Early books
The earliest books with some form of paper for pages most often had no cover images. If you were fortunate enough to own books, the front cover was usually dark leather. In the twentieth century, paper jackets became common over the covers of books. Soon, publishers discovered that they could include an image on the jacket to make it more interesting. These images were printed on the front covers of paperback versions, too. Sometimes the images gave an accurate representation of the book’s content. Often they did not.
Advantages of physical books
In the good old days of publishing, when books were made of paper, authors groused over bad cover images for their books. However, prospective readers might overlook a poor book cover because there was a tactile connection. Consumers could hold a book and thumb through the pages, reading at leisure, perhaps even enjoying that “new book” smell.
Challenges of ebooks
No tactile (or olfactory) connection exists for consumers who purchase electronic books. Thus an ebook’s cover image pulls a great deal more weight in the consumer’s decision-making process. It must capture the attention of the ebook’s target audience; accurately convey the ebook’s concept, tone, and setting; and lure the audience inside. Yet many writers who self-publish, and even a few publishers, either fail to understand these crucial functions of the cover image or ignore them in favor of just getting the ebook out there with some cover image.
Finding cover art that reaches the right readers
For my “Mysteries of the American Revolution” trilogy, my original publisher used artwork from the public domain as the basis for each cover image. When the press ceased operation, and my rights reverted to me, one of my first tasks was to seek out cover artists to create new covers. I’d been listening to what my readers liked about my books, and why. I knew those first covers weren’t appropriate for the books.
Here’s a before-and-after comparison of the cover art for each book in the trilogy.
Paper Woman: A Mystery of the American Revolution
The Blacksmith’s Daughter: A Mystery of the American Revolution
Camp Follower: A Mystery of the American Revolution
The Mysteries of the American Revolution Trilogy
Good cover art becomes even more important if an ebook series is involved. When executed correctly for each title of the series, the cover images create a unified appearance that identifies the ebooks and author for the target audience. The images also promise the reading experience that will be found in the series. It’s a covenant of satisfaction and security for readers, the knowledge that if they enjoyed book 1, they can find more of the same in other books of the series. If you love your readers, you’ll give them all that.
How important is a book’s front cover image in influencing your decision to buy the book?
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I find covers very important for e-books. I frequently browse the 100 most popular books on Amazon in different categories and a good cover will make me much more likely to click to read more about that book, even if the title is rather lackluster.
As for your book covers, I like both editions. They are both good in different ways. The original covers convey an emphasis on the action and also imply “these books are historically accurate fiction”. The newer covers convey more emphasis on the characters and are more appealing for modern eyes.
The new covers look even better beside the old one, Suzanne. You chose well!
Tracy, thanks for stopping by. A lot of people shop online the way you do. That’s why covers that look professional, even in thumbnail size, are so important.
When I was selling books last weekend at the Joel Lane Museum House’s event, I spoke with dozens of site visitors about my books. I could see them mentally group together Paper Woman, The Blacksmith’s Daughter, and Camp Follower into a set that was separate from Regulated for Murder (Michael Stoddard #1) because of the covers. It was fascinating and rewarding to watch.
The cover to A Hostage to Heritage (Michael Stoddard #2) will follow the same design as Regulated for Murder. What’s really been challenging is conveying visually that both series are about the Rev War and written by me.
Thanks, Kaye! A lot of it comes from having listened to my readers explain the elements that they found appealing in my stories. So the concept conveyed via the cover art is, “Independent women in history who can take care of themselves.” That idea appeals to many female readers and a good number of male readers.
From their new covers, you can see how the three books are connected. The first set of cover images doesn’t form a clear connection between the books.
Your covers look great! They have a perfect historical and elegant feel to them. Most importantly – the images are visible in thumbnail size and the titles are bold (unlike your first covers)- that is just so important for ebook covers, and it is where they differ greatly from printed books. They really have to be bold and visible when small. How many people really zoom in to study an ebook cover? Most just view them in the small size…
Melody Simmons
http://ebookindiecovers.com/
Thank you for your comment here and on Kindleboards, Melody. Your point about people viewing cover images mostly in thumbnail size is spot-on. Reader Tracy Smith commented above about how she shops at Amazon and browses the Amazon lists, where covers are all at thumbnail size. Appealing covers, even at thumbnail size, make her take that crucial next step of selecting the entry and looking deeper. Authors and publishers who cut corners and don’t take time to design suitable covers risk having their readers overlook them.
I completely agree with the post and thanks for sharing … I actually wrote something about cover design months ago. Tips for home-made cover makers.
http://humblenations.com/2012/04/12/14-tips-for-good-kindle-cover-design/
But the bottom line I feel is this:
Amateur Cover = Amateur Writing
(In most potential-reader’s heads)
I like your set of new covers as well. They work well for the period and setting the mood.
What a difference between the old covers and the new ones. I started with your Blacksmith’s Daughter and enjoyed it so ordered Paper Woman, the first in your series. I haven’t had time to start it yet, but it is on my TBR pile beside my chair.
Thanks, Humblenations, that’s a terrific post. I just Tweeted it.
Gloria, thanks for coming by (again). Fortunately, my books are written to be standalones, so your circular route through the series won’t be confusing.
Great post, Suzanne, and I like both versions of your cover images, but I do agree that the new ones are much better for eBooks.
As a book dealer as well as an author, I’m going to put on my “insufferable knowitall” hat here and mention that paper book jackets were never put on leatherbound books; they appeared after books began to be bound in cloth, which was cheaper than leather but not as sturdy and dirt-resistant. The paper dust jacket became common in the 1920s; before that, cloth editions were often decorated in much the same way as leatherbound editions, with elaborate stamping, raised lettering, and gilt details and such. Once the dust jacket became ubiquitous, the basic clothbound book became a lot plainer-looking. *removes knowitall hat*
Hmm, maybe I need to add this nugget of information to _Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders_ . . .
Susanne, thanks for stopping by. That sentence was worded weirdly, so I corrected it to clear up the misunderstanding.
“The cover must capture the attention of the ebook’s target audience; accurately convey the ebook’s concept, tone, and setting; and lure the audience inside.”
After comparing your before and after covers, I see exactly what you mean and agree that the after images match the concept, tone and setting more than the previous covers.
And it’s a tall order to fill, Lloyd, getting all of that squished into one cover image, and trying to make it look elegant at the same time. Some authors and publishers don’t even try, which means that they most likely miss their audience. Thanks for commenting!