Lois’s answer to “I was just at Amazon to link a book recommendation, and I was saddened to see the new and very unap…” > Likes and Comments
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Goodreads also has some weird algorithms about which of a variety of covers pops up first when you search for a book. Under the book listing there are pictures of all the editions - you can click on one and "switch to this edition" for your link.
The default edition of a book (the one that shows up when you search by title and/or author name) is simply the one shelved by the most users -- unless the author has manually set another edition to be the primary (default) edition.
I gotta agree about the bland covers - it's probably the Kindle covers:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_sc_1?r...
Yeah, but until the OP answers, I'm not sure.
The Kindle covers are mostly for my direct-placement e-books, which are not Baen's. The person we had doing the covers, way back when we were first feeling our way into the very new e-market, had limited tools to work with. Now that we all know more, it might be time to upgrade the covers, but I really wonder if that's worthwhile, for e-editions. Does anybody buy an e-book for a cover? My impression was that it was all word-of-mouth and other recs. Thoughts?
Curious, Lois.
E-book covers don't make a lot of difference, but the quality generally speaks to the quality of the writing and editing in the book. When you see an ebook with a very low-budget cover, you expect typos. Word of mouth can make up for this, though.
In the sci-if fantasy genre you shouldn't judge a book by its cover anyway!! In general, if I buy an ebook it's because I already know I like the author or series...so ebook covers don't matter for me....I have a couple of the Vorkosigan books and never even noticed the covers (until this discussion)
I browse for new books by covers in Amazon and online stores. Maybe 1 in 6 of my buys happen that way.
If I'm looking for something new, I do notice the covers. As Elizabeth Parks said above, low-budget covers tend to signal low-budget production - which implies many things, none of them good. The implications may all be wrong, but by then it's too late...
I think it doesn't matter whether a book is paper or ebook - the cover is still the image the potential reader sees first, whether they're standing in a bricks-and-mortar shop or browsing through the "coming soon" pages of Amazon.
Once I know an author, I don't care what the cover is like, but for taking the plunge on a new author - it can be the thing that tips me one way or the other. (And I don't buy paper books any more.)
I'll be honest, I bought Memory twice,(3 Times counting dead tree edition) once with the pretty awful Kindle cover, and again from Baen, though that was partially to get it in drm-free format. The covers the REALLY need an overhaul are the omnibus. Sheesh.
I know this is a necropost, but I just spotted this one.
I don't care for the Passaway Pictures covers on the Kindle editions. I like the rest of them EXCEPT for the rare one by Darrel K. Sweet. I've never been fond of his artwork, except a few of his covers for the Xanth books, because his style complemented them.
I like some of the "covers" for the audio book editions. They're sometimes better than the ones on the paperbacks. I usually get the audio editions, with my eyes getting older, and I love Grover Gardner's readings (after he learned how to pronounce everything after Memory...I still grit my teeth on "Den-dar-ee-eye" and "Gal-EN-eye". But he got much better).
There are always new readers coming along and discovering new-to-them authors. And more and more readers prefer ebooks over paper. A professional, attractive cover is the first chance to catch the eyes of these readers. Covers are *always* important. IMO.
Just another example of word of mouth - that's how I was introduced to the Vorkosigan books. And at the liberary, cover isn't that big a deal.
I bought nearly all my Vorkosigan books through the SF Book Club, years ago. No choice on covers there, and I rarely pay much attention to them anyway. Unless they are really awful, like one of the McCaffrey books that showed the dragons with steering wheels! Good grief.
But I must say those KIndle covers from the link above are pretty awful. Since I don't have a Kindle, I won't worry about it.
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Kaje
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Jun 12, 2015 11:13AM
Goodreads also has some weird algorithms about which of a variety of covers pops up first when you search for a book. Under the book listing there are pictures of all the editions - you can click on one and "switch to this edition" for your link.
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The default edition of a book (the one that shows up when you search by title and/or author name) is simply the one shelved by the most users -- unless the author has manually set another edition to be the primary (default) edition.
I gotta agree about the bland covers - it's probably the Kindle covers:http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_sc_1?r...
Yeah, but until the OP answers, I'm not sure.The Kindle covers are mostly for my direct-placement e-books, which are not Baen's. The person we had doing the covers, way back when we were first feeling our way into the very new e-market, had limited tools to work with. Now that we all know more, it might be time to upgrade the covers, but I really wonder if that's worthwhile, for e-editions. Does anybody buy an e-book for a cover? My impression was that it was all word-of-mouth and other recs. Thoughts?
Curious, Lois.
E-book covers don't make a lot of difference, but the quality generally speaks to the quality of the writing and editing in the book. When you see an ebook with a very low-budget cover, you expect typos. Word of mouth can make up for this, though.
In the sci-if fantasy genre you shouldn't judge a book by its cover anyway!! In general, if I buy an ebook it's because I already know I like the author or series...so ebook covers don't matter for me....I have a couple of the Vorkosigan books and never even noticed the covers (until this discussion)
I browse for new books by covers in Amazon and online stores. Maybe 1 in 6 of my buys happen that way.
If I'm looking for something new, I do notice the covers. As Elizabeth Parks said above, low-budget covers tend to signal low-budget production - which implies many things, none of them good. The implications may all be wrong, but by then it's too late...I think it doesn't matter whether a book is paper or ebook - the cover is still the image the potential reader sees first, whether they're standing in a bricks-and-mortar shop or browsing through the "coming soon" pages of Amazon.
Once I know an author, I don't care what the cover is like, but for taking the plunge on a new author - it can be the thing that tips me one way or the other. (And I don't buy paper books any more.)
I'll be honest, I bought Memory twice,(3 Times counting dead tree edition) once with the pretty awful Kindle cover, and again from Baen, though that was partially to get it in drm-free format. The covers the REALLY need an overhaul are the omnibus. Sheesh.
I know this is a necropost, but I just spotted this one.I don't care for the Passaway Pictures covers on the Kindle editions. I like the rest of them EXCEPT for the rare one by Darrel K. Sweet. I've never been fond of his artwork, except a few of his covers for the Xanth books, because his style complemented them.
I like some of the "covers" for the audio book editions. They're sometimes better than the ones on the paperbacks. I usually get the audio editions, with my eyes getting older, and I love Grover Gardner's readings (after he learned how to pronounce everything after Memory...I still grit my teeth on "Den-dar-ee-eye" and "Gal-EN-eye". But he got much better).
There are always new readers coming along and discovering new-to-them authors. And more and more readers prefer ebooks over paper. A professional, attractive cover is the first chance to catch the eyes of these readers. Covers are *always* important. IMO.
Just another example of word of mouth - that's how I was introduced to the Vorkosigan books. And at the liberary, cover isn't that big a deal.
I bought nearly all my Vorkosigan books through the SF Book Club, years ago. No choice on covers there, and I rarely pay much attention to them anyway. Unless they are really awful, like one of the McCaffrey books that showed the dragons with steering wheels! Good grief.
But I must say those KIndle covers from the link above are pretty awful. Since I don't have a Kindle, I won't worry about it.
