A Covers Addendum

I hope Kristiana doesn't mind a post so soon after hers, but I wanted to add my two-blogcents to her comments.

I, too, get really frustrated at the horrible renditions of book covers for young adult. For example, look at the 3rd in the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson (hardcover) versus the massmarket paperback. Okay...that isn't really that bad. And we are talking king-of-mass market, James Patterson.

Here are two that will really make the point--the (vomit) massmarket paperback version of Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Who the heck are they marketing to? Who are these masses??!!

I realize my examples all fall into the sci-fi/fantasy realm, but boy do they make the point. The Herbie Brennan series' covers are all so beautiful and their massed counterparts are campy at best (think Napoleon Dynamite's liger drawings). Then there is poor Ender...an insulting cover to anyone who's read the book. Am I right?!

So, the mass market paperback is an inexpensive publishing format. Its purpose is to sell. Again, who are the masses the marketers have in mind? Creating an ugly version of an original cover sells more books? Even if a mass market publisher cannot use the original cover, can't they find someone to create something appealing? Seriously, call me. I work fairly cheap and would love to draw my own frontspiece for these books. If anyone has any insight (or knows a publishing house that wants to hire me), please let me know.

I looked at many books while researching this topic. For the most part, in the YA/teen category, the mass market or paperback covers were not the worst. It's just that when they were bad, they were rotten!

I'm going to end this with one last example...and this one's for the ladies.

Judy Blume's novels had quite an impact on me growing up. I had all of them and ALL of them had dogeared pages, frayed edges, bent covers, and the most love I could give a book. Anyway, look at the following covers. Which do you remember? Which do you like? Are there any you don't? (btw, I had so much fun finding all those covers. memories!!)