The Cover Rules

Amulya Malladi. Denmark

I believe that book covers make one hell of a difference; unless the author is JK Rowling or Dan Brown and as long as the cover has their name, it doesn’t really matter what imagery is used.

I believe this because this is how I buy books. If I know an author and love the author

(and really, how many of those are there for each one of us? And how often do they write books?), I will buy the book regardless of the quality of the cover. But if I’m just browsing, it’s the cover that speaks to me.

And that is the reason why publishers follow a theme with book covers. Take Khaled Hosseini’s new book, its cover almost similar and evokes the same imagery as his first, very successful book. This is done to give the reader a feeling of familiarty and welcome them to buy the second book—not that that’s all the book has going for it in this case (according to the reviews, the book is da bomb, I’m just reluctant to read it—I don’t do abuse very well, makes me queasy).

Take romance book covers; they have been go through lots of changes. No one wants to be seen reading a bodice ripper on a flight—but something like the one below, doesn’t say the book is a romance but a regular, mainstream thriller and no one is embarrassed caught reading it. Romance novels are now being wrapped to look like women’s lit at times with breezy covers. The reason is quite simple; books with non-Fabio-type covers sell better than those with Fabio-type covers.


Book covers are not always indicative of what’s in the book; but are a tool for enticement. They romance you, excite you, and promise you goodies— you pick up the book flip through its pages and see if you’re going to take this one home with you; but it always starts with the book cover.