why hype is more important than publicity

"Everyone in marketing says that the most important thing a cover can do is sell the book to someone who knows nothing about the novel. In other words, a cover is merely advertising space, and doesn’t need to be true to the text, just eye-catching."

from Scott Westerfeld's blog

Being unemployed, I do my best to stay away from the inside of Barnes and Noble. It's not working out to well, but motivation and intent have to count for something, right? Anyway... since I'm not going in to a physical bookstore and I'm staying away from Amazon (except to add to my wishlist) I don't really see a lot of book covers these days. It's sad and tragic, I know, please in lieu of sympathy notes purchase something off my wishlist for me.

I've always judged a book by its cover. I know we're not supposed to, but that's just how I roll... or read, rather. For instance, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld has faces on the spine of the book. These stood out against the plain spines of the other W authors and made me grab this book. The fact that it was about a dystopia/utopia was a plus.

Then there's that little book with the hands and apple on the cover. Yeah, that one. I was in rush and being yelled at to pick a book or not have it paid for. In a state of agitation and anxiety the thick book stood out at me. The symbology was not lost on my seventeen year Senioritus rattled brain. I picked the book up without reading the back and took it to the register where darling Daddy paid for it. I would be plunged back in to my obsession with vampires. My bank account was never the same.

Now, that's not the case. Hype is what gets me to pick up a book. If I read the title on Twitter a lot, I'll be more likely to look in to it. For instance, Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble has a mildly uninteresting cover. I hate when things look too photoshoppy. But, because I saw only the title at first (I didn't see the cover until I caved and went to the bookstore to pick it up) I was more likely to read further. Anastasia was my sixth grade reading obsession. I don't know how many times I read Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess. Probably too many times, I'm sure my parents were happy when I gave that book away.

So, do covers still matter? Sure! When I'm browsing the book store something pretty is definitely gonna grab my eye and make me buy it. I'm also more likely to buy hardcover if the cover is prettier. Yeah, I'm predjudice. I shelled out the few extra bucks for the hardcover of The Adoration of Jenna Fox, even though I had borrowed the book from the library and already read it. And yeah, I hate when publishers change the cover style. My Vampire Academy series would have looked prettier had they stuck with the same style, just like my Mediator series would have. But, in the Twitter/Facebook age I don't believe covers are more important than good titles or hype. Lots and lots of hype. Get a Twitter account and go publicity crazy.