“Never judge a book by its cover” — it’s a classic adage, yet many people still enjoy selecting books based on the magical and mystical designs on the book jacket. While an eye-catching cover isn’t meant to tell you that the content is worth reading, it can certainly draw enough attention to make people take notice. But is this a cynical marketing ploy, or should we indeed judge a book by its cover?

Iconic designs that capture the imagination

There’s no denying that some book covers are genuinely memorable. Take Anthony Burgess’s disturbing tale, “A Clockwork Orange,” with its faceless character and distinctive eye makeup. Or F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous hovering ghostly face in “The Great Gatsby,” and even the monochrome, cubist “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. Some book covers are etched into the psyche, though it’s more likely due to their content.

What is the prettiest book cover? You be the judge

The cover often serves as a potential reader’s initial interaction with a book and can significantly influence its success in the fiercely competitive publishing industry. It acts as a marketing tool, conveying crucial information about the book’s genre, tone, storyline, and content.

“Malamander” author Thomas Taylor writes, “They say a good cover tells you how it will feel to read the book.” When discussing using a designer to create his book cover, he adds: “Photography, painted or decorative elements that conjure a sense of the story for the reader and entice them in, are complex considerations and easy to overdo.”

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Nowadays, authors typically invest between $300 and $700 in their projects, though this figure can rise to $2,000 or more, depending on the company involved. Costs can vary significantly when hiring a professional designer. There is also a high value put on social-media-friendly book covers. 

In 2020, OnBuy.com, a UK online marketplace similar to Shopify, conducted a search on Instagram and found that the book cover most frequently featured on the social media platform was Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” appearing in 181,000 posts. It was closely followed by “Heir of Fire” by Sarah J. Maas, which appeared in 154,000 posts. Overall, the “Harry Potter” series was the most Instagrammed book series.

OnBuy found that the most popular colours on the top Instagrammed book covers were red and black. Green ranked third, featured on almost one-third (38 per cent) of these visually striking covers.The site conducted a survey of 2,201 people, revealing that 44 per cent have purchased a book solely based on its cover.

The rise of digital book covers – not all covers are created equally

In her 2019 study titled “How Are Book Covers and Their Components Represented in the Digital Market?“, author Sophie Darling explores the representation and adaptation of book covers in the digital marketplace. She notes that the emergence of ebooks in the late 1990s was once predicted to herald the decline of printed books. However, after reaching a peak in 2014, ebook sales have levelled off, while sales of hardcover books have experienced a resurgence.

This trend is supported by research from the Publishing Association, which showed that ebook sales dropped by 17 per cent in 2016, while print book sales increased by 8 per cent. Despite their less dramatic impact, ebooks have significantly influenced cover design for both print and digital formats. There is a substantial industry dedicated to creating book cover designs.

She writes: “The function of a digital cover lies purely in its aesthetics and information. This is why it is only needed in the sense and size of a thumbnail on a webpage. But, as its main function in the bookselling process, a cover’s ‘thumbnailability’ is crucial to a book’s success.”

As the book cover’s role in publicity diminishes, a crucial question emerges: Do the appearance and aesthetics of the book cover still matter? A designer quoted in the discussion notes, “The cover is less important as an object of beauty as it is not on show as much. It doesn’t sit on the coffee table or get seen on the bus.” In this context, the aesthetic appeal of a book cover remains closely tied to its function as a marketing tool.

Blind Date with a Book: challenging traditional aesthetics

Blind Date with a Book originated at Elizabeth’s Bookshops in Australia, although it seems the store is currently inactive. This concept was developed in response to customers seeking book recommendations from booksellers. To inspire customers to explore titles they might not typically select, staff members curated a collection of lesser-known books. These were wrapped in the store’s signature brown paper and adorned with a few cryptic hints on the front. Former director, Rory Schmitz, stated that it was “an instant hit with the consumers”.

Although they lack the visual appeal of traditional print book covers, the aesthetics of their products are still captivating. The original covers of the books are replaced with signature brown paper packaging, secured with string, and embellished with the iconic Blind Date with a Book logo.

Along with this, the company leveraged their visually appealing packaging to engage with the #bookstagram community. Their Instagram account, @ablinddatewithabook, showcases some of the books they have offered for sale. The account amassed over 30,000 followers and established its own hashtag — #blinddatewithabook. Although it has not been active recently, the hashtag has accumulated over 92,000 mentions.

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Hence, Blind Date with a Book demonstrates that removing the traditional cover does not diminish its aesthetic appeal, nor does it lessen the effectiveness of publicity and word-of-mouth marketing. They effectively embody their motto: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

That being said, with the rise of AI-generated ebooks, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish fake works from real ones. However, it is not yet entirely impossible. As a result, digital covers are perhaps more important now than ever before to stand out in a sea of artificially created images. Especially as the US recently ruled that AI-generated images would not be protected by copyright, which is another factor to consider.

Experts weigh in: aesthetic appeal and functional importance

Bill Catlette, from Contented Cow Partners and both an author and ghost-author, firmly believes in the power of book covers. “In the same fashion that each of us is judged (fairly or otherwise) by the way we present, books are judged by their covers (front and back.) Book covers sell books, period,” he told How To Be Books. 

Catlette recalled an instance where re-displaying copies of his “Contented Cows” books “face-out” at a Barnes & Noble led to increased sales, thanks to the cover’s unique design featuring a cow in a business suit. “I’ve stood at a distance and watched the book fly off the shelf,” he said.

Similarly, Barbara Basbanes Richter, a 20-year veteran of the publishing industry and the founder of DIYBook and In Ink Ghostwriting, stressed the importance of book covers in marketing. “Humans are visual creatures and dust jackets are designed to entice and sell the book housed within,” Richter explained.

The Writing for Immortality podcast host referenced the memoir of renowned book designer Chip Kidd, noting that an introduction by John Updike praised Kidd’s work for standing out in a field where instant impact is critical. “Is it enough to just have a great jacket? It’s a start,” she added, explaining that visually arresting jackets help a book get noticed among thousands.

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Elizabeth Jeannel, author, designer, and owner of Midnight Meadow Publishing, echoed the sentiment, reiterating the initial impact of a book’s cover. “Unfortunately, the cover is the first thing we judge a book by,” she remarked. 

Jeannel, who has over ten years of experience in cover design, believes in the cover’s power to convey the essence of a story without spoiling it.

Offering a more nuanced perspective, Book Notification owner Graeme McGaw said it’s not a good-bad binary. “I feel the phrase ‘judging a book by its cover’ has always been a bit of an extreme description, however, there is merit to it,” McGaw said. He noted that a good cover does not just attract but also communicates the book’s genre, potentially drawing in genre fans.

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Anna Jaworski, owner of Baby Hearts Press, highlighted the consequences of poor cover design. “A bad book cover can kill a great book,” she argued, stressing that to succeed, a book needs not just excellent content but also an engaging cover. 

“A good book cover is a reader’s entry to the content,” Jaworski added, underlining the importance of both front and back covers in engaging potential readers.

Shel Horowitz, a book shepherd with over 40 years in the publishing world, advocates for authors to invest in high-quality covers. “A quality cover tells readers the book was produced with care, not slapped together on a weekend,” he explained. Horowitz believes that both the cover and interior design of a book should meet or exceed the standards of large publishers, thereby enhancing its appeal to discerning readers.

While opinions vary slightly, the consensus among these publishing professionals is clear: book covers play a crucial role in attracting readers and should not be overlooked in the marketing process. Of course, this does raise the question of whether we have become more vain, with everything focusing on aesthetics, or whether we need help to absorb large amounts of information and are therefore relying on visuals. Either way, it seems that we are judging books by their covers, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon.