Book covers

Last fall, the Codex Group, a book audience research firm, conducted an online test to gauge how effective different book presentations were at getting consumers to browse books. More than 50 new and upcoming titles were included as part of the test, and nearly 4,000 book buyers took part.  Read more

We all judge books by their covers. A cover is the most important piece of marketing for any book. Publishers know this, which is why they have entire departments devoted to the design of book covers. Art departments do tons of market research, A/B testing, and usually go through several designs before deciding on a direction for a cover.

We often can't help judging a book by its cover - but author Jojo Moyes says cliched cover designs are stopping potential readers from picking up books they might like.

Books, on the whole, are designed so readers think they know what they're getting before they even read a word - especially when it comes to those by, or aimed at, women.

Before I saw the cover of my second novel, I worried about it. My greatest fear was this: A woman, looking out to sea. Her back is to the reader. Her hair is thrown up in a vague style that if nothing else can be described as "timeless." Her stance evokes a wistful, feminine longing-for a man, perhaps, or for a dinner she doesn't have to cook.

Never judge a book by its cover. So the saying goes, yet consumers do it all the time. Every publisher and bookseller knows that covers sell books. But do consumers also form expectations from looking at the cover? Well, based on the results of some of the initial reader analytics data at Jellybooks, we think they do.