htm (look for the 3d on the sidebar--not that the gallery isn't worth looking at--this is some incredible, incredible art).

The 3D tour is like reading a book (you may have to scroll down to see the next arrow to page through the tour). If you are ever in need of inspiration, page through the 3d castle on a cold rainy day. You'll need a cup of tea or coffee to warm you while you're browsing.


----------



## davidhburton (Mar 11, 2010)

I'm all about the cover art. It's the difference between wanting to know more about the book and moving on to the next one.


----------



## purplepen79 (May 6, 2010)

Intriguing idea for a thread!

My favorite cover artist is Michael Whelan--his rich colors, detailed style, and skill with portraiture convey a character's soul to me.  Since I primarily read for character, I find myself drawn to books with his covers over and over again.

Both my parents were visual artists, so I may be a bit prejudiced, but I think cover art is so important.  It's the first thing that catches my eye about a book, and if I like the cover, I'm often intrigued and pick up the book, which is 50% of the sale.  However, like others who've posted here, a good review or rec from a friend can also sell me on a book sometimes, no matter what the cover looks like.


----------



## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

I don't know that many cover artists, honestly. Jeremy Robinson did my cover, and I think it turned out pretty good. I like his work. (His books are good, too.)

This might be a bit old school, but I used to love the covers by Elmore.


----------



## davidhburton (Mar 11, 2010)

David, I hate to tell you this but your cover is not "pretty good"...it's awesome!!!


----------



## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

davidhburton said:


> David, I hate to tell you this but your cover is not "pretty good"...it's awesome!!!


Thanks, David.  (Lotta Davids writing)


----------



## davidhburton (Mar 11, 2010)

Is 33 AD on Smashwords?


----------



## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

davidhburton said:


> Is 33 AD on Smashwords?


It sure is. My father in law has a nook, so I made sure to put it up on Smashwords. It's in their premium distribution, too, but I still haven't found it on the B&N website as anything other than print.


----------



## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

Cover art is EXTREMELY important to most readers... even if they don't realize it.  I know that when I see great cover art, I want to buy the book.

For fantasy, I love the old TSR (D&D) artists:  Larry Elmore, Fred Fields, Brom, etc.  If you look at the bestsellers lists for fantasy, the top books often have GREAT covers.

My novel's cover art was created by an artist named Frank Barbara, and I've gotten great feedback about it.


----------



## Jani (May 4, 2010)

jonconnington said:


> I've learned over the past few months just how important cover art can be when creating a selling a book, especially if you write in genre's like fantasy or romance. )


Title and cover art are VERY IMPORTANT.

Not only for fantasy and romance but everything including non-fiction.

A year or two ago, I had a discussion with another NF author who convinced me to re-do one of my covers.

I re-did the cover and changed the title, and my Amazon sales jumped 75% and that is without changing the description.

Old cover is the white one, new cover is black below.



















Kindle link ==> http://www.amazon.com/Prostate-Massage-Milking-Fulfillment-ebook/dp/B002VUADRM/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2


----------



## Virgoddess (May 1, 2010)

As much as I hate to admit it, cover art is important to me. It makes me want to read the summary, or not. It feels shallow to me to admit that. But, there it is.


----------



## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Virgoddess said:


> As much as I hate to admit it, cover art is important to me. It makes me want to read the summary, or not. It feels shallow to me to admit that. But, there it is.


Nothing shallow about liking great artwork!!!


----------



## kae (May 3, 2010)

Cover art is important to me, especially on sites like Amazon where there is so much to see. 
Unfortunately, I can't hire any of the named illustrators, so I'm doing my own. For this cover on the historical fiction _The Adventures of Elizabeth Fortune_ (new KINDLE title as on 5 May) I used one of my own photographs. Feedback on the cover is welcome.


----------



## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

I'm not really a fan of the cover for the latest installment of THE WHEEL OF TIME...or any of the others, in fact. They seem...I dunno, blurry would be the ebst way to describe it....


----------



## Tripp (May 28, 2009)

As a former art major with a BFA, I find this discussion to be interesting.  As others have said, the content of the book is of primary importance, but the cover influences most people more than they know.  The art is telling the potential buyer what the author is selling.  If the book is a romance, the cover wouldn't show a space ship (unless it is a sci fi romance...and don't get me going on visual images and their hidden messages).  Anyway, the cover sets the tone for the book and helps the author tell us in an instant what he wants us to know.  It provides the reader the information they need to decide if they even want to check the book out.  
(It is really easy to see why Jani's second cover caused such a marked increase in sales.  The second cover is telling us immediately what he is selling whereas the first one looks like any NF help book...)

I may be biased, but art and literature do not compete but enhance.  Art was ancient man's original mode of communicating and telling a story and our book covers continue to do this.  It doesn't bother me at all that I am influenced by and admire good cover art.

(edited to fix spelling errors.  that is why I was an art major and not a literature major)


----------



## Jani (May 4, 2010)

kae said:


> Cover art is important to me, especially on sites like Amazon where there is so much to see.
> Unfortunately, I can't hire any of the named illustrators, so I'm doing my own. For this cover on the historical fiction _The Adventures of Elizabeth Fortune_ (new KINDLE title as on 5 May) I used one of my own photographs. Feedback on the cover is welcome.


I like your new cover better than the old one -- I think black font would show better on the new one -- other than that the image looks good.


----------



## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

Great cover art will get my attention but by itself will not sell the book. The story is everything, and most of my book reading decisions are based on recommendations or obligations. Having said that, I have strong feelings about the covers of my novels and my publisher is accommodating.


----------



## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

Love the 3-D versions of the covers above! How do you do them?


----------



## ckeltner (May 7, 2010)

Cover art is very important to grab attention, at which point the book needs to stand on its own. But since there are so many books out at one time in a specific genre, cover art will go a long ways towards that initial attention grab to make it stand out.

Not to mention, if an author has a sloppy or lazy cover, it makes me question their dedication and writing skills.


----------



## kae (May 3, 2010)

Jani said:


> I like your new cover better than the old one -- I think black font would show better on the new one -- other than that the image looks good.


Thanks, Jani.
I'll consider the font color.


----------



## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

Speaking as an indie writer, it would be nice to be able to commission proper cover art from an artist, the way the regular publishing houses do...but when funds are short, Photoshop is a lifesaver...


----------



## imon32red (Jun 15, 2009)

As a buyer I do not think that a great cover is that important.  However, as a seller I disagree. I have found over and over that the better a cover is the better a book will sell.  This doesn't always mean the fanciest cover, a good simple clean cover can sell well too.  From personal experience changing covers has improved my sales up to 10 times as much.


----------



## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

jonconnington said:


> Speaking as an indie writer, it would be nice to be able to commission proper cover art from an artist, the way the regular publishing houses do...but when funds are short, Photoshop is a lifesaver...


I know what you mean. There are some genres that simply demand artwork--fantasy books (mainstream) just don't often appear without some amazing image of characters in pitched battle or some other adrenaline or (insert hormone here)-pumping image. For the record, I dislike the artwork on WoT in general.

One of the reasons I LOVE going to big conventions (like GenCon) is that I get the chance to view the work of artists whose boots I am not fit to lick, like Larry Elmore, John Howe, Ted Nasmith...oooh, baby! These guys don't digitize anything--they still paint stuff. Last year a couple of aficionados wandered over to my author table (right beside the superb art display) and began examining my posters. They obviously didn't know the artist was sitting there, so they started critiquing. One said: 'Look how this artist even managed to get the program to look like actual brush-strokes! And look, there...at this effect where it almost looks like graphite peeking through?'

'Yeah...' said the other guy. 'Sure looks like a painting!'

(Actually, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.)


----------



## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

I agree with Archer. There are certain genres that really ask for a good piece of artwork. Fantasy and horror come to mind immediately, as well as certain kinds of science fiction stories. But even in those genres there are differences, as to what story needs what kind of artwork. In many cases, a photographic illustration may be better, in others you would want a painting, in others you don't need anything like that at all because the graphic design relies on fonts and colors instead.

For my books, covers are extremely important, obviously, as they keep with the somewhat sensational style of traditional dime novel. Finding an artist has been a big issue for me as well, as I had to have 10 covers done at the same time and that gets extremely expensive very quickly. But even when you do one cover at a time, since I release a new volume every month, the price of a cover is very important to me and it took me quite some time to find an artist of the quality I was looking for and who could work within my budget range.


----------



## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

archer said:


> I know what you mean. There are some genres that simply demand artwork--fantasy books (mainstream) just don't often appear without some amazing image of characters in pitched battle or some other adrenaline or (insert hormone here)-pumping image. For the record, I dislike the artwork on WoT in general.
> 
> One of the reasons I LOVE going to big conventions (like GenCon) is that I get the chance to view the work of artists whose boots I am not fit to lick, like Larry Elmore, John Howe, Ted Nasmith...oooh, baby! These guys don't digitize anything--they still paint stuff. Last year a couple of aficionados wandered over to my author table (right beside the superb art display) and began examining my posters. They obviously didn't know the artist was sitting there, so they started critiquing. One said: 'Look how this artist even managed to get the program to look like actual brush-strokes! And look, there...at this effect where it almost looks like graphite peeking through?'
> 
> ...


Gotta agree with you there...I went to ComicCon NY last year, and spent a couple of blissful ours going through the tables reserved for the artists...kinda disgraceful the way they were shoved in a back corner while the prime real estate was taken by by promo booths from the TV networks and software companies...there was this one guy who was selling these old school Doc Savage-style paintings, the ones where the hero looked a lot like Kirk Douglas in his prime. They don't paint 'em (or make 'em) like they used too...


----------



## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

And may I say, Guido, that your artist does a VERY good job!


----------



## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

On a related note, I am sad to report that world-famous illustrator Frank Frazetta passed away today!

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/frank-frazetta-fantasy-illustrator-dies-at-82/?src=mv


----------



## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

archer said:


> And may I say, Guido, that your artist does a VERY good job!


Thanks archer. I do have usually very clear visions what it is I am looking for in a cover and a cover artist, and that definitely helps getting the quality, but still, ultimately it is the artist who creates the piece and sometimes it takes a few rounds of tweaking and reworking until it's there.


----------



## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

archer said:


> One of the reasons I LOVE going to big conventions (like GenCon) is that I get the chance to view the work of artists whose boots I am not fit to lick, like Larry Elmore, John Howe, Ted Nasmith...oooh, baby! These guys don't digitize anything--they still paint stuff. Last year a couple of aficionados wandered over to my author table (right beside the superb art display) and began examining my posters. They obviously didn't know the artist was sitting there, so they started critiquing. One said: 'Look how this artist even managed to get the program to look like actual brush-strokes! And look, there...at this effect where it almost looks like graphite peeking through?'


Those guys, especially Elmore, are one of the reasons I got interested in fantasy. I remember myself in 1988, a wee eight year old, when a classmate showed me his D&D books. I remember being super impressed with the Larry Elmore artwork! I bought a bunch of books with his work on the cover -- Dragonlance books, etc. I even had a John Howe calendar hanging in my room. I wasn't, perhaps, the coolest eight-year-old at school, but it did get me interested in reading... and eventually writing. 

So yes... I'd say the cover is important.


----------



## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

Ah, but look how cool you are TODAY!!

I mean, you're hangin' with the Kindlefriends. How cool is THAT?


----------



## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

archer said:


> Ah, but look how cool you are TODAY!!
> I mean, you're hangin' with the Kindlefriends. How cool is THAT?


The Kindleworms are the Koolest dudes on the Interweb!


----------



## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

Guido Henkel said:


> On a related note, I am sad to report that world-famous illustrator Frank Frazetta passed away today!
> 
> http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/frank-frazetta-fantasy-illustrator-dies-at-82/?src=mv


Heavy Metal magazine will never be the same....


----------



## vickir (Jan 14, 2009)

I disagree. I pay no attention to cover art and couldn't tell you what is on the cover of anything I've read.


----------



## blackbelt (May 4, 2010)

Cover art is critical.  I recently had a change of cover art in one of my books, and sales immediately doubled.  First hand experience.


- Michaelbrent Collings


----------



## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

That is a powerful cover artwork, blackbelt. I do not care much for the typography, though, to be honest. You could ratchet the impact up another notch with a good graphic designer to take the lettering to the next level.


----------



## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

Ruth Thompson is another good artist who's done a lot of cover art fr Wizards and Steve Jackson games. She has a booth every year at the Ny Ren Faire in Tuxedo, always one of the first places I vist...


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

While cover art doesn't affect my purchase, I do like to see good, imaginative work on a cover. My favorite cover artist was probably Richard M. Powers. He seemed to do most of the good covers back in the 50s and 60s.

http://www.panix.com/~dgh/Powers.html

Mike


----------



## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Discussions about covers have made me examine the effect they have on me as a reader. Covers that appeal and look like they're on a book of my kind lure me to investigate the book further, which is to say read the description.  However, I don't buy unless the description also appeals and the sample is up to expectation. On the other side of the coin, covers can turn me off totally and keep me from investigating a book that might be right up my alley. Examples of covers I think are beautiful but know are on books not my genre are Archer's. The horses on those covers are exquisite! An example of a cover that kept me from reading a book that was on the first of a series I came to love was the cover on the first of Laurien Berenson's poodle mystery series. The poodle on the cover was done so badly it looked like a horror novel done by someone who hated dogs.


----------



## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

ellenoc said:


> Discussions about covers have made me examine the effect they have on me as a reader. Covers that appeal and look like they're on a book of my kind lure me to investigate the book further, which is to say read the description. However, I don't buy unless the description also appeals and the sample is up to expectation. On the other side of the coin, covers can turn me off totally and keep me from investigating a book that might be right up my alley. Examples of covers I think are beautiful but know are on books not my genre are Archer's. The horses on those covers are exquisite! An example of a cover that kept me from reading a book that was on the first of a series I came to love was the cover on the first of Laurien Berenson's poodle mystery series. The poodle on the cover was done so badly it looked like a horror novel done by someone who hated dogs.


Ooh, thank you! (I have been drawing and painting horses for a long time.) 
I am a very enthusiastic dog lover. I also love to draw and paint dogs...maybe Laurien Berenson should look me up! Ha!


----------



## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

ellenoc said:


> Discussions about covers have made me examine the effect they have on me as a reader. Covers that appeal and look like they're on a book of my kind lure me to investigate the book further, which is to say read the description. However, I don't buy unless the description also appeals and the sample is up to expectation. On the other side of the coin, covers can turn me off totally and keep me from investigating a book that might be right up my alley. Examples of covers I think are beautiful but know are on books not my genre are Archer's. The horses on those covers are exquisite! An example of a cover that kept me from reading a book that was on the first of a series I came to love was the cover on the first of Laurien Berenson's poodle mystery series. The poodle on the cover was done so badly it looked like a horror novel done by someone who hated dogs.


Check out the covers over at Creme de la Crime--some of the worst covers I've ever seen.

http://www.cremedelacrime.com/backlist.htm

I know, I know, we're supposed to be talking covers we like. BUT while I LOVE the series by Kaye C. Hill put out by Creme, the covers almost need to be ripped off the book to read--especially in book two. Hill writes COZIES. The cover of "Dead Woman's Shoes" isn't that awful, but check out the dog on "Fall Girl." It looks like an attack dog--and she writes COZIES.

http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Girl-Kaye-C-Hill/dp/0955707897/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274486270&sr=8-1

Let's see if I can post the cover...we all know I'm a super fail at this...



Ick. This does not look at all cozy...

Maria


----------



## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Oh, you're right, that's awful.  Among the many reasons I was reluctant to pursue traditional publishing with my mystery is that I know authors have no control over covers.  A book with a snarling Rottweiler on the cover and my name on it would make me hide my head in shame forever. It would probably cost me all my dog friends. The thought of a clause in a contract saying there could never be a negative portrayal of a Rottie crossed my mind, but I bet that's something a first-time author wouldn't have a prayer of getting.

As to the particular book you've posted, yes, it's a bad cover in that no one looking for a cozy mystery or even a not so cozy mystery would ever investigate that book.  Paranormal, thriller, suspense, even horror.  I'd never think that cover had a mystery behind it. Poor Ms. Hill.

P.S. You're right about those Creme... covers. You'd think if Create Space can let indies do full color covers, that joint could manage it too. Nothing but gray and red. They really look less than.


----------



## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

When it comes to a lot of genre fiction, there can be a real danger of cover art crossing the line into cheesecake territory. If you look at a lot of the stiif being done for pulped fiction a few decades back, or even a lot of the art for romances today, it tends to follow the same template of overly muscular men in ripped shirts and voluptuous women in even less....not that there's anything WRONG with that. But it can give the wrong impression about a story, especially if what's contained WITHIN the covers is somewhat tamer than what is painted on it.


----------



## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

ellenoc said:


> Oh, you're right, that's awful. Among the many reasons I was reluctant to pursue traditional publishing with my mystery is that I know authors have no control over covers. A book with a snarling Rottweiler on the cover and my name on it would make me hide my head in shame forever. It would probably cost me all my dog friends. The thought of a clause in a contract saying there could never be a negative portrayal of a Rottie crossed my mind, but I bet that's something a first-time author wouldn't have a prayer of getting.
> 
> As to the particular book you've posted, yes, it's a bad cover in that no one looking for a cozy mystery or even a not so cozy mystery would ever investigate that book. Paranormal, thriller, suspense, even horror. I'd never think that cover had a mystery behind it. Poor Ms. Hill.
> 
> P.S. You're right about those Creme... covers. You'd think if Create Space can let indies do full color covers, that joint could manage it too. Nothing but gray and red. They really look less than.


I read a blog where the Creme editor posts now and then. I asked her about the covers (without saying I didn't like them, of course.) Turns out they chose to do all the covers with a Black/red theme to "Brand" the covers as "Creme de la Crime" covers--to build a brand of buyers who would instantly recognize that they were crime fiction of high quality. The two color covers also save them quite a bit of money as well, apparently--because they are two colors and one of those colors is black, it's less expensive to print.

Problem...is that it is branded all right.

BTW, if anyone is interested, I noticed the first Kaye C. Hill is available as an ebook over on the site. I don't know what format is used or whether it would work on Kindle--but I do highly recommend the story! I read it as a DTB back in the day...


----------



## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

A good cover immediately prompts me to pick up a book and find out what it's about. Something else almost as important IMO is the title.


----------



## Guest (May 24, 2010)

kae said:


> Thanks, Jani.
> I'll consider the font color.


I like the images, but the fonts and colors need some work. There isn't a high enough contrast, and the font choices themselves blur and are hard to read. Generally a bad idea to use the same or similar color for the font that you have in the illustration, particularly when you have a shadow on top of the font that is a similar color.

To the original question, a book cover is like a movie poster, it is suppose to give the reader an immediate idea of what to expect out of the book and grab their attention. It's a visual trigger to the potential reader of what your book is about. Yes, the cover is very important to me, because it tells me as a reader that the publisher pays attention to details. A sloppy cover is often a sign of sloppy production value. A blank cover is often a sign of bland writing. You can, in effect, judge a book by its cover, because the cover tells you how much care the publisher put into the production.

If I can offer a shameless plug for one of my illustrators, Sanjana is absoluting amazing and very affordable for indie publishers. Prompt, professional, takes instruction well. She's done several covers for me, as well as some internal illustrations.


----------



## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Bard,

Thanks for listing Sanjana's work.  Lovely!  I collect these names so that if I ever decide I can afford good cover art, I have a nice set of people to contact!!!  

Maria


----------



## kae (May 3, 2010)

bardsandsages said:


> I like the images, but the fonts and colors need some work. There isn't a high enough contrast, and the font choices themselves blur and are hard to read. Generally a bad idea to use the same or similar color for the font that you have in the illustration, particularly when you have a shadow on top of the font that is a similar color.


Thanks for the tips. _The Adventures of Elizabeth Fortune_ is going for a second printing next month and this was to be the new cover. I'll be certain it gets more contrast.


----------



## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

jonconnington said:


> I've learned over the past few months just how important cover art can be when creating a selling a book, especially if you write in genre's like fantasy or romance. A good cover can help set the tone of the book even before you open the cover or download it to your Kindle. Fantasy especially has a history of eye-catching cover art, both good and bad taste, and some things that just defy comprehension at all&#8230;
> 
> But that's just my opinion&#8230;any thoughts on the matter? How much do you think cover art helps make or break a book? Any particular artists you favor (I'm a Michael Whelan fan myself&#8230;the man has a talent that approaches the sublime&#8230


I'm new here and catching up on some old threads. (they're new to me! ) This topic caught my eye. I have to admit that I do judge a book by it's cover. Well, not so much judge, but I weed out the ones I don't want because certain genres tend to go with certain cover 'looks'. For instance, any sassy looking cartooon-ish looking woman, or parts of a woman on a bright (often pink) cover, clues me in that it's chick lit, and I can skip it. Same with and pictures of elves, space aliens, vampires, etc.

What I look for is usually a dark cover, any reference to time--as I love time travel books in general-- a basic sf cover, with a spaceship and a human face, or one with quaint flowers or houses. The last is romance, but not a bodice ripper. I'm thinking stuff by LaVryle Spencer, Dorothy Garlock, etc.

So, if I see a book here that has space aliens on it, I probably won't look at it. If said book is really about a space alien who crashes onto present day Earth--something I would be interested in--I'll never know because the cover led me to believe it was a outerspace scifi/fantasy type book. I thought the cover for Under the Dome was fantastic. I'm not normally a SK fan, at least not of his horror books, so to see that cover made me look twice and read the blurb about the book. I loved the premise and bought it. Well, actually I bought if for my dad for Christmas, but I knew I'd get to read it when he was done. 

My own cover is one I did, so it's not fancy, I had to use what had because I can't afford to contract a cover out. I did try to contact a photographer on deviantart who has the most amazing photos, several of which might have worked for me, but he never got back to me. I have no idea what he might have charged for me to use the photo. Anyway, I hope my cover conveys the mood of the story.


----------



## CIBond (Aug 28, 2010)

Some advice on working with someone from Deviant Art.

Hey.  I checked out this thread to harvest artist ideas after I… um… let my current cover artist go, well maybe he let me go it’s a little hard to say  -- Like a break up *sniff sniff* he packed up his brushes and left - LOL.  I’m not going to name names because it is very likely that I was as much a part of the problem as he was.  

The thing is if you have never commissioned someone to do a cover for you and you are still feeling things out you really need a professional so getting someone who has recommendations here is useful.  In my case I had a budget of  $250-300 and I need to see sketches and run through ideas until I got a composition that reflected the book.  I also needed someone who would listen to me and not just do what he thought was best (pat stupid author on head and ignore requests repeatedly because he didn’t think it would look good – If anyone wants to see the great looking half-colored porn cover for my Urban Fantasy book let me know  ).  This requires patients and communication.  So if he isn’t a professional and you have never done this before… well, you need someone who is patient enough to go through the learning curve with you.  If they aren’t interested in working through the composition problems with you – even if you offer them more money to come up with more sketches there is a problem.  

I keep thinking it was me but… by now people here have some idea of my personality.  I am hardly subtle or delicate in my approach to anything, like a Buick going 70mph  , so I have a hard time thinking that I wasn’t direct enough?  But there we are... now I am looking for someone new to fill that place in my life.


----------



## TWErvin2 (Aug 7, 2010)

As humans are visual creatures, the cover art (and also the title work) certainly have an impact on potential readers. With each reader, I am sure the impact varies.  With a cover that catches my eye, I'm much more likely to take time to explore further.


----------



## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

Frank Frazetta moved a lot of books in his day. R.I.P.

So many that they started writing books to fit his paintings... That's pretty impressive.


----------



## KindleLovinMike (Jan 6, 2011)

I love a great cover and I miss that in my Kindle -waaa


----------



## 13893 (Apr 29, 2010)

Kristen Painter gets a lot of 
kidding around here 
for her manly man 
male torso covers, 
but I love this cover for her 
steampunk novel

Kanaxa, artist









And I've always loved the cover for the 
ebook of Ender's Game

Sam Weber, artist


----------



## Laurensaga (Sep 29, 2010)

Virgoddess said:


> As much as I hate to admit it, cover art is important to me. It makes me want to read the summary, or not. It feels shallow to me to admit that. But, there it is.


That is not Shallow (or maybe it is) either way I am in the same boat as you. Don't get me wrong I have bought books with bad cover art, but it usually after someone suggested it or through some miracle or happenstance that I read the blurb and got hooked in.


----------



## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Cover art is MASSIVELY important to me.
And I have recently found a complaint about it that I have, Authors are investing in great cover art to post up on websites, and yet, when a book is purchased (on Amazon) and it downloads to my Kindle, the cover either doesn't come at all, or there's just a rectangular box with the title/author listed, no cover art at all.. When I pay for a book, I want that cover art included. It helps me remember what the book is about when I am flipping through my long TBR trying to find what strikes my fancy for the day.


----------



## 13893 (Apr 29, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> Cover art is MASSIVELY important to me.
> And I have recently found a complaint about it that I have, Authors are investing in great cover art to post up on websites, and yet, when a book is purchased (on Amazon) and it downloads to my Kindle, the cover either doesn't come at all, or there's just a rectangular box with the title/author listed, no cover art at all.. When I pay for a book, I want that cover art included. It helps me remember what the book is about when I am flipping through my long TBR trying to find what strikes my fancy for the day.


Absolutely!


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I think it varies for me depending on circumstances. When I'm browsing through recommendations for me (e.g. on Amazon) or reviews here or on other web sites, it's probably of minimal impact, though a really bad or inappropriate cover might sway a borderline case to the "skip it" category. If, however, I am just browsing through the shelves (virtual or real) for something that catches my attention, I suspect it can make a big difference, even if it's a subconscious one for me.


----------



## Budo von Stahl (Aug 31, 2010)

For a DTB, cover art can be a great catcher if it relates to the title; even if it doesn't have anything to do with the story it might lure the unwary.  Truth told, though, for ebooks on black-and-white readers I don't even look.  The first hook for me is a good title.


----------



## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

> And I have recently found a complaint about it that I have, Authors are investing in great cover art to post up on websites, and yet, when a book is purchased (on Amazon) and it downloads to my Kindle, the cover either doesn't come at all, or there's just a rectangular box with the title/author listed, no cover art at all.. When I pay for a book, I want that cover art included.


I hate that too. And I've found it in both main stream big house books, and in independents. It's not that difficult to include the file in the book. I think there is some confusion with what exactly is being uploaded to the Amazon site. The "cover art" that they ask for is really just for the thumbnail they use on the product page. The actual cover needs to be included in the entire file. Not shocking to pick up an indie book that messes that up (though it is disappointing if you really wanted to see the image full size, especially if you use an ipad.) But it is really bad when you get it from a big publisher who charges 12.99 for an ebook. I paid 8.99 yesterday for a 21 year old title from Pocket Books. While they did get the cover right, I found typos in the first thirty pages and 2 instances of bad code (where &#000 and stuff like that appears in the middle of a sentence).


----------



## marshacanham (Jul 30, 2010)

jonconnington said:


> When it comes to a lot of genre fiction, there can be a real danger of cover art crossing the line into cheesecake territory. If you look at a lot of the stiif being done for pulped fiction a few decades back, or even a lot of the art for romances today, it tends to follow the same template of overly muscular men in ripped shirts and voluptuous women in even less....not that there's anything WRONG with that. But it can give the wrong impression about a story, especially if what's contained WITHIN the covers is somewhat tamer than what is painted on it.


LOL I was reading merrily along until I came to this, then had to stop and add my two cents. I've been in the biz for over 25 years, writing historical romance, and back when I started, the *clinch* was the big deal for covers. Torn shirts hanging off big muscular chests, wenches with hair three feet long, billowing out in the wind, the hero about to suck her throat, the heroine looking semi-orgasmic. That was the standard then, and the racier the cover, the more it sold...especially if it had Fabio in all his blond glory. When the artwork started to become too racy, the publishers tucked them inside stepbacks, so the reader could sit and read the book on a subway car and not have to worry about holding a book with half naked people on the front. The outer covers had a jewel or a flower or a length of kilt.

Having resurrected some of my early books that have long been out of print, the cover question was discussed at length on the e-loop I belong to. After listening to a lot of feedback from romance authors who had self-pubbed their books already, it became ironically clear that skin was back. An ebook with lots of skin, fewer clothes, and flowing hair sold better than the simple flower, jewel, or length of kilt. I discovered that with my own recent test of two covers for the same book.

















The second skin cover is selling much better than the (what I thought was) more artsy, discreet cover. So...for historical romance anyway, the trend has gone full circle and it's back to skin.


----------



## Daphne (May 27, 2010)

The point that interests me about cover art on a Kindle forum is the fact that ebooks do not need covers. Paper books had covers to hold them together and to protect the paper pages. At some point publishers must have thought an appropriate picture might look nice and soon cover art was a marketing matter. Of course where a Kindle book is a version of a paperback it makes sense to have a picture of that cover on the Kindle book site - but what about where a book is published primarily as an ebook?- and I'm sure this will become the case more and more often. Basically we make cover art to go with our ebooks as part of our marketing strategy and currently everyone seems to make that image to a standard book size and style with every effort to conform. My great respect to the first writer of an ebook who breaks out of this mould (and I have not done so) and uses a crest or a moving image or something even more innovative as a visual partner to their book description on their ebook site.


----------



## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

marshacanham said:


> LOL I was reading merrily along until I came to this, then had to stop and add my two cents. I've been in the biz for over 25 years, writing historical romance, and back when I started, the *clinch* was the big deal for covers. Torn shirts hanging off big muscular chests, wenches with hair three feet long, billowing out in the wind, the hero about to suck her throat, the heroine looking semi-orgasmic. That was the standard then, and the racier the cover, the more it sold...especially if it had Fabio in all his blond glory. When the artwork started to become too racy, the publishers tucked them inside stepbacks, so the reader could sit and read the book on a subway car and not have to worry about holding a book with half naked people on the front. The outer covers had a jewel or a flower or a length of kilt.
> 
> Having resurrected some of my early books that have long been out of print, the cover question was discussed at length on the e-loop I belong to. After listening to a lot of feedback from romance authors who had self-pubbed their books already, it became ironically clear that skin was back. An ebook with lots of skin, fewer clothes, and flowing hair sold better than the simple flower, jewel, or length of kilt. I discovered that with my own recent test of two covers for the same book.
> 
> ...


I think covers are important, it's the 1st thing to attract my attention to a book.

Marsha... guess I'm in the minority, I'm more drawn to the beauty & richness of the 1st cover. The Fabio type covers do nothing for me, if the cover is too cheesy I tend to wonder if the book will also be too cheesy.
I hope to eventually read all of you books! I LOVED "Under the Desert Moon", one of my 5* reads! Also love the Dante Pirates series & read on your website that you're working on Gabriel's story. I can't wait to read it... any idea when it will be published?


----------



## Sunset (Nov 10, 2010)

Cover art is very important! I don't read books without them.


----------



## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

I like your first cover better, too! Very elegant. However, I'm not the target market -- I would pick that up because it looks less "romance novelly."

Most of my favorite covers have featured classic art that worked thematically with the story, or else color-saturated photography:


----------



## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

Do I buy I book for the cover art? No. I always look for genre and then read a sample, because I'm picky about writing style. Does great cover art catch my eye and in turn interest me and checking it out? Always. So, good cover art is important to get buyers attention, and perhaps garner a sale. My own covers are done by artist Kurt Hanss, and I've had a lot of good feedback about them. I am an artist myself, and I do recognize and appreciate a lot of different styles of cover art, although names tend to allude me.

I'm a fan of Adam Hughes, he's amazing:


----------



## J.K. Arauz (Jan 10, 2011)

Yes! Adam Hughes is wonderful!

I see the cover as a reflection of what's inside (allow me to push the adage about cover judging aside).

I'm actually less of a critic on covers if the book is distributed through a publishing company. Regardless of the quality of the cover, I'll know that at least the book has gone through an editor or two; the material inside is what I'm more concerned about anyway. So for ebooks, I need to see that the author at least puts time and consideration into a cover to inform me, as the reader, that they have taken equal time and consideration to the material inside the book. I'll pass on books with covers that look like a clipart dump, text that's difficult to read, or images that look like bad photoshop.

I've read a few novels already that aren't edited or proofread by anyone but the author (it shows in the writing), but they had a great cover. In that scenario, purchasing the ebook the way I do was a bad choice. I take it as a gamble so sometimes you win and sometimes you're out five bucks.

A few posts in this thread explain that some authors just don't have the money to hire someone to make their cover and others have no luck with Deviantart folk. I have another suggestion: Visit your local community college and/or university and find an art professor. Talk to the professor and tell him/her you're a writer looking for an original cover for an upcoming book. He/she can then talk to his/her students and set it up as an assignment, as extra credit, or as a contest. You'll find that a lot of students in school are looking for publicity as they try to make a name for themselves as artists as much as we are so any opportunity is one they'll jump at. Obviously, offer the winner credit in your book and if you can, maybe a small cash prize (I'm thinking 50 is good on top of the free publicity).


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Daphne said:


> The point that interests me about cover art on a Kindle forum is the fact that ebooks do not need covers. Paper books had covers to hold them together and to protect the paper pages. At some point publishers must have thought an appropriate picture might look nice and soon cover art was a marketing matter. Of course where a Kindle book is a version of a paperback it makes sense to have a picture of that cover on the Kindle book site - but what about where a book is published primarily as an ebook?- and I'm sure this will become the case more and more often. Basically we make cover art to go with our ebooks as part of our marketing strategy and currently everyone seems to make that image to a standard book size and style with every effort to conform. My great respect to the first writer of an ebook who breaks out of this mould (and I have not done so) and uses a crest or a moving image or something even more innovative as a visual partner to their book description on their ebook site.


The actual downloaded e-book doesn't "need" a cover, but it needs something to get customers' attention at the e-store. So, if you're going to go to the trouble of making some sort of cover art to appear next to your book's listing at Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, etc.; you might as well include it in the actual e-book, too.


----------



## KatieKlein (Dec 19, 2010)

Book covers are important to me, too. A good cover will catch my eye and make me pick up the book, and it might sell me on a story I might not have selected otherwise.

I don't have a fav. cover artist, but I could window-shop for covers all day long at the Deviant Art website.


----------



## marshacanham (Jul 30, 2010)

cagnes said:


> I think covers are important, it's the 1st thing to attract my attention to a book.
> 
> Marsha... guess I'm in the minority, I'm more drawn to the beauty & richness of the 1st cover. The Fabio type covers do nothing for me, if the cover is too cheesy I tend to wonder if the book will also be too cheesy.
> I hope to eventually read all of you books! I LOVED "Under the Desert Moon", one of my 5* reads! Also love the Dante Pirates series & read on your website that you're working on Gabriel's story. I can't wait to read it... any idea when it will be published?


In all honesty, I liked the first cover better too, and it's still that cover at Smashwords. Amazon has the newer version but I'm still wavering as to the worth of changing it everywhere. Kind of like the Swept Away cover...it's available in blue tones and sunset tones *g*. As for Gabriel's story, I'm a hundred pages into it, haven't hit *the wall* yet where I toss most of it out and start again, but I'm working without a deadline for the first time in 25 years, so it's kind of weird. When it gets close, I'll be posting on the website...though I may put up a teaser excerpt before then *g* I've already told my agent I want to retain the digital rights, so that should be interesting to see what happens. Publishers used to waive them as being of little consequence, but now...hah. I've tried to get the rights back to some earlier books, but the publishers have dug their heels in and joined the digital wave.

BTW...since you mentioned Under the Desert Moon, and this is a cover art thread, there is a story behind that cover...I fondly refer to it as my Forty F**king Flowers cover. Check my blog if you want the full story *g* http://marshacanham.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/forty-fking-flowers/


----------



## Belle2Be (Aug 29, 2010)

I judge a book by its cover. I've even bought books because I like the cover.


----------



## Russell Brooks (Dec 23, 2010)

I've learned the importance of having a great book cover. I'm changing my current one right now before the paperback edition is released.


----------



## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

marshacanham said:


> In all honesty, I liked the first cover better too, and it's still that cover at Smashwords. Amazon has the newer version but I'm still wavering as to the worth of changing it everywhere. Kind of like the Swept Away cover...it's available in blue tones and sunset tones *g*. As for Gabriel's story, I'm a hundred pages into it, haven't hit *the wall* yet where I toss most of it out and start again, but I'm working without a deadline for the first time in 25 years, so it's kind of weird. When it gets close, I'll be posting on the website...though I may put up a teaser excerpt before then *g* I've already told my agent I want to retain the digital rights, so that should be interesting to see what happens. Publishers used to waive them as being of little consequence, but now...hah. I've tried to get the rights back to some earlier books, but the publishers have dug their heels in and joined the digital wave.
> 
> BTW...since you mentioned Under the Desert Moon, and this is a cover art thread, there is a story behind that cover...I fondly refer to it as my Forty F**king Flowers cover. Check my blog if you want the full story *g* http://marshacanham.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/forty-fking-flowers/


Thanks for the update.... I'll wait patiently for Gabriel's story & a teaser would be awesome! 

Funny Forty F**king Flowers story! I read the horse & moon version, which is a gorgeous cover, big improvement over the flowers!


----------



## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

Cover art is very important, and it's sad that authors don't seem to have much control over it when their books are published abroad. (Gail Carriger has a nice post about her "German editions" in her blog (December 8 2010).
I picked up one of my favorite books based solely on its cover - I'd never heard about the author before:


----------



## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

I think cover art is a critical part of selling a book, and is one of the things I miss most about converting to e-books. Even if a cover picture is included, I almost never see it. Why, oh why, isn't there an option to make the cover of the book the default screensaver?

Anyway, back in my younger DTB days, especially as a kid prior to amazon reviews, etc, cover art was a critical element in book selection. Heck, there is a sci-fi painter who does mostly spaceships with a blurry, fuzzy paint scheme of complex spiky ships blasting each other with fireballs and damned if I wouldn't pick up every book with a cover of his. Same with Elmore (finally got to meet him at Dragoncon, what a nice guy, wish I could have met Keith Parkinson).

I like my covers to depict a scene from the book (if possible) and, especially for fantasy or sci-fi, to show the main characters or whatever fantastical objects the author feels the reader really needs to be able to visualize. I've read scenes in books where it is clear the author is struggling to describe some vital item, beast, or ship, and a cover art would easily solve this issue. I know this is probably impossible to arrange, but it is nice when it happens.

I'm not a big fan of the clip art/photoshop covers a lot of indies use, but it in no way hinders my purchase if reviews are supportive. They do illustrate how important a good graphic design, proper font, and well proportioned image are. Alas, the thumbnail image everyone usually sees means the art typically has a main character that is far too large and background detail is limited, else it would look like a fuzzy mess as a thumbnail. A shame....


----------



## Russell Brooks (Dec 23, 2010)

Hey, everyone. Since we're discussing the importance of book covers, I stumbled on this excellent blog post on what's important in an eBook cover vs print book covers. Check it out and let me know what you think.

http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/12/15-ebook-covers-success-and-failure-in-the-kindle-store/


----------



## masoquismo (Jan 14, 2011)

I know there's that saying "don't judge a book by its cover", but I always do. Good cover art is a key factor for whether or not I even read the synopsis, I'm sad to say.


----------



## kaotickitten (Jan 9, 2011)

I always judge a book by it's cover.  Ok well maybe almost always.  Which can be dangerous in these threads with some of the amazing covers.


----------



## Miriam Minger (Nov 27, 2010)

Kimberly Killion at Hot Damn Designs did mine, a fantastic job.  

Miriam


----------



## kcmay (Jul 14, 2010)

I'm also a cover-judger. I've had two of my covers redone (so far). 

I love Boris Vallejo's cover art. Used to get his calendars because I love how he portrays women - strong and sexy.


----------



## FastPop (Dec 22, 2010)

Cover art is important. It helps to pick a style and stick to it. That way you can build your "brand" while you sell eBooks.


----------



## FictionalWriter (Aug 4, 2010)

It's VERY important and I have to agree with Miriam Minger, Kim Killion at www.HotDamnDesigns.com is fantastic. She designed my website, my print ad in RT Book reviews and an animated ad for my current book. When I self-publish my novella, I'm going to have her do the cover art for that too. The great thing is she's reasonably priced.


----------



## Amy Corwin (Jan 3, 2011)

Cover art is critical--there's no doubt about it. It's the first thing that catches a reader's eye and particularly for new authors, it will be a major factor in attracting a reader.

While I don't have any favorite artists, I think the publisher of my book, The Necklace, did an absolutely outstanding job.

And as I read a lot of cozy mysteries, I love the wonderfully retro and quaint covers they used to give Charlotte McLeod's books. I'm always attracted to them. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find her books on the Kindle. Sigh.


----------



## J H Sked (Jan 3, 2011)

We're a pretty visual species - anyone who watches cooking shows will know the "eat with your eyes spiel" - so I do think cover art is important.
What I find interesting is how diverse opinions can be on book covers - they tend to polarise the audience into either love 'em or hate 'em camps pretty fast.
One of the top draws for indie authors like myself is that you have control over the artwork on your cover - I've read so many accounts of authors horrified/depressed/aghast (take your pick) - over the final artwork when going through a traditional publisher. The problem then is if the cover doesn't work, you need to kiss it goodbye and replace it with a new one.


----------



## joanhallhovey (Nov 7, 2010)

I think it depends on the book.  I've seen Pulitzer Prize-winning books with a dull cover, but then maybe it doesn't matter if you're the winner.  As for the rest of us, I think it matters a great deal - a cover is a first impression; you wouldn't show up for a job interview wearing jeans and a tee-shirt.  Unless you're interviewing for farmhand.   Especially suspense or mystery I think, which is my own genre - but horror and sci fi too.  Sheri McGathy is my cover artist for the ebooks and I like her work, especially for my latest novel.  But romance novels, I would think, should strive for a cover that's a little different from the usual fare in order to stand out in the crowd.  At least that's my take on it.

Happy 2011 everyone.


----------

