Do YOU Judge a Book by its Cover?

As a Personal Branding Coach, I’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of authors on their Brands – what they write, how they package their work, how they present themselves on line –  even what they wear at booksignings. At some point during every one of those interactions, whether one-on-one or in a group, I’ve heard the same lament: I can control everything else… but I can’t do anything about my covers. I have limited (or no) sway over the marketing department, I don’t write the copy, I can’t even pick the cover models!

No matter if these authors were new or solidly mid-list, they all had chilling stories about The Horrifying Cover To End All Covers, or they were convinced that a Career-Killing Cover was just around the corner. I’m talking about the cover with the broken-necked heroine whose hair – gorgeously coiffed despite the driving rainstorm surrounding her – swirls and flies as if it has its own character arc. The cover with the hero, looking mysteriously androgynous from the neck up, and shockingly male (though hairless) from the neck down, who is gripping the heroine in a hold that would be considered illegal in most Blue States. The cover where the hero and heroine are bold! They are impassioned! And they look nothing like the characters in the book! To add insult to injury, the title has been changed from “Forgotten Whispers” to “Tantalizing Tongue Tango in Telluride” (though the book only mentions Telluride once… in a two-minute phone call…) and the back cover blurb appears to have been written by a breathless fourteen-year-old whose idea of true love starts with “I never thought it would happen to me…” You know… That cover.

Which got me thinking: What DOES convince a buyer to make an impulse purchase of a book, particularly in today’s economy? Is it the cover art, the title, the blurb on the back? The genre? The author’s name? The publisher?

I had this experience myself, this week. I was in a bookstore to buy something specific, and the store didn’t have the book I wanted. So there I was, with a coupon burning a hole in my pocket, and nothing in particular to buy. Should I leave without buying a book? That’s really not a possibility in my world. However, I was in a hurry. So I made a new selection within about 30 seconds, and I was off to the counter. How did I do it? Let’s run through the options that could have impacted my purchase:

1.  The Author?

Never heard of her. Still can’t remember her name, though I have a feeling I will after I read her book.

2.  The Title?

It wasn’t brilliant, but it caught my attention as a cheeky title for a paranormal (or a mystery, I wasn’t sure at first)-and I thought it was cool that the book had a subtitle, indicating that this book was part of a series. Importantly, I was only marginally hesitant over the fact that I might be coming into a series midway. There was nothing to indicate that this was “Book 1″, “Book 2″ or “Book 16″, but I didn’t care. I was hooked.

3.  The Cover Art?

Oh, yeah. It was period and gorgeous and slyly humorous, and the blurb at the lower left indicated without a doubt that the book was a paranormal. So a historical paranormal with humor, and it had a good cover quote by a “New York Times Bestselling Author”. I’m a bit cynical about those, but I know of and like the author who was quoted, so that still was a bonus for me.

4.  Publisher?

Never checked prior to buying the book. But you can bet I will going forward, particularly if the book lives up to its promise.

5.  The Back Cover Blurb?

Yup. After the cover art, a quick (and I mean QUICK) scan of the blurb tripped my trigger – it validated the cover’s approach to the book, and deepened it. In addition, the clear sense of continuity the book offered (that it was part of a series) made me think this was a world I might want to spend some time with.

And that was it. I spent somewhere around $5 on the book, with my coupon, and was wholly satisfied. I’ll stay satisfied until I read the book, too, and then my opinion will be improved or damaged depending on the quality of the work. Importantly, this is not a book that I must read by midnight tonight – because, truly, only a Must Read Author gets that kind of treatment from me. But it’s definitely in my To Be Read pile, and I’m absolutely intrigued with it.

So, in short: Those authors lamenting their dismay over The Horrifying Cover To End All Covers? Well, they have a definite point. Consumers today are harried, overloaded, and short on time and attention. Money is tight, and trying out a new author in particular is always a gamble. A cover can make the difference – but it still depends on a great story in many cases: if you have a so-so story, then not only will you not live up to your packaging, but chances are you won’t have an amazing cover. If you have a BRILLIANT story, you have a much better shot at a brilliant cover… fabulous blurb copy… and a sale.

For me, choosing a book by an author new to me was made easier by a combination of art and back-cover blurb. A great author quote can’t hurt, even though I know that’s probably just spin. If I had to nail it down to JUST ONE THING, however, it’d take the cover blurb for me to make the decision – but in most cases, the art would still help get me to read that blurb.

What about you? Why do you pick up a book-and what convinces you to buy it, especially if you don’t recognize the author? Are there any covers that you can recall that stuck with you-for good or ill? (Speak in generalities only-remember, every cover out there DID seem like a good idea to someone at the time!)