a (hard)cover story
By Jael McHenry | October 4, 2010 |
It’s the cliche beyond the cliche: we do, nearly all of us, judge a book by its cover. A cover image that’s beautiful, arresting, and/or unique will draw the eye of potential readers, and a less interesting cover can certainly turn a potential reader off. It isn’t the end-all be-all — it seems unlikely that The Help was propelled to its year-plus stint on the NYT bestseller list by faded pastel birds alone — but what’s on the cover matters, matters, matters.
But there’s another aspect of the cover that matters, too: is it hard or soft? A paperback or a hardcover? The book inside is the same, right? Does it, should it, matter to the reader?
And as a writer, does it matter to you?
Across the past decade, I was pretty single-minded: I wanted to get a book published. That was it. Publication was the holy grail. I never thought much about whether the book itself would have hard sides or soft ones, and when the publisher offered a contract it was for a hardcover release with the paperback coming a year after in the usual fashion, and I went on not thinking about it in the least until one day my agent said: they’re thinking about maybe switching to a paperback launch.
And then I thought about it for serious, believe you me.
The pros and cons of a trade paperback debut are revisited periodically by the major media, so you can read them almost anywhere, but here’s a brief recap. Pros: a lower price point encourages readers to take a chance on an author they don’t know; paperbacks can go a lot of places hardcover debuts never go, like Target; and with these two things encouraging sales, it’s a less risky approach, a safer bet. Cons: a single paperback launch means you miss out on the two cycles of publicity potential that come with a hardcover release followed by a paperback one, and the lower paperback price point means you make less money per sale than you would in hardcover.
A book is a bet. Publishing is gambling. There’s risk involved for the publisher, who is putting down all this money upfront without a real true sense of how much the book will sell. And there’s risk involved for the reader, who can know a certain amount about the book’s contents — is it an author you know? are you interested in the story? have you heard good things through word-of-mouth? read great reviews? — but is also, like the publisher, putting down the money before knowing the results.
A trade paperback is a smarter bet from both directions, from both the reader’s and publisher’s point of view. And so here’s the third point of the triangle: what about the author? What’s better for her/him/you? I have author-friends who would argue either side of this one passionately. (I’m sure some of them will pop up in the comments.)
For my part, what did I decide? I decided I’d be happy either way. Thinking about it, regardless of whether my book came out in hardcover or paperback, my goal was the same: sell as many books as possible. Whether my initial print run is big or small, whether the cover is hard or soft, whether the book is reviewed well or poorly or not at all, the only thing that matters to me is this: I need to sell enough copies of The Kitchen Daughter to earn out my advance and impress publishers enough to make an offer on my next book, so we can start this cycle again. I just want a chance to place another bet.
The Kitchen Daughter will be released in hardcover on April 12, 2011.
(And it will have a beautiful cover image, too: that’s the second part of my cover story, which you can read over here on Intrepid Media.)
Image provided under Creative Commons license by TipsyCake Chicago.
Jael McHenry is the debut author of The Kitchen Daughter (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books, April 12, 2011). Her work has appeared in publications such as the North American Review, Indiana Review, and the Graduate Review at American University, where she earned her MFA in Creative Writing. You can read more about Jael and her book at jaelmchenry.com or follow her on Twitter at @jaelmchenry.
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Great cover story, Jael. (Loved the 2nd part at IM, too.) Covers matter, but what matters even more is the story within those covers. I’m excited for the world to be introduced to The Kitchen Daughter, and realize just how fab it is. Congrats!
Good point, Therese — covers and titles can help attract potential readers, but they won’t make a bad book good, or vice versa! Story still does conquer all. Thanks for the kind words about TKD!
Question: If a book does well in paperback, will the publisher do a hardcover run?
It seems wise to me to start small (esp. on debut authors), then go big if it earns it. It seems like so many problems in publishing are a result of setting the bar too high. Some authors might want to throttle me for saying this, but wouldn’t it be better to get a modest advance, start in paper, and work up to hard cover or larger advances with future books once the reputation is earned?
By the way, your cover is beautiful, and I’ll be the first in line to buy the book in April. :)
I’m hopping over to read part 2, but thanks for this quick rundown and personal anecdote on covers. I’m like you: published is published, whether my cover is hard or soft, zebra-striped or purple gossamer. And I can’t wait to get to that point! (Well, okay, maybe not purple gossamer…)
BUT. It’s important to look at some of these nitty gritty details and really consider them, even if in the end we decide we don’t mind either option. We can’t “not care” about our careers! Ya know?
I am always intrigued by book covers, and it’s part of why I love browsing in a bookstore when I don’t have any specific book in mind.
In a way it’s an “artistic blurb”, enticing a potential reader to look further, so they can discover the wonderful story inside. It’s an amazing artform, really, trying to condense a book into a visual image. :)
Congrats on your book. The cover is intriguing, and is bound to lure a lot of readers to check out the story inside.
Great way to present the topic with pros and cons!
Best with your book!
Patricia
https://pmpoetwriter.blogspot.com/
I agree. I think the more important point is selling out the advance so the publisher will want to publish your second book!
Thanks, all! Lots of good points. Erika, I haven’t heard of a particular book starting in paperback and then pubbing in hardcover, but it does seem like a smart way to go. A big advance is a double-edged sword for sure — obviously having the money is nice, and the more a publisher pays for the book the more likely they are to support it, but there are some huge fail stories there, and it’s less risky to go with a smaller advance and build from there.
And Kristan, I definitely consider it my responsibility as an author to be informed about these things and consider them fully. We can’t just throw up our hands and say “I’m a writer, let the business people do the business part!” but we also can’t dictate the terms of the whole ball of wax. Internet developments of the past 10 years have made it very, very easy to inform yourself about publishing trends and practices.
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Unreal. I just blogged about this https://fictionchick.com/book-covers/.
I think book covers make a HUGE impact. Sure, getting published is enormous in and of itself, but I want my cover to represent my work accordingly.
Gorgeous cover. We covered this topic at the Girlfriends Book Club about a week ago with a link to a great article in WSJ. Congrats on going out in hardcover.
https://girlfriendbooks.blogspot.com/2010/09/paperback-or-hardcover-what-format.html
What a clever cover! I love it.
As for the hardcover versus paperback debate, from the POV of personal aesthetics, I love hardcovers for their sense of permanence. However, the pragmatist in me says, “Whatever will work.”
You had one goal in mind — to be published — and that was all that mattered. However it looks as though the Universe took exceptional care with the rest. Congratulations, Jael!
I am a huge fan of cover art. A good cover will make me stop and take a second look, read the back cover, or the description if I’m online, and then open the book and read the first page….
Cover art really is huge. Had a long discussion with another writer this week about that. LOVE the cover of Kitchen Daughter! Congrats!
As for hardcover or trade publication: I’ve had both and have no strong opinions about it one way or the other. Trade is the format I most often buy, just because hardcovers are too heavy for easy transport or to read propped up in bed.
What an eye-catching cover, Jael! When the art image came into view, I did a double take. And you’re right, each time you look at it–it grows more interesting. It’s a great cover and I think it will stand out on the shelf, too.
Congrats on the hardcover release! Thanks for sharing your tips with us!
Oh, my word, what a great cover you have for The Kitchen Daughter! Of course, we all know that the story has to be compelling, etc., but having a dynamite cover like this can really propel your book far into the world. Hope it does!
My upcoming book has a gorgeous cover, too. I hope it makes a difference! It’s Daughter of Xanadu, which you can see at https://dorijonesyang.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=4
Just checked out the cover article.
What an eye-catcher!
Jael, as you wrote, it is an “arresting” image, spaghetti straps and all!
Patricia
https://pmpoetwriter.blogspot.com/