Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Book Covers and Book Titles-Hooking Readers

By Linda Lovely

On Sunday, I was delighted to have Dru’s Book Musings schedule a cover reveal for Bones To Pick, my new Brie Hooker Mystery from Henery Press. In response, I received a variety of comments. Most—but not all people—really liked the cover. (I love it.) A couple of people also advised me to change the title of my book because other authors had already published book with the same (or similar) titles, e.g. A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris and Bones to Pick by Carolyn Haines.  So it seemed a good time to talk about how the publishing world deals with book cover creation and the selection of book titles.

Book Titles
The folks who pointed out that other books carry the same or similar titles to my Bones To Pick are absolutely right. Is this a problem? No. For starters, book titles can’t be copyrighted.  Searching for Bones To Pick on Amazon calls up a list of 11 novels with the same/similar title, and mine hadn’t yet joined the list. This isn’t unusual. I searched for Fatal Flaw and found about 40 books with that title or a similar one before I stopped counting.

Why is there so much overlap? Book titles need to be short, easy-to-remember and relate to the story. Bones To Pick was a no-brainer for my book since (a) a skull is dug up early in the book, and (b) many of the potential villains have “bones to pick” with the victim and/or the person accused of murder.

There’s really no danger of confusing readers as long as the cover of the book and the back cover description don’t mimic other books that carry the same title. The cover created by Henery Press certainly fills the bill here. There’s no chance of it being confused with another book when doing an online search. The fact that my name appears in large print on the cover also ensures that anyone buying my book won’t mistake it for another.

Book Covers
I’ve heard authors complain about their covers. Understandable, given that cover design decisions are ultimately made by publishers, not authors. However, most publishers do seek input from their authors to guide cover design and ensure they’re satisfied.

That was certainly the case with Henery Press, and it’s why I’m delighted with my cover. Before the cover artist, Stephanie Savage, started design, I completed a form that allowed me to share key information about the characters and plot, the book’s tone, and location. I also was able to list covers I liked as reference points as well as the types of covers I disliked.


The Bones To Pick cover is eye-catching, uses bright colors, and communicates setting (a goat dairy). It also suggests the reader can expect a light-hearted read with a side of humor. I hope people who pick up the book based on the delightful cover won’t be disappointed.

3 comments:

  1. Henery Press does a wonderful job on covers. That is part of the reason I want both print copies and e-copies of cozy books. I am glad authors also get some input.
    My problem is when books are printed again with a different cover. Again 2 problems, I want the artwork I love, but it takes up shell space which is limited.
    It is a great title.

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    1. Hi, Laura. I understand your reasons that you would like the cover art not to be changed for subsequent editions. However, sometimes the author has no choice. For example, if a publisher goes out of business and/or decides to discontinue a line, the original artwork (though not the book) may still be the property of the original publisher and the author and/or the new publisher may need to pay for the creation of a new cover to make the title available again.

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