We all do it. Unless you read every book on the shelf in order from left to right, you can’t not do it.
I’m talking about judging a book by its cover. And more than just its cover; this includes every first impression you get from a book.
As creators, we walk a tightrope between packaging our work in ways that seem to work and being different enough to stand out. So whether we chase trends or eschew them, we’re probably doing so in hopes of catching readers’ attention and holding it in the face of unimaginable competition.
But enough with the market trends and pressure from your agent (if you’ve got one of those, lol). Let’s just kick back and think about books from our perspective as readers.
I’ll go first. Not in any particular order, these are my top ten book icks.
Ick No. 1: Rough/Uneven Page Edges
I don’t know where this trend started, but I’ve never liked it. It makes it too hard to riffle the pages when you first pick the book up, and that’s a necessary getting-to-know-a-book move! Sometimes I even get faked out and think that a protruding page is coming loose when it was only a stylistic choice.
In all fairness, this effect could work if it was done in a leatherbound copy of Lord of the Rings or something, making it feel like a journal you’d get from a Renaissance fair. But for most books, I like my pages nice and smooth on my fingies, please and thank you.
Ick No. 2: Movie Covers
If a book gets made into a movie, it’s probably because enough people liked the original. SO LEAVE IT ALONE! Even if I liked the movie, I want the cover to stay the same.
This goes for plots and characters as well, but that’s another rant for another time.
Ick No. 3: When the Author’s Name is Bigger Than the Title
I get it. If you’ve made a big/loyal enough following for yourself, you want to make it easy for people to spot your books on the shelf. But every time I see this done, I get thrown off, even if it’s a name that I know. Titles should be the main focus.
So if you want to make sure readers can find you, consider finding another way to trademark your books. Maybe a crest, a striking color scheme, or a signature printed on them.
But if you’ve made it big enough to be tempted to make your name bigger than your title, you don’t need to worry anyway, because you have devoted readers, and they will find you.
Ick No. 4: “FAMOUS AUTHOR Presents THIS AUTHOR”
Authors supporting other authors? We love to see it! But getting faked out when you think your favorite author has published another book is just a dirty trick.
Want to draw attention to another author you love? Publicize your current reading list, review them on Goodreads, interview them on your podcast or blog, or bring them along on your next media blitz.
Just don’t do this nonsense. Because the reflexive response isn’t, “Oh, wow, FAMOUS AUTHOR likes them!” It’s “Oh, shoot, they’re NOT FAMOUS AUTHOR. disgust”
And I don’t think I’m alone in that response.
Ick No. 5: Not Making It Clear That a Book Isn’t Canon
Let me make one thing clear: I’m all for fan fiction. I’ve found books I like written “in the style of” or intended as a sort of sequel to my favorites. All I ask is that you make it clear so I don’t get faked out. Seriously. Most of my favorite authors are dead, so when I think I’ve discovered a hidden work of theirs, I get super excited and then instantly disappointed.
This can be made clear in a number of ways, but the way that incurred my wrath most recently was seeing other authors using Agatha Christie’s characters with her signature printed on the cover as if endorsed by her. She died in 1976, so books that just came out couldn’t possibly have her express approval.
One more note on this subject: characters aren’t the only aspect of a book that make it sing. Authors have their own voices, and even if someone tries to imitate them, it’s not the same. Think about listening to a podcast. Just because you like to listen to true crime doesn’t mean you’ll love every true crime podcast. Podcasts come with tangents, and if you don’t like the host’s tangents, you won’t like their podcast, regardless of the subject matter. Voice matters, and so does personality.
Imitate if you like, but don’t label yourself as the genuine article.
Ick No. 6: Full Portraits of Characters
I don’t care whether it’s art or a photo; it’s always overtly inconsistent with the description the author gave. And we hate that.
Ick No. 7: Reviews Instead of a Summary Printed on the Back (Especially Reviews I Know You Paid For)
Looking at you, Kirkus Reviews.
If I wanted someone to tell me what to read, I would ask them. But when I pick up a book, I want to know what it’s about. You wouldn’t expect someone to order a product without being able to read a description, would you?
Ick No. 8: Blindingly White Pages
Fortunately, I don’t see this one too often, but it’s an option when you’re formatting your book. I think I almost did it by mistake when I was getting ready to publish my first novel. I’m not sure what it’s called, but you know it when you see it. It reminds me of a dentist’s office: sterile, medical, and unnerving.
Ick No. 9: Overdone Title and Cover Trends
Publishers get excited whenever they see that something sells. But eventually it’s going to stop working when it’s overdone. For instance, titles like this or bland airbrushed faces that don’t even look like the characters.
Ick No. 10: Yes or No Questions as Taglines
“Will they or won’t they?” Obviously they will, or this book is going to be a bummer.
It makes the plot so blindingly obvious that I no longer care. There are times when we want predictability, but there are other ways to indicate that. This pattern in a tagline is just a bad way to describe a book.
Remember, these icks are my own personal opinions. Read what you want, write what you want, and don’t take the trends too seriously.
But if you hate any of these, too, make some noise! Maybe the publishers will hear us.
