Indie Book Cover Quality

[Daniel]

Is it just me, or does it seem like cover quality for self-published titles has become markedly better over the past couple of years?

I receive emails from several of the book promotion lists (eBookSoda, BookBub, BookHippo, Fussy Librarian), and I've noticed that the book covers are looking better than ever. I'm happy to see it, although I'm sure it means new authors have to take more care with their cover when they publish their first book. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be very hard to find a decent cover artist for a reasonable price these days. Of course, my idea of reasonable may not be reasonable to someone else.

I'm honestly not sure how much cover plays into a reader's buying decision, but I'm sure having a nice one doesn't hurt.

[Deano]

I think it's essential to have a strong cover, although ironically there seems to be a developing trend for books with deliberately "pulp fiction" covers that look cheap. Who knows where that idea came from, but there you go...

Good, vibrant colours, professional font and an image that clearly conveys the book's content seem to form the solid foundations of a successful cover - the quality, like the content, is all in the eye of the beholder I suppose.

[Daniel]

Nov 8, 2015 14:00:33 GMT -5 Deano said:

Good, vibrant colours, professional font and an image that clearly conveys the book's content seem to form the solid foundations of a successful cover - the quality, like the content, is all in the eye of the beholder I suppose.

I think you're right. I guess what I'm really saying is that I've noticed an increase in the percentage of covers that appeal to me. 

[ameliasmith]

I've noticed this, too, although you still see some really crappy covers out there, whether they're trying for the pulp look or not. I certainly can't tell whether or not a book is self-published by glancing at its cover, most of the time.

[Rinelle Grey]

I was part of a sci-fi/fantasy promo, where all the covers were up on the page, and it looked awesome. Really impressed by the quality of all the covers, so yeah, I'd say the general quality is definitely getting better.