What Makes A Cover, A Good/Bad Cover? // A Post Where I Discuss A Good (and bad) Cover

Like real life, there are some books that have these super beautiful covers (that cost a lot of $$$), and then there are those books that… well don’t look nice at all.

The reason can vary from person to person, including me. So today, I’m going to talk about what makes me like a cover, and then not like a cover.

WHY A GOOD BOOK COVER IS IMPORTANT

I know everyone expects people to “not judge a book by it’s cover”, but hey we all do.  A book has only about 5 seconds (or maybe even less) to catch a readers eye, before they move on to the next title. So, an author has to make their book stand out, in order to encourage more sales, and reads!

Likes

 

• Has a specific theme – A book cover looks better when there is a certain theme or color that it follows throughout all the cover (including spine, and back cover). Books like Stranger the Dreamer by Laini Taylor has made it big solely on the cover. I was one of those people because I loved the blue, and yellow!
• Gives me a good vibe – This is hard to put in words, but what I mean is that the cover has too project what the book is about in a good way. If it’s sci-fi or fantasy, and giving me a bad-ass vibe I’m picking it up. If it’s contemporary, and giving me  a cutesy vibes, I’m going to pick it up.
• Font style matches with genre – Font style is important because it shows the title of the book. If I don’t really like how the font matches up with the book, chances are I’m not going to pick it up.  

Dislikes 

• Faces – I don’t mean the full body view, because that’s all right. I’m talking about a FULL-BLOWN FACE on the book cover. Not many books are able to pull it off, and it ends up looking very stock-image-ish. And very cringe-worthy. Also doesn’t it feel a bit creepy, too? Like they are just watching you, and totally judging you…
• Empty Space – The cover for The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, dissapointed me so much. There was so much empty, white space that I wanted to fill in. It wasn’t even aesthetic or anything, it was just soo empty.
• Cartoons in a YA book – It would be a total different matter if it were a KIDS book, but in a young-adult novel, cartoons are a big no-no. Like this book cover, SHOULD BE BANNED.
• Super Simple Designs – I feel like these designers tried to be aesthetic, but it ended up to be a HUGE FLOP! These covers have nothing in them, except for the title, and a random icon.

So that’s my not-so long list of likes, and dislikes for a cover. What do you long for in a good cover? What do you think makes a bad cover? What are some books that have a really pretty cover? Do you agree/disagree with my list? And here is a bookish question: What is your favorite author(S)?