Book covers that made me question my sanity – Part two

Book covers that made me question my sanity – Part two

If it were up to us, the bookworms, every book would have a great plot and well written. But sadly that is not the case! And we come across some not so great books often and a few even test our sanity. 

Earlier, we came up with some books with ridiculous titles and insane book covers that made us wonder if the authors were being satirical. It has been a while since we had a laugh around here, so I am sharing the next edition of book covers that made me question my sanity.

New Edition of #insanebookcovers that made me question everything I know in life. You have to see them to believe it! Click To Tweet

Insane book covers I found recently

Burglary anyone? Don’t worry this book will teach how to do that effectively!

I didn’t think the unlocking was quite this literal

I don’t wanna say anything anymore!

Say what? Is it weird that I am genuinely curious now?

Whoa! What is this thing? 

There are worse things to live with, don’t you agree?

This is definitely creepy. And also, we are talking about musical instruments right?

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How many of these covers caught your fancy? Have you come across such weird ones yourself? Did these make you 

Book covers that made me question my sanity – Part two

Indie Guest Post: How To Judge A Book By Its Cover -Tips On Cover Design

One of the first things that we all judge upon when we lay our hands on a book, or even before, is its cover. Despite whatever proverbs we may be used to we definitely are cover obsessed and most of us on instagram depend on their beauty. I even posted a bunch of weird book covers for fun a while ago.

As an indie author it is critical to choose the best cover for your book. This we have Rob discussing about this topic with us. 

Say hello to Rob!

Rob Keeley was born in Wirral, Merseyside, UK. Writing his first story aged seven, his first short play aged eleven and first being published at fifteen, he wrote for several magazines before his first book for children, The Alien in the Garage and Other Stories, was published in 2011.

book covers

He has since written two more collections of children’s stories, one of which, The Dinner Club and Other Stories, was longlisted for the International Rubery Book Award. He has now published all five novels in his Spirits series, the first of which, Childish Spirits, gained him a Distinction for his MA in Creative Writing before being longlisted for the Bath Children’s Novel Award and nominated for the People’s Book Prize in 2015.

He has recently studied Screenwriting and Filmmaking, has been a judge for the IGGY and Litro Young Writers’ Prize and is a Patron of the Children’s Media Foundation. His books have been used in schools, libraries and at literary festivals and he is in demand for his author workshops, which one teacher even described as “inspirational”!

Let’s get on with it shall we?

“Never judge a book by its cover”. That has to be up there with “The camera never lies” as one of those old adages that doesn’t really stand up to close scrutiny. Everyone judges a book by its cover, metaphorically and in the literal (and literary) sense.

When readers shop for books, whether in bricks and mortar bookshops or online, the first thing that catches the eye is the front cover. Even if it’s a book or series title they know, they’ll be relying on the cover to entice them, to draw them in, to promise a thrilling reading journey, destination unknown. 

And if you need proof, look at those empty boxes on websites where the cover isn’t available yet or hasn’t yet been uploaded. How bland and uninviting do those book entries look? Which is why it’s so important for every author, and especially the indie author in creative control of their book, to get the cover right.

It’s so important for every author, and especially the indie author in creative control of their book, to get the cover right. @RobKeeleyAuthor is giving out tips on #bookcoverdesigning Click To Tweet

Working with what we have

It’s not easy, for the indie author. We can be completely on our own, uploading our books directly to the Internet, with only limited numbers of templates or fonts at our disposal. Even those of us who work with a designer or an indie publishing company – and there are some brilliant, talented ones out there – can’t necessarily afford (or access) an illustrator and have to work with what software options are available.

book covers

Of all my books for children, only my picture book My Favourite People has so far had the luxury of an illustrator. My novels and short story collections all made use of stock photos from the Net, which have to be bought and licensed by the author or by the designer acting on their behalf. And finding the right picture to illustrate your work isn’t always easy.

I discovered this with The Dinner Club and Other Stories, when I spent a whole afternoon looking at stock photos of fish and chips, in order to find one that reflected a child’s home dinner with his grandmother. And what did everyone, but everyone (even the judges who longlisted it for an award!) later say to me? It looks like a cookbook! Young readers thought otherwise, however – as will be seen below.

book covers book covers

So we have to work within our budgets, and with whatever we can get. But perhaps this forces us to be all the more creative. It can even feed back into the text of our books. With The (Fairly) Magic Show I changed the card found by a child in the title story from the King of Clubs to the King of Spades, simply because we’d found a brilliant photo of a pile of cards with this on top.

Sometimes a talented designer can change an ordinary stock photo into something magical and memorable. The graveyard of The Spirit of London became this, simply by adding a sunlight effect. On High Spirits, the one that won the award by the way, we changed a stock Grim Reaper hooded spirit into the Doppelganger of the book simply by adding some smoke and a few energy beams to reflect the climax of the novel. 

book covers book covers

The imagination is the only barrier to being creative with what we have. Ask any child who builds entire worlds from building bricks or cardboard boxes. And in my case, they’re my readers.

The imagination is the only barrier to being creative with what we have. Ask any child who builds entire worlds from building bricks or cardboard boxes. Catch @RobKeeleyAuthor talking more on #bookcoverdesigns #indieauthors Click To Tweet

What does the reader want to see?

With all communication, the fundamental question to ask yourself is: who is my target audience? And going on from that, what do they want to see, read or hear? With my novels and short stories, I always visualise the intelligent 9-12 year old, reading a book at school or home, or having it read to them, wanting to be informed, inspired, but above all, entertained!

And therefore, the cover has to reflect this, being as colourful, exciting and intriguing as possible. It’s not a bad ground rule for novels for adults, either. The image should complement the title and reinforce it, while both perhaps pose questions that the reader will want answered. Anything and everything to make them want to read. 

book covers

Sometimes the meaning of the cover and its image won’t become clear until the book is read – as with the ruined world on the cover of The Sword of the Spirit, or the door on The Alien in the Garage. And an added complication these days is that the cover has to be easily adaptable to different formats – paperback, ebook or audiobook. Childish Spirits, the first Spirits novel, is currently being recorded as an audiobook, which has meant reformatting its cover from portrait to square – the shape traditionally used for CDs.

As we’ve seen, we can start with the everyday and make something extraordinary out of it. Sometimes the reaction from the young reader can surprise even the author. The Dinner Club, following its “cookbook” criticisms, went on to inspire reluctant readers I worked with at one school to create their own Dinner Club, with the help of their teachers, in which they were granted an early lunch, ate fish and chips and discussed books and their writing. A cover image did that. Not even the book – its cover. This shows the importance of getting the cover right and tailoring it to its target audience.

book covers book covers

Children’s authors should also remember that it isn’t necessarily about doing a “wacky” or “kiddie” cover. I’ve had criticisms – from adults, always from adults – that my covers look “too grown up”. Childish Spirits was one such novel, with its spooky abandoned nursery and ghostly portrait, yet in one school workshop a group of children solemnly claimed they could see extra ghosts in the doorway and next to the curtain. (Have a look. Can you?)

None of them seemed to think that this book wasn’t for them. And all of them were engaged and stimulated as readers by what they saw. No one ever said that children’s books were just for children, either. It’s worth remembering that Harry Potter was published with children’s and adult covers – and that it’s adults who are frequently the buyers of children’s literature.

How do we design a good cover?

I’m sure that whole books could be devoted to this alone, but here are a few pointers I’ve picked up along the way:

  • Keep your target audience in mind constantly. What do they want to see – and read?
  • Basic background colour is important. You know your text better than anyone – what “colour” is it? A dark fantasy story could call for black. A light-hearted romance might benefit from white. White can also be sinister – especially if some blood appears. Children are attracted by bright colours. And so on.
  • Choose the best possible image from the best source available on your budget. It should be something that captures the essence of your story and/or characters, perhaps obviously, perhaps less so until the book is read.
  • Choose a font that reflects the style of your story, its title and what your audience wants to see. A computerised, businesslike font might look good on a business studies book but less so on your middle-grade fantasy novel.
  • Lay everything out clearly, attractively and don’t clutter your front cover.
  • If you have review quotes from previous books, or an advance review for this one, try and get at least one quote on the cover, if this can be done comfortably without cluttering. Give the source, and make it clear which book it refers to – e.g. “On High Spirits:”. And of course, make sure you’re authorised to reproduce this material! Check with the reviewer if there’s any doubt. Reviews might show up better on printed covers than electronic-only. And if you can’t fit a review on the printed front cover – there’s always the back!
  • The finished front cover should ideally be adaptable to different formats and media. You might get the chance at paperback, ebook and audiobook – as I now have. A good designer can advise you here.

So, a suitably intriguing and attention-grabbing cover can engage the reader, young or old. It simply has to be right for the story, for the characters, and above all, for your audience. And once you get them past the cover? Then you, as the author, can work your magic.

Keep your target audience in mind constantly. What do they want to see – and read? Catch @RobKeeleyAuthor talking more on #bookcoverdesigns #indieauthors Click To Tweet

Thank you, Rob

And I am back to thank him for taking time off his busy schedule to write us a guest post. You can follow and contact Rob through these links. 

Twitter | Blog |

If you have something to add to Rob’s story, drop a comment here or send him a word of thanks on the social media. Both of us would love that.Also, if you are interested in writing a guest post for the independent publishing community, write to me right away. I am still accepting guest post submissions.

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As a reader, what kinda covers put you off a book? As an author, what are the things that you look out when you chose your book cover? Tell us about your experience with choosing your book covers. Let us talk.

Book covers that made me question my sanity – Part two

Ten ridiculous book titles that make me question my sanity

You remember a while ago we shared a good laugh at some of the weirdest book covers, don’t you? I thought it would be more fun to share a similar post but with a twist. Yes here are a few ridiculous book titles that make me reconsider the amount of time I am spending on the internet.

It is not a big secret that I obsess over books and bookish websites. I guess this is the prize for all that.

It is not a big secret that I obsess over books and bookish websites. Here are a few ridiculous book titles that make me reconsider the amount of time I am spending on the internet. Click To Tweet

Ten book ridiculous book titles

But I am not letting you guys off without sharing these gems with you all. Shall we get started?

Disclaimer: This post is intended for fun and not intended to hurt anyone. If it did, I am sorry and it was purely unintentional.

1)How to Start Your Own Country

Ridiculous book titles

Why are we even fighting when we can all have our own countries?

2) If God Loves Me, Why Can’t I Get My Locker Open?

Ridiculous book titles

RIGHT? I demand an answer.

3) Italian Without Words

Ridiculous book titles

I wonder how that works. If you wanted to learn a bit of Italian (with words though) you might want to read Camilla’s post here.

#Disclaimer: This post on Ten book ridiculous book titles is intended for fun and not intended to hurt anyone. If it did, I am sorry and it was purely unintentional. Click To Tweet

4) Knitting with Dog Hair: Better a Sweater from a Dog You Know and Love Than from a Sheep You’ll Never Meet

Ridiculous book titles

I cannot fathom why would anyone need this.

5) Toilet Paper Origami: Delight your Guests with Fancy Folds and Simple Surface Embellishments

Ridiculous book titles

There is frugal living. And then, there is THIS.

6) Everything I Know about Women I Learned from My Tractor

Ridiculous book titles

Because how else would you learn?

7) Fancy Coffins to Make Yourself

Ridiculous book titles

Of all the things that you wanna Do-It-Yourself, you would wanna learn this. Of course.

8) Violent Prayer: Engaging Your Emotions Against Evil

Ridiculous book titles

Let us begin our violent prayer for the world peace, shall we?

9) How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art

Ridiculous book titles

Well, you need to learn that somewhere.

10) Zombie Raccoons & Killer Bunnies

Ridiculous book titles

Now I have more things to be scared of in the woods.

Similar humorous book lists that you may enjoy

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Let us chat:

Do you get fascinated about such ridiculous book titles? Is there a book that you have read in this list? What is the weirdest book title you read? Let us talk.

Book covers that made me question my sanity – Part two

Eight book covers that made me go – WTF!

Of course we are going to judge a book by its covers. Let us be honest, does any one follow that proverb in its literal sense. More often than not, it works so well. So well that they tell us off some books.

I am sure you have seen some interesting covers on books. Who has not?

Here I am presenting some covers that have freaked me out and go WTF, recently.

Let us get on with it, shall we?

Disclaimer: This post is intended for fun and not intended to hurt anyone. If it did, I am sorry and it was purely unintentional.

WTF


Did he cut her head with the axe? If so, shouldn’t the blood mark be on the sharper side? Where are her eye balls?

So many questions!

WTF


Where did they find these weird looking kids? And if this is what feelings make us look like, please let us destroy them!

WTF


What animal is that? And why is it an Australian art? 

WTF

Why is she having a crocodile head and why is it titled ‘carnivore romance’? Is it a romance between the crocodile and the red dress wearing, poker playing lady? And what kinda romance ends up with their bodies morphing into one?

Curiosity got ahead of me and I checked the author on Amazon and guess what? All her covers have an animal head human body combo!! Wut?

WTF

I get this one. Almost.

Thelma and her fiance are in love. Hint: Silhouette image
And he has a pet snake, also pictured. 

But what is that weird white thing with syringe or pen or dagger thing in its hands? 

WTF


What is in that cupcake? Why are they both scared of it? And does she have an Adam’s apple or is it just me?

WTF

Did they just show us a literal balance to indicate the pH balance? And it sure makes me think it is a spiritual thing, rather than science-y. 

WTF

I. am. not. even. gonna. attempt. 

Did you like these covers? Which is your favorite? Should I make another list with such covers? Do you have a cover that weirded you out? Let us chat.

WTF