Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Q & A Wednesday: Why 2 Book Covers?

Question
I was looking for a book the other day and realised that it had two different covers. What's up with that?

Answer
It's not uncommon as books can have several covers for a number of reasons.

Here are a few possible reasons:


  1. The book was customized for a specific market. That business in China wants to put the picture of their logo or CEO on the book you produced called Be a Master Seller. Hey, he's buying 1,500 copies for all his employees. Why not? For 1,500 books, I'd throw him as many bones as I can... especially if I am a self-published author. (See video below for examples).
  2. A movie version of the book has been produced. The old cover may have been just fine, but why not do one with a celebrity on the cover instead?! More people are paying attention to the book now that the movie trailer is out anyway and we want buyers to recognize the book easily in the stores.
  3. The publisher/author is trying to reach multiple audiences.  The book may be done for different audiences in varying countries. (See video below for examples).
    Another example, an art book of activities for primary school children may be a great resource for children in a particular country, let's say Jamaica, based on their specific curriculum but that same art book could also be a fantastic gift for kids in general. A simple change in the cover image from a classroom of kids to a child at home with their sibling or parent could easily allow a publisher to market that same book with different covers to educators in Jamaica as well as parents and children across all English-speaking countries.
  4. The book publisher has changed. Publisher A may have chosen to make a book go out of print and release that book to another who is willing to invest in and print it. Well, the new publisher, Publisher B,  hates the old cover and doesn't think it works. It's not a new edition of the book, but they are changing the cover nevertheless - now there are two covers.
  5. The book's design has been improved. Marie Forleo was clearly on a budget when she first printed her book, Make Every Man Want You, but now that she has more to invest and the book is doing fairly well, the book has more professional look. Good move Marie! Check out her many book cover versions below. (See video below for examples).

Can you think of any more reasons? Comment below to let me know and share your knowledge with the readers.

1 comment:

  1. What an interesting post. I find that often there are many covers for the same book. I think sometimes books that have been in print for a while give their books a new cover just so the book looks more current. Also- new covers could get more readers, because they may have seen the old cover and not been interested.

    I found you through Book Blogs and signed up to follow you. When you have a chance- please stop by and follow the blog for my middle grade novel that I am hoping to get published. http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com/
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    Take care-
    Jess- although I may show up as Fairday, the main character from my novel. I can't figure out how to fix it. :)

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