When looking through a bookshelf, be it physical or virtual, the first thing you usually see is the cover. When looking for my next read, I’m often captivated by a beautiful cover design and feel compelled to check out a book. This is even more the case when I don’t know the author. You know, you can throw any Stephen King book at me with whatever cover, and I’ll read it. Because I know him, love his writing, therefore I don’t need anything else apart from his name to make me read his stuff.
When it comes to authors I’ve never heard of however, it’s a little bit more difficult. I don’t know who they are, what genre they do, how they write. I need something to intrigue me. Sure, we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s face it, we kind of do. A tacky, unprofessional looking cover is not going to fill me with confidence in the quality of the writing, even though I could be completely wrong. Probably will never know as I won’t read it. Ha!
So when it comes to creating an appealing product (because no matter how you put it, a book is a product you intend to sell and profit from), all those creative people out there whose job is to design beautiful covers sure have their work cut out for them.
I’m sure you noticed there are certain trends that crop up and are used frequently. Just think of all those mystery thrillers with a woman in all kinds of colorful coats.
Or the movie covers, hated by so many. Do flower arrangements ring a bell? It can be hard to distinguish one book from another, to be honest, but it’s not impossible to create variety within the same theme.
Covers that are way to generic just appear sloppy, and say nothing about the story itself. An image that you can slap onto any book and it will still sort of work is just sort of lazy in my eyes.
But when two books literally have the exact same cover? Sure, there’s a little bit of photoshopping, like different filters, a slightly different perspective. However it’s easy to see it’s the same bloody thing.
What happened to creativity?
If I were an author and someone did this to my book, I’d be quite a bit offended. You see, these two books are coming out around the same time. Now imagine, one of them turns out to be hated by people, and you are the author of the other one. Wouldn’t you worry that people will shun your book, because after a quick glance they think it’s the other one?
I certainly hope this won’t be the case here, and I wish both of these authors all the best with their book.
My favourite type of cover? The ones that were clearly created with the book in mind. They depict something essential to the story, and work wonders to enhance the product, rather than just simply describing it. Just look at these beauties! They are part of the story…
Oh gosh, that’s bad. If I were an author, I’d definitely be offended. I suppose many use stock images and can’t keep track of what’s been used before? Still, it is rather lazy and terribly confusing for us readers.
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I know, right?
I guess it’s cheaper, but in the long run could damage sales…
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I don’t know why but this coat collection made me laugh 😀
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Excellent post, Norrie. The woman in the coat is becoming the customary cover image for mysteries and thrillers! As for the houses, I can’t believe they used literally the exact same cover!
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Yes, women in coats are a thing! 😀
It was so obviously the same, it took me a while to realize they were not the same book. Kept looking at it, thinking “i’m sure i added this to my list already, so why it’s not on it?” 😀
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Fun one! From what I heard authors don’t have any say in the cover until they see it, when I heard this, my jaw dropped. I will write a whole book and then I won’t have a say in cover! I can’t imagine it. I agree with you that book covers should reflect the spirit of the book, or else why do they exist?? I guess writers just cross their fingers, toes, whatever is available to wait and see their covers. x
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Yea, it’s pretty sad… I mean authors probably think their precious book is in expert hands, and then this happens
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Especially thrillers, no? I’d be mad 🙈
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Second time that I am seeing different books with the exact same cover. The first was ‘Not Her Daughter’ by Rea Frey and ‘The Birthday’ by Carol Wyer. Loved both books but didn’t like the cover things. It is crazy and you have a good point about the covers affecting how the books are perceived. Like you, I prefer when covers are closely related to the story and not generic.
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Oh, Damn, you are right! They just changed the color of the shoe… well, that explains a lot. I have the Carol Wyer book, and Amazon kept suggesting the other one, and every time i look at the cover i’m like “i’m pretty sure i have this already”… 😀
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That woman in the red coat whose back faces us is on SO many covers! Authors should beware of making these kinds of mistakes in packaging because their branding is at stake.
I remember when self publishing started becoming more popular and covers were just awful or you saw the same stock photography popping up everywhere. Now we’re seeing publishers getting lazy with covers. Like you, I want to see the cover link to the inside story in meaningful ways and love the examples you show above.
I know a lot of independent or self published authors who understand that presentation matters and invest in covering their product exceptionally. It makes such a big difference in potential readers stopping and giving a book a second look or moving on.
Great post, Norrie💜
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Yea, i’m thinking when they self publish they have a say in the cover but may still end up picking something that is just wrong or has been used to death.
When it’s published via a publisher, I would expect much higher quality, but it doesn’t always seem to be the case.
Not sure if they are trying to save on production cost or what, but it’s not really doing anyone any favours i think…
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I agree, Norrie. This is not where you want to be saving money. FYI, I heard the story of an indie author who was self publishing his first book, a mystery/thriller. He visited a lot of bookstores and noted that the covers of most books in the genre were professional and really well done. He invested in a good cover artist and hand delivered supplies to bookstores who gave him great store space because the book LOOKED so good. He attributes that cover to launching his successful career.
Sometimes you CAN judge a book by its cover.
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Oh, that’s cool! Seems like he did his homework properly 😀
I mean all kinds of brands put so much effort into their design and packaging. Part of my work is we test different package designs for various stuff on consumers to see which they like most, would make them buy the most.
A book is the same thing 🙂
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I’ve never thought of the coated woman before but she is everywhere!😂
And I can’t believe they used the same cover! Could they not at least have taken a picture of a different door??
That really has blown my mind!
I understand that doing the cover is a part of the branding and marketing of the book which would tend to fall under the publishers job, but would it be so bad for them to work with the author? If my book got given a bad cover I would be so god damn pissed, especially if it got given the exact same cover as someone else! I mean c’mon!
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It’s like it’s an invasion! 😀
And then also these covers just make me think, what the story has to do with doors? 😀
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I am one of those people who don’t like movie covers! 🙂
I have noticed many books have similar covers, and it makes me sad. It doesn’t help the author or the novel to find their readers. I like many of Orenda Books covers because they really look for things that make the book even more original.
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I’m always upset when my kindle books automatically update to movie covers… Even though when i bought them they looked completely different. Kinda want to have the option to choose, ya know… 😀
Those Orenda covers are really pretty indeed! They do match the story and seem like they are purposefully made 🙂
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I think in some ways, the internet obviated the need for good cover art in most mediums. After all, it can have the best cover in the world, and that won’t matter if the story is terrible. It’s a shame people underestimate the power of a good cover because it still makes your work stand out from that of your peers. And you’re right – film poster art has become very boring over the years. If it’s a AAA film, you can expect a lot of bright colors, and if it’s an indie film, you can expect it to be boringly simplistic – no more advanced than a photo you yourself may have taken.
Pretty much the only mediums that have interesting covers anymore are music and video games. The former by default requires a lot of imagination considering it’s one of the few non-visual mediums people regularly consume (if not, the only one) whereas the latter, to its credit, tends to operate on very out-there premises, meaning you would have to try to give the game in question boring cover art.
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That’s such a good point, about being able to publish anything and just slap whatever cover onto it. I think when it’s actually unexpected to see sloppy and generic covers is when the book is published by a traditional publisher, where i’d expect some more thought & quality.
Video game covers are pretty cool! I haven’t been playing that often nowadays, but every now and then i just browse the stuff. ❤
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I’m with you on this, I hate seeing silly, generic covers, which put me off a book straight away. And poor authors probably get no say in what happens in the marketing dept. to their covers, unless they’re maybe, Stephen King! 😉
When all is said and done, it makes the publisher look like a cheapskate doing this kind of thing, and have a lack of belief in the author. Which is crackers, given the whole point is they want to sell books, right?
As for those two authors in your example? I feel for them. I didn’t particularly like either cover and wouldn’t be interested in reading a dull book, with a dull cover.
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Right? It’s like they don’t want to sell them, just making a halfhearted attempt 😀 I imagine it’s cheaper to get these covers done, but in the long run…? Meh, i don’t know, but it doesn’t look good.
I quite like the door image with the greenish filter, but at the same time, what does that have to do with the book? 😀 Yea, it’s a house, the main character lives in a house. So do other people… LOL.
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It just defies any sense of logic to go this route. And really doesn’t say much about the publisher either. I mean, who do they have doing these covers? A blind person? Even Google’s weird AI pics make more sense.
I guess I’ve been spoilt too with all the neat SF and fantasy cover artwork out there, where a little more thought goes into the covers. And they hire “real” artists. Ha! Ha!
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I know, right? I’ve seen some really beautiful covers on recent sci-fi books i’ve been checking out.
I think a good cover should be like and investment. At my work we did a few studies for publishers who were testing different covers to see which worked best for the target audience 😀
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I think now, more than ever, with SFFH books, we’re seeing some amazing stuff on the covers. So it’s just boggling that a publisher sets up a book to fail with such generic artwork as a front door. Maybe they think blind people buy books? LMAO!
Oh, now that’s interesting. What do you do for work that you get to do stuff like that?
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Ah, just good old market research 🙂 It’s mostly boring, but every now and then we come across some juicy stuff! 😀
There was the book stuff, and one time a yogurt brand was testing out flavour ideas for xmas. That was some crazy stuff! Most of those flavours never made it into the public, but there were some edgy ones, like the Mulled Wine yogurt, LOL 😀
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Ooo, market research can have its upside, as you say, when some interesting stuff comes across your desk. I like the sound of the yogurts, yum. I guess it’s not a boring job if you get to sample, eh, some of the stuff you research. 😉
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As if!
Unfortunately it’s rare we get to try stuff.
I do love trying crazy flavors too 😀
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I love the post title! You’re absolutely right. I expected to see the new Snake in this post too but you also brought solid evidence. Well done 🙂
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Oh, no i don’t know that one! Plus i’m terrified of snakes, so prolly wouldn’t have looked at the cover at length… assuming it has actual snakes on it 😀
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All the 2019 releases have snakes on covers it is crazy!
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Oh dear… i certainly don’t like that trend 😀 😀
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I also have noticed that cover designers are becoming less creative recently and many ideas for covers for thrillers especially are being repeated. I guess there are only so many “girl/women/daughter/wife” titles that go well with their covers and after a while they all merge into one. Great post!
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Oh, yes, those titles as well…
I remember a few years ago I wanted to buy the Girl on the Train, and accidentally ended up buying A Girl on A Train… ugh.
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Wow, they really are all so similar, Norrie! That’s super confusing too! No wonder I end up buying more than one copy of the same book sometimes! (Probably not really the reason?! 😂 I’m just disorganized with my books!). I love a standout cover and loved your examples at the bottom!
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I love how Amazon tells me if i already bought a book on kindle… but yea, when it comes to buying a paperback in the charity, i always have to look through my kindle app to make sure i don’t have that book already
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Love this post! So many standard thriller books have very similar covers nowadays. I read The People at Number 9 (didn’t enjoy it) and that has a similar door cover to the ones you featured!!
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Ah, you just reminded me of this book called The Family at Number 13. Didn’t like that one either. It has the door & the woman in a coat 😀
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Ah, doubly unoriginal!
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Preach it! I think a lot of it comes down to publishers cutting pennies wherever they can and not giving two figs for the book or author.
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It seems so!
Like, there’s no long term planning behind these designs.
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This is such a relatable post. Although I feel like it is quite difficult to find a proper cover for mysteries and thrillers… in the end they’d just use a similarly vibed picture and color scheme to evoke mystery and darkness.
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Yea, that makes sense.
I mean, they got the darkness part right, just not the part where we can tell the books apart from each other 😀
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When I browse in a bookstore I often go by covers so, yes, they definitely should give a hint about the plot!
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Same here!
If the cover is good enough, i’ll defo check it out 🙂
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Usually it works pretty good! But I bet I miss out on lots because of “bad” covers… 😦
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I’ve never really noticed such similar book covers, so I’m like, “Wow!” They’re all like almost exactly the same.
I have noticed similar trends among movie poster design though. So I guess it should not be surprising that books do likewise.
Fun post!
I’d say, yeah, publishers or authors might wanna be a bit more creative in their covers.
Funny, a post about reading covers under the covers (blankie). I like it!
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Oh, good point! I don’t really watch movies, so haven’t noticed.
I’ll soon become the undercover cover-investigator. LOL 😀
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I think some authors have very distinctive covers that you recognize easily like Emma Scott or Suanne Laqueur or …but yes I do think many covers should be more imaginative!
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Yup, like they have an actual brand or something! I like that! ❤
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Oh my goodness. I’ve never really seen the ‘woman in red coat’ thing before but you’re right. Now I’ve seen it I can’t un-see it. I even have a thriller book that has woman in red coat on the cover and never thought anything of it until now!
I think there’s ‘being inspired by’ and ‘common themes/ images’ when designing covers but not the outright copying that is occurring with the door example above. I wonder who created it first? It’s too similar to be simply a trend surely? I’d be incredibly annoyed if I were the author.
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I totally believe that publishers should look into investing in book covers today. I often purposely ignore a book because of its cover design even if the book might be good. A good cover can make a lot of people want to pick up the book regularly and finish it too!
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Yea, i’m the same… if the cover is not something i like, i’m not going to be inclined to read it…
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Oh wow, those covers are all so…bad. LOL I mean, if you’re going to copy-paste, at least copy something that’s pretty and eye-catching. This does remind of an article that came out recently about how girls holding weapons on fantasy covers (especially YA) is overused and dull. That got people pretty pissed off.
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Oh, is it? 😀 Goes to show i don’t look at many fantasy. It sort of makes sense tho – i mean it has characters with cool weapons, so that goes with the story. Hehe. Unless they copy/paste the same woman with the same weapon on everything…
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Oh my god, I totally agree with all of this! And yes. I’m totally guilty of judging books by their covers. But, like, how can you not??
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Great examples Norrie!! I totally think that a cover reflects what the publisher thinks of the book. The more unique it is the better they think of it. There are of course trends in books and people respond to those trends so they work on some level… but I agree that designers should design with that specific book in mind. ❤️ Great discussion!!
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Thank you 🙂
And you are so right… if the publisher doesn’t care, it kinda makes me think why i should…
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Totally agree. I really love it when a cover is both eye-catching and fits the book in a truly unique way.
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Right?
It sort of makes sense… if everything looks the same, we perceive them that they are the same thing and there’s no reason to look again. 🙂
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FIRST OF ALL, HOW DARE YOU remind me 2 girls 1 cup exists with this title.
Secondly whoa at those two books, that is so weird??? Like I always find it funny with there are obvious parallels/inspiration for designs but that is bad. I wonder if it was the same cover designer.
Like you, i love when the cover obviously relates to the story itself! Great post, sin of the title aside.
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LOL!! Also eww 😀 😀
I think if it’s the same person designing both covers it’s even worse. Like “dude, have you even tried…??” 😀
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I haven’t read Fangirl but I lovelovelove the cover, too. ♡ I’ve totally seen two different books with the same cover but colored differently! I always wondered how the heck they get away with straight up copying like that?!
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Oh My God, I’ve been seeing that GIRL in every mystery thrillers book that I don’t want to read them anymore. I hate it coz I find the covers disturbing.
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* pushing glasses up my nose * Okay. A few minutes ago I vowed to myself I wouldn´t leave such a LONG comment under your posts today but this, THIS, is right up my alley * now pushing invisible sleeves up arms * I laughed so hard when I read
`Probably will never know as I won’t read it. Ha!` Yupp. I hear you. Loud and clear, even. It´s mind-boggling that someone would ever think they could sell a product with poor taste/quality. I´m always sitting here thinking ” You´ve got to be fucking kidding me” Imagine 1 book with 230 pages and a poor cover for a grand total of 16 euros. Ha! Nice try. The mystery thrillers with the women in coats… shocking. From all the images in the entire world, these make it on those covers? A clear case of “what worked for that one book will probably work for the next one.”.
Movie covers- Do you like them?
The same houses / doors- * holding breath *
I agree with you on the covers that have the book in mind.
To your question: YES!! Some cover designers really need to put a little more effort into their work.
Rant. Over.
( I´m sorry for the huge comment. )
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Oh gosh you’re so right about this! There are a lot of cover designers who do an amazing job, but there are some who just ripoff the same designs and I can’t tell their covers apart!
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They are pretty uninspired i must say
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What a bizarre messed up & sad happening. So I guess it’s ok to ditch creativity while in the business of creativity? Shame… Thanks for sharing
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Weird, right? And the other week i saw a 3rd book with the same cover. Don’t remember what it was called tho…
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Yeah that’s too weird…
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