Judging A Book By Its Cover

Be honest with yourself, you’ve probably done it at least once. I won’t lie, I do it all the time. The cover of a book is what draws me to it, second only to the title. Third is the description, unless of course I’ve already heard about it from a friend. A great cover will make me pick up a book to learn more about it, regardless of the title, or even what I may have heard about the book. Of course a great concept will always make me want to know more about a book, and a catchy title might make me investigate further as well. But when I’m skimming through new releases, it’s the cover that gets my attention. This could be the designer in me, but I don’t think that’s the only factor.

On the opposite side of that coin, I must admit that a bad cover may make me pass over a book~even one that might have sounded interesting to me. Terribly superficial of me, I know, but as a reader I expect the publisher or author (if they are self-published) to put a good amount of thought and effort into the cover. It is the first impression after all. Case in point: I ‘m not fond of the original covers of the Sookie Stackhouse books. Some love them, but me, not so much. In fact, I disliked them so much that I never read the books until I saw the TV show and realized how great the story was. Now that I know, I couldn’t care less. Lesson learned on my part. Now I always read the first page, no matter what the cover, if a book has drawn my interest.

But the draw of a good cover remains as the main hook for most readers, therefore it’s something that warrants attention. It is an investment in the book’s future, one that can pay off well if carefully considered. I’m curious, as a reader, have you ever judged a book by its cover?

~Heather

Heather McCorkle is the author of the channeler series and the acclaimed historical fantasy, To Ride A Puca. She is also a freelance cover designer under the name of CP Design. The novella in her channeler series, Born Of Fire, is currently free on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.