390. Yes, You Can Sell A Book by its Cover!
Whether it be on internet or in a book store, any one
book has a second or two, a mere bat of the eyelid to capture a potential,
random reader; therefore that says it all on the importance of book covers.
It has been noted the human eye will be attracted more
easily by something which stands out from the rest of the pack- and to make a
cover stand out there are only two means, lettering or image which cannot be
mixed equally because by so doing they automatically cancel each other out- one
has to be subordinate to the other, one has to be in the forefront, the other
in the background. The human eye will react immediately in the first instance
to one thing and will temporarily disregard anything which appears fragmentary
or of a lesser importance. You can try this out on yourself next time you look
at whatever is around you and make a note of what you see FIRST.
One may draw, paint, Photoshop or whatever the most
elaborate, delicate picture possible but it will all be completely lost if you
aim to draw immediate attention to it. Book covers are not meant to be
meditative, for the human eye is not, in an everyday circumstance, prepared or
willing to stop and ponder on the intrinsic laws of beauty in its search for a
book.
The human eye will stop and look at the first thing
that grabs its attention and that is a wholeness which stands out from all the
bits and pieces that surrounds it.
Once that has been figured out- beauty, intrinsic
values, thoughtfulness, which will eventually be added to the image, come a far
second.
As can be seen I have posted a cover of my own
non-fiction book “Rajput”, not because I consider it above others but because
being my own work I can pull it to pieces or otherwise as I please without any
legal repercussions. However, this cover will serve as any, to illustrate the
above points. The title (lettering) is dominant over the illustration and as
the book deals with Rajputs, an Indian title given to Royal Warriors, it would
have made more sense, since an image is more immediate on the eye than
lettering, if I had placed the figure of a Rajput in the forefront. I chose not
to do so because it is not only the valour that men do which remains impressed
in the imagination of India but her castles, fortresses and palaces which have
no comparisons, but above all, because they are tangible to this very day.
And of
course, animation is always an eye-catcher if not hypnotic, which may very well
work for a while, until it too becomes a familiar sight which the eye will soon
learn to ignore.
Now, Over
To You: test out the following covers and note by what your eye is attracted to
FIRST.
