Importance of book cover

[Anandi Iyer Ghosh]

How important is a book cover?

[Enigma]

Yes I do judge a book by its cover. After all it's the first thing a reader sees.

[Anandi Iyer Ghosh]

I have missed many a good book because I didn't like the cover.

[Loveabull]

Now that is a good question! A cover can make a difference...especially when you're browsing a large volume of books. I picked up a book recently that just seemed interesting because of the cover...a surgeon with bloodied gloves and a cup of tea, obviously exhausted...I ended up reading it cover to cover and will definitely read it again. By title alone I might not have noticed it.

Funny but sometimes I'm sad when they reissue different book covers...I think they recently did that with Harry Potter. Maya Angelou's books used to have some beautiful pictures of her from the time they were written. Many years later they changed them all.

[Fran]

The cover would influence whether I picked up a book in a bookshop or library but it would not be the deciding factor in my buying or reading the book. It can work both ways though: I would never have picked up a Jasper Fforde book based on the cover which suggest a childs book but because he was recommended here on the Forums I, thankfully, bypassed my reservations about the covers!

I guess it's fairly obvious that if it didn't have an impact on sales publishers wouldn't spend vast amounts on the cover artwork.

[jacstar23]

I've bought countless books based on the cover alone - Twilight is an example. I kept seeing that damn apple everywhere and so I bought it. without reading the back or anything. This was prior to the rest of the series being in print.

it's like playing the lotto - sometimes I win (like with Twilight), sometimes I really don't.

I've also avoided books based on the cover. Didn't even bother picking them up to see what it's about. I'm sure I'm missing out

now Cover is not the only way I pick out books, but if I'm just perusing the bookstore - obviously covers are what sell the book. Catch my eye, I'll pick it up... plain and simple

[AliceRose]

I guess an eye-catching cover would draw me in. But I'm more interested in reading the blurb on the back. I often look online for books and I tend to just read the reviews.

Many of the "classics" have pretty boring and nondescript covers, which I think can discourage the younger reader. I have a copy of Little Women that has a bright, attractive cover which I think would be more likely to draw in a child or teenager. I think it would be a good idea to revamp some of the covers of the classics so the younger audience won't just look at them and think "Oh, that looks boring."

[Starmy]

I have missed many a good book because I didn't like the cover.

I am much the same! Now the cover doesn't matter to me. If it gets a good rep or its about a topic I enjoy I'll give it a go no matter how unappealing it may look initially.

[mahanma]

Agree to the general consensus... Book covers are very important

[vortexkd]

Well the cover doesn't really effect how good the text inside the book is, but unless someone's got plenty of time on their hands, they aren't going to read excerpts of every single book on the shelf (or shelves) they're interested in before picking one up.
I think what most people do is that the try to minimise the false positives. Meaning, it matters a lot more to them if the pick up a book that they don't enjoy, than it does if they miss a book that they would have enjoyed.
In this sense, a reader tries to pick up a book with a cover they like (and then if they're careful read through it a bit to see if they actually like it). So from the perspective of someone designing the book the cover is really important. It's the face of the book, so to speak. It's like dressing well for a job interview or a first date really.
On the other hand, from the reader's perspective, it doesn't seem like the cover matters so much... because it doesn't so much effect the experience itself as help decide *which* experience we have.

[troyciesco]

Sometimes for me it's not just the cover art - when I'm at the library or a bookstore I usually pick up books that look older. To me it's cool to read a book that people would have seen as brand new during WWII or something. So an appealing cover design is usually important, but sometimes less is more.

[Dphaber]

To me, at least when selecting a book in a store, it's initially the most important aspect of the process. If a book catches my eye with its cover, and only if that happens, I will read the description and consider buying it.

[Loveabull]

As a cat lover, the young adult series "Cat Warriors" has the most absolutely awesome covers

[Megan Young]

I think its a good to see a book with a nice cover but it really doesnt matter to me at all, I will read anything!

[scuba_steves]

Covers are incredibly important. If it's a non-descript cover, like y'all said, it won't first catch your eye. It's like the plain kid in school. They're usually really interesting and/or smart and/or one of the best friends you'll ever have, but because they tend towards being a wallflower, you miss out. It's sad, but it's something all authors worry about and strive to achieve: that cover that is just right. Gotta play the market. Gotta get into the buyer's mind.