Write a novel

Judging a book by its cover

You are back in the bookshop. But you have a problem: somehow all the books look boring. And the blurbs are rubbish again...
But then there is this one great cover, the magically attractive title, the interesting blurb... You open the book expectantly - and you don't like it. Of course you don't.

Prompt: Do you judge a book by it's cover?

DEFINITION

I ask you to redefine the word 'cover' in your mind (at least for the length of this article).

The cover of a book consists of the title, the picture or drawing or graphic (often called the "cover") and a blurb.

WHEN TO JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

You can do it here  .

The website is really fun because the book titles on it are funny in themselves! Give it a try!

Let's move on to the next, more complicated point...

WHEN NOT TO JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

"But publishers put a lot of thought into creating book designs that make certain titles appeal to certain kinds of readers," you might say. And you are absolutely right.

But if I'm honest, at least three quarters of all the blurbs I read are complete rubbish. And that's a lot.

Let's put it this way: if I only read the blurbs and made a purchase decision based on them, my wallet would be a lot fuller. But I would have missed out on a lot of good books.

Because the cover isn't everything.

OTHER HELPFUL ARTICLES ON WRITING:
- "The life-changing writing tip (you‘ll find time every day)" 
- "How to become happy and productive in 12 minutes" 
- "The one thing you're missing to become successful +bonustip." 

THE SOLUTION

The solution is simple: read the first few pages, the first chapter. Does the character interest you? Does the story matter to you?

If so, the author has done a good job - the book is probably great!

If not, keep trying - or read and analyse the novel to avoid making the same mistakes!


Write, read (and maybe analyse) on,
Evie