Does having a professionally done cover ever help *sell* a book?

[Willowhugger]

Just curious.

:-)

[Josh]

What do you mean by professionally done? You mean aside from drawing the cover art yourself? Most publishing houses have either in-house designers or freelance designers who work on the cover art. And yes, good cover art helps sell a book. Absolutely. Why? Because, aside from the title (and unless you have amazing name recognition as an author), it's pretty much the only thing that tends to draw a book buyer's eye to the shelf in the first place and makes them realize the book exists at all. Sure, people read the blurbs and description, but just stroll through a bookstore and see what books grab your attention more. Those with well-designed, intriguing covers tend to be the most noticeable and make you want to pick them up and see what they are about. Anyone can say, "Don't judge a book by it's cover," but that is often times exactly what people do. Good cover art will never hurt your book sales. And the more people who are drawn to the book by the cover, the more likely it is someone will buy it.


www.jrvogt.com

[blgarver]

I started reading Dresden Files because of the cover of Proven Guilty.

[Velkyn_Faer]

Yeah, a pleasing cover won't hurt a bit. As Josh said, people do judge books by their covers, and an ugly cover has sometimes turned me away from a book, I'm sorry to say.

[Josh]

This is why, speaking as someone who works within publishing, you often see different covers for different versions of the book. In otherwords, if a book doesn't do so great in hardcover, they may totally redesign the paperback issue, not only to be cheaper, but to have better, or at least different cover art in the hope of redeeming sales for the hardcover. Plus, some artwork becomes iconic to the series (such as the Dresden figure, of course) and this often gives the publishers the chance to go back, reissue old books under new covers, and thus loyal fans will flock to the stores and buy the book solely to have cover art that matches for the entire series. Not that this is a bad thing for the author, because they then get more money and are able to spend more time writing.


www.jrvogt.com

[Cathy Clamp]

Oh my yes! I can't begin to TELL you how many people picked up our March release, TOUCH OF EVIL, because of the cover. http://www.ciecatrunpubs.com/touch.htmBlack leather and skin . . . what's not to love? 

[Dom]

Do you mean sell a book to a publisher, or to sell the book to the public once a publisher picks it up?

It does help sell it to the public.  I'm a coverart whore and I'll at least look at books based on coverart, and if a known series changes its coverart to something I don't like, I'll complain bitterly of course!   

Take the new Anne McCaffrey pern covers...ew!  Who would replace Whelan coverart with that bland stuff?!

But anyway...yeah, I'm shallow in the coverart department.

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

if a known series changes its coverart to something I don't like, I'll complain bitterly of course!   

I will too, but that's not because I care about what the covers actually are, that's just perfectly normal obsessive-compulsive wanting things to match.

[Richelle Mead]

Yeah, I think covers make a difference.  I mean, even the most beautiful cover in the world won't make a difference if I read the back and think it sucks.  But, a cover can get me to notice a good book I might otherwise have missed.  Someone told me they picked up my book because of the cover, and I nearly passed out.  That being said, authors are in the hands of the marketing department when it comes to covers.  We have little input!  I've heard some scary things about the next succubus cover and am hoping for the best on that one.

[Tasmin21]

Now, established authors please correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it possible to add some kind of "approval" clause into your contract?  ie:  I can't draw a lick, so I can't design my own covers, but I would like to have SOME say so in the artwork on my books some day.

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

Now, established authors please correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it possible to add some kind of "approval" clause into your contract?  ie:  I can't draw a lick, so I can't design my own covers, but I would like to have SOME say so in the artwork on my books some day.

To my knowledge most of the big publishers in the US are very hardline about not giving authors cover approval, having been burned by authors making such a fuss as to delay book releases significantly a couple of times.

[[beatle mania]]

Hm. It depends. My sister bought the book Nightlife merely because the guy on the cover was hot.

On the flipside, the drawing of Alec on the cover of Luck in the Shadows looks nothing like how he is described and is ugly, but the good things I heard about the book overshadowed that.

I think the art and the name have to be snazzy or the reader will likely look to the next book, personally, but it all depends. A professionally done cover isn't going to do crap if it doesn't pop.

[alben5k]

Covers make a big differance. Bad cover art turns me away form a book, I don't have a rational reason other than 'instinct.' If I don't feel right about the book, why would I spend $5-$15 on it just to test the theory?
I usually do most of my shopping on Amazon, but that's only for books recomended to me, so cover art in that respect doesn't really matter.
When I do go to my favorite bookstore down in the mall, they don't have a place for me to sit down and try the book. And anyway, I'm a bad judge of whether a book will be good without reading a chapter or two. I am terrible that way, so if my instincts say 'nay' I stay away... Ooh, now I can write a poem on books.

I always judge books by their cover,
I like to say I'm a book lover,
but if my instincts say nay,
I will stay away,
and run like the wind for some cover.

Hrm, it could use some work. I used Cover twice in that poem... What else rhymes with cover? oh well, I just made it in like 2 minutes.

The short answer to your question is yes.

[Mickey Finn]

Covers make a big dif, but are not the only factor, as evidenced by Lois McMaster Bujold, who used to have horrible covers, and now is either tied or right behind Heinlein in the "number of hugos" contest.