r/BookCovers • u/LaPasseraScopaiola • Feb 07 '26
Question Judging by the cover?
Honest question, do people really judge a book by its cover? Especially for e-books? I can't remember a single one. What is important for me it's that the book doesn't start losing pages.
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u/shoemilk Feb 07 '26
100% the cover gets me to click on the link to read the blurb.
No matter how recommended it is to me, I won't read a book that has a dude with an 8-pack or a woman with tits bigger than her head on it.
Sure, you could ask me about the cover later and I probably couldn't even tell you what COLOR is was, but I guarantee that the cover got me to click the link
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u/LaPasseraScopaiola Feb 07 '26
I agree I also wouldn't read a book with tits on the cover because I don't read romance. But I would read a book without any cover, just solid colour, and a title. So, a cover can only work as a deterrent for me. I'm quite sure I'm in the minority. And I agree that some of the covers in this sub are very nice.
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u/drekiaa Feb 07 '26
A cover that is a solid color with an interesting title can still be interesting because I may wonder why the author chose something so simple.
Simple does not always mean unappealing.
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u/DLBergerWrites Feb 07 '26
Absolutely. Every sighted person judges every cover. Some of them don't realize it. Some of them won't admit it. But even at a glance, a cover tells you so much about genre, content, and vibe.
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u/DarlingBri Feb 07 '26
The point of the cover is to make you click it, not make you remember it. You judge books by their covers all the time.
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u/cksfuntime Feb 07 '26
In ways, yeah. Just avoid generative AI imo... i avoid AI slop like the plague, i dont care how good the story is or seems.
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u/EarHonest6510 Feb 07 '26
Yes, the cover is an important part of the art piece of a book as a whole. It’s the first thing you see and notice about the book most often, even before the first sentence or blurb.
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u/Darkovika Feb 07 '26
Yes. A cover is a visual representation of the work you have put into your book. If a person sees something drawn in 5 minutes in MS Paint, then they will take that and apply it to the work within.
It’s the exact same reason you wouldn’t walk into a job interview for a nice company in like torn jeans and stains and bad body odor. You try to show people “Yes, I DO know how to apply effort in a way you can understand with just a quick glance.”
A book cover conveys that care to a reader who knows jack shit about you or your book, and who you are asking to take a risk and sacrifice time on your project.
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u/cazroline Feb 07 '26
Its not an overall deciding factor, but a good cover will get me to pick up something I'm not familiar with. I've also had a very good hit rate with books Micaela Alcaino has designed the covers for, so I tend to seek those out as she seemingly has very similar tastes to me!
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u/FiWriterSFF Feb 07 '26
I was at an event with a friend of mine who published several books. I watched as she made her one sale because the buyer liked the cover.
So, yes, covers do matter!
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u/Dragonshatetacos Feb 07 '26 edited Feb 07 '26
Yes, it matters. It's your first and primary marketing tool.
Edit: Fixed typo
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u/GerfnitAuthor Feb 07 '26
Since people can’t absorb the words through telepathy, the only thing they have to go on is an instinctual reaction to the cover of the book. That’s unfortunate, because some of my novels are pretty damn good, but I cheaped out and created the cover myself. I expect I’ve lost sales because of it.
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u/FiWriterSFF Feb 07 '26
It's important to be able to convey genre. If a science fiction looks like a textbook, it'll probably get passed by. Likewise, there are readers who avoid AI-generated covers.
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u/FattierBrisket Feb 07 '26
I'm sad you don't have a link on your profile. Am intrigued to see exactly how bad these covers/how good the books are.
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u/GerfnitAuthor9 Feb 07 '26
http:www.gerfnit.com Guess which ones I made versus the ones I paid for.
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u/FattierBrisket Feb 07 '26
Oh wow you are not wrong about some of those! At least you can always change the covers later if you decide to.
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u/Dest-Fer Feb 07 '26
Yes, but it doesn’t have to be pretty or colorful. It needs to look neat and serious / pro.
In my country sobriety is wanted and many books just have the title on the cover.
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u/Wchijafm Feb 07 '26
When your browsing a large supply of books and have already narrowed down the category and there's still a dozen pages to sift thru: you have to get their attention to click it. They see the cover, title , author and maybe tags. Both cover and title need to convey what the book is about or pull the reader to want to see more. Then your blurb has to be concise and covey an honest but intriguing description of what its about.
A black book with just the title like "Waste" will be a scroll past. I dont know a dang thing about it and there are more than 100 choices to get thru.
Narrow down your niche as well as you can. Have a cover that represents the theme and causes intrigue and a title true to the book.
People always judge a book by its cover. I used to be in Barnes and noble for hours and the only thing I could see on the book was the spine, title and author. At least now you can have the full cover out in front.
As for author name I personally avoid (initial) (initial) last name. I was more tolerant of it 20 years ago when i was a teen, because women weren't as popular as writers and to appeal to a wide audience and sometimes even to get published they had to be ambiguous. Now its just edgy and lost its meaning. I also prefer to read things written by women so if I cant tell im more likely to pass the book by.
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u/askcldesigner Feb 07 '26
First impressions are something that just happen without us evening knowing, so, yes!!
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u/ObjectiveEye1097 Feb 08 '26
Absolutely. I can sometimes overlook a cover that has some minor flaws as long as it fits the genre, but if it doesn't fit the genre, I'll scroll right past.
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u/danielgonzalez_autor Feb 08 '26
Well, the cover is usually the most eye-catching thing about a book. It's happened to me before that I'm in a bookstore and I see a book with an amazing cover that makes me pick it up and read the back cover. Although the content is more important, the cover is what initially draws you in visually.
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u/hoos30 Feb 07 '26
Absolutely, yes.