Judging a book by its cover

Let’s start where most readers start – that moment when you pick up a new book for the first time. What are the things you look at? What makes you decide to read it?

There are a few things, most of them subtle details, that are part of this exterior experience.

Book thickness is one of the first things you may notice. The thickness should correspond to the type of story within. If the book appears too thick or too thin compared to the proposed plot line, the reader will surmise that the story is covered with either too much or too little detail, both of which will discourage them from reading. A book should only be as long as is necessary to tell the story well.

The physical interior matters too. Small or strange fonts will dissuade many, as well as overly thin pages. I myself am a fan of good paper quality: a little thicker than average with sheared edges. Some people prefer pictures, others don’t.

Now, let’s talk about cover design. This is a big deal. Many, especially visually-oriented people, will, in fact, judge the book by its cover. So publishers know that the exterior look will affect how many and what type of people will choose to read it. Some readers will insist that it’s the content that matters more, and prefer a clean cut look. Others say that the more information offered on the outside, the better.

The argument is based on a very important question: what is the purpose of a book? 

If the purpose is to sell lots of copies and make the author and publisher successful, then the exterior of the book is basically a commercial, meant to promote itself.

If the purpose is to produce good, well written, enjoyable literature, then the exterior should only offer enough to encourage the reader to believe that it is just that, and worth their time to read.

Some final points I would like to throw in:

                     - The author’s name should never be larger than the book’s title.

                    - I despise those book reviews on the back that say “Thrilling!” and “A must read!” These offer me zero incentive to read the book and take up valuable space that could be giving me a description of the story. As if someone would review “You should read this eventually”

                 -If I can’t find even a brief summary of the story, on the back or on the inside cover, it is very unlikely that I will read that book. How on earth am I supposed to know if the story is something I’d like?  Unless the readers get a good reference from a friend, or enjoy reading something unexpected, they will probably not read it.

Let me know what you think about these things. What physical traits make you choose a particular book?

Ahh writing. A sacred art. The power of the written word. Many have, at one time or another, made a grab at that elusive title of “Author”. Yet few, very few, have succeeded.

Why is that? What is it about particular a book that makes it more successful than the others? Who gets a say in what succeeds anyways?

Any person who has aspired to be a writer has heard this story before:

(Spoken in a crochety old person’s voice) “You need to get used to rejection. You’ll have to send your work to dozens of publishers, no doubt. You’ll need to build up some thick skin. I received ___ (ridiculous number) of rejection letters back in the day, and look at me now!”

I’m not saying that this story isn’t true. Classic underdog stories abound. However, I want to point out something. It may seem a little obvious, but seeing as no one has said it before…

Who exactly is working in these publishing companies?

I mean, if their only job is to spot talent and siphon out the “unchosen” it doesn’t sound like they are doing this very well.

So let’s throw away the official definitions of good writing. Find your textbooks and your “How to Get Published for Dummies” book and chuck them to the back of your closet. Lets talk about what works, and what doesn’t work, for real people.

Everyone has read a book before; most of us do so frequently. We have all had that moment when we just stop reading, look at the book in our hand with raised eyebrows, and simply put it down, never to finish it. There are specific things that we, the readers, like to see in a book. So let’s talk about them.

One more note for you. Because I myself read mostly fiction, and I am writing a fiction book, you should expect me talk mostly about writing as it relates to fiction. However, if you consider yourself a nonfiction expert, or if you don’t know anything but you have an opinion (most people fall under this category), please feel free to chime in and add some dimension to our discussion.