It's Okay to Judge a Book by Its Cover After All

We’ve all heard the old adage; don’t judge a book by its cover.  Now, this is a wonderful metaphor, especially for teenagers.  It’s very important that we all remember not to judge people based on how they look. So, in that respect, don’t judge a book by its cover.

However, it is okay to judge a book by its cover when you’re talking about an actual book.  I know, sounds crazy, right? And I suppose that you can’t always judge an actual book by its cover.  But in general, you really can. 

I mean, think about it.  The cover is the first impression a book gives.  And you never get a second chance at a first impression.  Okay, again, this cliché is not completely true, at least in terms of books.  Sometimes re-releases have better covers.  But really.  How else will an author or publisher get me to pick up their book if it doesn’t have a good cover? If the cover of a book doesn’t catch the eye, it won’t get picked up. 

This is why cover art is so important.  Simple is usually better, and it needs to relate to the story somehow.  It’s hard to explain, but good cover art fits the story, no matter what it is.  Some covers are more obvious, like say, romance novels, or self-help books (they almost always have a picture of the author on the front cover).  Others are less obvious, but a good cover can give you the feel of the book before you even read the synopsis.  I know for me, when I’m going through the free Kindle books on Amazon, or signing up for giveaways, I only go to the synopsis if the cover attracts me.  If the cover doesn’t look good and professional, I’ll pass right by it.

Now I’m one of those people that’s a little crazy about my book covers.  I always want the prettiest one, and if it’s a series, I want all of the covers to match.  For example: I would never get The Hunger Games with the movie cover, because my other books in the series wouldn’t match.  That may sound crazy, but if I didn’t match the covers, it’d drive me nuts. 

The moral of the story: It’s okay to judge a book by its cover, as long as you’re judging an actual book.