Hmm, that's interesting, Fencer. I hope that you DO end up getting a second edition!

Well, that's what all well-educated and thoughtful readers say, but your Average Joe generally gets his first impression of a book by its cover. Being of an artistic mind, its the first thing that strikes me, and I sometimes don't even read that book's description unless the cover interests me straight off (unless it's by an author that I know and love).

I have still so far been stymied in my efforts to acquire a new paperback copy of Alexander's The Beggar Queen. We have the other two, but I can't seem to find a new copy of this at a reasonable price. I'll have to wait some more until Barnes & Noble gets it in stock.
Otherwise, I'm still reading what I was reading.

On the subject of book covers and judging books by them...

I DEFINETLY judge a book by it's cover and have no problem doing so When I'm browsing at a bookstore or online on amazon, the cover is the first thing that strikes me. Does it look modern, or like it was made in the 80's? Does it look a lot like any other cover styles I've enjoyed, or that I didn't enjoy? Unless I'm looking for a specfic title that I've had reccomended to me, or an author or something I'll always judge a book by it's cover.

I do to a certain extent. Often when I pick a book up in a shop I've got some knowledge of it beforehand, but I will admit that I've occasionally not purchased books I really want because they have truly awful covers. I'll wait and have a look around for a nicer edition

But I also have some books that I got because just I fell in love with the cover, or that I gave a chance because of the cover and wound up liking. I'm working on a set of book covers at the moment so I've been giving a lot of though to what elements draw me to a book cover, and how to relate the content of a book to a simple, eye pleasing cover.

Judging a book by its cover. I really try not to do it, but I still do to be honest. I remember when I was in the fifth grade. We had to read a book and do a report on it. I didn't know what to read so the teacher gave me a book. I saw the cover and was sure I'd hate the book. And it was such an excellent read. Loved the book. Haven't read it in ages though. (That Was Then, This Is Now).

I wish I could say I don't judge books by their covers...but unfortunately I end up doing so anyway. Since there's just so many books out there, I think it's important to have a good cover that attracts people's attention. I prefer covers with artwork, but sometimes good photographs will draw me too. Being an artist, I know there's a whole science to creating a good composition - the rule of thirds, color theory, contrasting light and dark...it's not as easy as you might think.

Then again, this is coming from someone who wants to illustrate/design as a career, so I might be a little biased.

^I agree with you, but sometimes judging it by its cover isn't nice since its content is what matters. I admit that I may be sometimes doing it, but I try to avoid it.

Anyways, just started to read Beautiful Americans. Quite intriguing story since it's genre is drama.

I'm actually curious, WFJ, and sweetlilgurly. What turns you off on my book cover design? Is it the design itself? The fact that it is a pencil stenciling with color? Or something else? That way when the opportunity does arise for a 2nd edition, or for the sequel if I go for the same publisher, I have something to think about in regards to the cover art.

I actually kind of like the cover FencerforJesus. Personal taste I suppose. I like the pencil sketching. In anycase, I`d love to read your book.

^I agree with you, but sometimes judging it by its cover isn't nice since its content is what matters. I admit that I may be sometimes doing it, but I try to avoid it.

Agreed. I do try to avoid it, since of course the writing inside is what counts the most. A book could have a horrible cover, but that doesn't change the fact that the writing might be fantastic. All I'm saying is that a cover is sort of like a first impression of the book, if you will. It's important to try to make a good first impression.

*pops in*

Hmm, I rarely mind what the cover art on a book looks like; as I stand them all so you only see the binding on the shelf? The exception to this rule being the cover art on the Wordsworth editions of the Classics, they're painted in the style of the era they were written in- urgh, no thanks. I do however LOVE the 'Vintage Austen' covers- very chic! Annnd, speaking of chic and Austen, I was given '101 Things You Didn't Know About Jane Austen' last year by a workmate and it is very interesting though only for die-hard Austen fans. The way it's written is a bit 'I have a PhD and a dry writing style but really love Jane Austen.'

Lately I began reading Wuthering Heights, which my sister bought for me on a whim. I quite like the first few chapters I've read. I'm waiting for the 'this is depressing rubbish' chapters to come along, from what I've heard here, haha.

Also I read 'The Little Prince' recently- to help my sister write an essay on it, and I am still trying to figure all of it out. I loved many passages; especially the bit about the picture of an elephant inside of a boa constrictor, which adults are constantly having to have explained to them- otherwise viewing it only as a hat. It was a very cute little book, and very preachy without being so while you were reading it, if that makes sense. Not morally preachy, just adults-can't-think-properly kind of preachy. And I love this line:

"In the course of this life I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence. I have lived a great deal among grown-ups. I have seen them intimately, close at hand. And that hasn't much improved my opinion of them." Hehehe.

Last night I read the non-fiction work of Shona Banda, a terminal Crohn's disease survivor. It's 'Live Free or Die' -bit of an epic title for a bit of an eccentric lady- but it was really good. Highly recommend it if you like to think outside of the medical box.

Oh yes- and I've been wanting to know if there are any places online where you can listen to Persuasion via audio? Sometimes I am performing lymphatic drainage massages for hours at a time and cannot hold the book open- but listening to it would be ideal.

p.s. Congratulations Fencer on having a book published! I'd imagine that's a very nice accomplishment indeed.

Fencer, please keep in mind this criticism is not of you but the people who designed your book cover.

There's no unity to the cover design. The title and author typefaces don't suite the book, nor does the bordering colour that boxes in the cover illustration (never a good look). I don't like the sketch, it's very poorly drawn (the central figure is okay though), the pastel colouring looks like a huge rush job and they don't work, especially for this type of novel. The cover should be far more vibrant, possibly more metaphoric than anything else. Lend it an air of mystery. Make the reader question what they're looking at.

I don't know how to put this, but the book's cover makes it look very self-published. That's never a good thing. Sorry.

Again, this criticism is not of you but the designers of your book cover.

To sort of echo what Warrior said, and to answer your question, Fencer, I think that the sketch itself is fine. It's a good illustration. But it seems slightly out of place on the cover of the book...I don't think it does it justice, makes it look a tad, like Warrior said, "self-published". I don't usually prefer covers that are illustrations, but photographs, so that may have something to do with it Anyway, I'm sure your book is great as you seem a very talented writer. Those are just my thoughts on the cover.

I understand what you guys are saying, and in a way I do agree. The big thing that we have noticed is that Lighthouse did VERY little in terms of final editing, so there are scattered missed verb conjugations and correctly spelled wrong words that I as the author still could not catch after numerous run throughs. So my mom and I are wondering if Lighthouse is like a cheap 'self-publish' publisher. On this cover, I would have preferred a photographed or CGI version of the illustrated image. But perhaps that will have to wait for the next time through.

I have submitted my novel to see about getting them carried through a couple Christian books stores I know of and through World Magazine about a potential review. One book store has turned me down (maybe due to the cover art, grammatical errors, or simply don't have the physical space to store the thousands of items proposed to them regularly). But I'm still waiting on the other two. For World, I made a emphasis on my testimony more on the book itself so we will see what happens. If World does take it, that may open the door for a bigger publisher like Bethany House or some others that do Christian Fiction to pick me up. And my contract with Lighthouse is very flexible and can terminate with a mere 30 day notice. So if that's the case, then I can get an improved cover design and get a real editor. It may not happen until my sequel is ready to go to a publisher or down the road. It may not happen at all. It's all in God's hands.

I'm currently reading an anthology of classic fantasy short stories and came across this rather section in the introduction. I thought it was an interesting take on the genre.

Much of modern horror has succumbed to - in fact, wholeheartedly embraced - a numbing sort of nihilism and fashionable designer despair, the message of which seems to be: you can't win, nothing matters, neither ethics nor morals nor religion are an effective guide to behavior, and none of them will save you; you can survive for awhile by turning yourself into a savage predator, devoid of remorse or compassion or pity, but there's always a bigger predator in wait somewhere; in the end, the grave will get you, and sometimes you will continue to be flayed and tormented even beyond death. The house always wins, you always lose, and nothing you can do has any significance at all.

This perception of the universe may be closer to "reality" than that of fantasy, but my reaction to it is always, Yeah, well, so what? Ir's hardly news, after all, that everyone is bound for the grave; in fact, it's a rather truism. So what? What can you do with a message that everything is hopeless nihilism and black despair, that nothing you can do matters at all, except to use it as another good reason to commit suicide as soon as possible?

Fantasy instead teaches us that there is something worthwhile you can do on the way to the grave: you can dream. And that maybe that dreaming is not only intrinsically valuable, for its own sake, but that sometimes the dream can take on a life of its own, a life that persists, and that shapes and sometimes even ennobles the lives of others that it touches, sometimes long after the original dreamer is gone from this earth.