Thursday, February 09, 2006

Cover Seduction

I'm having an odd problem with the book I'm currently reading. The book is okay, but though I've enjoyed this author's other work, I can't quite get into this one. That's not the problem. It's the cover. It's gorgeous. Stunning even. Every time I close the book, I see that cover and think I need to keep reading - with that cover, it's got to be awesome.

The even worse thing is, the book is part of a series and they all have these wonderful amazing covers. Part of me wants to buy the next book just to have a copy of that cover! Thankfully, I'm not that far gone, but the temptation is there.

It's the first time I've really felt the impact a cover can have on a book purchase - usually, I concentrate just on the story. And I didn't actually buy this book as a result of the cover either but because it was recommended to me by a bookseller I trust. However, I can definitely see how someone who was wavering over buying could be swayed by the cover. Have you ever been? How much do covers influence your book buying?

6 comments :

Maura Anderson said...

Hi Nalini - Nice to find your blog....

I don't usually buy ONLY based on covers but they definitely have an effect on me. Some of your covers I've really liked but if I hadn't already liked your work, I don't know that I would have picked up the latest Desire.

I know you don't choose the covers though :)

I think a cover of a newer author or an author new to a genre has a better chance of my picking it up if it is striking and catches my attention. It will get me to pick up the book and read the blurb and maybe leaf a few pages at least.

More established authors I am more willing to disregard a ho hum or, on a few occasions, a downright ugly cover for though.

Colleen Gleason said...

I love good covers, and yes, I will pick up a book and be inclined to buy it if it has a fabulous cover.

One that recently seduced me was Lady Anne's Dangerous Man by Jeane Westin. What a fantastic cover! I haven't read it yet, but that's one of the reasons I bought it.

I've read over and over from booksellers that a good cover does make a difference, and I agree. If it gets you to pick up the book, half the battle to get you to buy it is over.

Nalini Singh said...

Welcome Maura and Colleen :)

Maura, what you said about an eye-catching cover for a new author being important is such a good point. It definitely gives them an extra step up.

Colleen, I totally agree with you re winning the battle to have a prospective buyer pick up a book. With so much on the shelves, anything that makes a book stand out and get into a reader's hands, has to be a good thing.

The rest I guess is as Emma says, up to what's inside the covers. Emma - would you ignore an ugly cover for an established author?

Nalini Singh said...

p.s. Maura - thanks for the compliment on my covers. I think my personal favorite would probably be the Craving Beauty one. It just feels so evocative.

Maura Anderson said...

Actually the cover of Craving Beauty is my favorite of yours and up there with a lot of my favorites... :) It's the cover that first got me to buy your work.

Nalini Singh said...

Maura, that confirms my (very unscientific) feeling that Craving Beauty's sales were influenced a lot by the cover. I guess I'll have to wait for the numbers to figure out the reality. :)