Judging A Book By It's Cover

Ooops....totally missed my fun Friday fact two days ago.  It's been one of those weeks (update coming soon!).  But work has been going well (and keeping me busy!).

One of the most exciting tasks I’ve been doing for my job lately is filling out “cover summary” forms.  These detailed documents are written by editors outlining their thoughts for the cover of upcoming books.   While others (especially marketing and publicity) also have a say in what the cover of a book will look like, the editor’s comments get the ball rolling.  We fill out suggestions such as who or what we want on the main cover, what the main character looks like, and who the potential audience for the book is.  A lot of thought goes into the cover look, and it’s exciting to have a say in the process.  

Recently CBS came out with a news clip about the process, which you can view here.

  

Some of my recent favorites include, Savvy by Ingrid Law, The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, Halo by Alexandra Adornetto and Torment by Lauren Kate.   I read the first two based on how appealing I found the covers and nothing else.  And while I have not yet read the last two, the iconic and beautiful images are what many YA paranormal covers aspire to look like.

What makes you pick up a book? Glittery images and embossed text? A pretty girl? Something iconic?  There are so many great options out there, but some covers are just meant to stand out!