I’ve been hearing a lot about how important a good cover is. And I agree. It’s very, very important. Many readers won’t even take a look at a book’s description if the cover isn’t appealing to the eye. But I’ve found that the cover isn’t what catches my eye first. It isn’t the most important thing in deciding whether or not to check out the book. For me, it’s the title. I don’t know why that takes precedence over the cover, but for me it does. I’ve been looking at a lot of free books lately because I get emails offering them to me. And I’ve found that even if they’re free, I pass them over if I’m not interested in the title.
So what makes a good title? For me, it has to be intriguing. It has to let me know just a tad about what I might find in the book. Or if it doesn’t, it should make me WONDER what’s in the book. For mystery titles, sometimes the name of the place sparks my interest. Many mystery books use the location as part of the title. If the name of the place sounds spooky, it’s going to catch my eye every time. Ruth Ann Nordin, a best-selling romance writer, just released a regency romance called “Her Counterfeit Husband”. Now that title draws me in. Why is her husband “counterfeit”? I want to know why. Susan Bischoff’s “Heroes Til Curfew” interests me. What about these people makes them heroes? And why is there a curfew? They must be young. Kait Nolan’s “Red” makes me want to take a second look because the title has one word, and I want to know what it means. This is what I’m talking about. The title makes you wonder. I won’t mention any titles that I think are terrible for the same reason I don’t do bad reviews. But I’ve seen some bad ones. And I’ve seen some very, very good ones.
This happens to be a real problem for me as a writer. Why? Because I’m terrible at thinking up titles for my books. I’ve actually had some help with some of my titles. I was very, very lucky with Soul of a Vampire. I thought of the title and the basic story at the same time. It just popped in my head. And I think it’s a good title. The word “vampire” still gets the attention of readers because the vampire craze isn’t quite over yet. Although, it’s never really completely over, because vampire stories have been around forever. And the word “soul” is intriguing to me. It would make me wonder what’s up with this vampire’s soul. Oh how I wish all book titles were this easy for me. I know I’m going to have a real challenge with that when I write the story my husband thought up. It’s kind of a complicated story, but I think it’s going to be a good one if I can write it properly. And if I can think of a good title! I might make him do the title. LOL
What about you? Is a title important to you? Or will the book cover draw you in enough to check out the blurb?
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I think maybe to start with the colors used on a cover catch my eye first. Then the title and then the cover itself is the next thing to see if it shows me more information about the title and what the book is about. If the cover is very plain and not very colorful I may or may not read the title. If I do read the title and the title is catchy then I might read the blurb to see what the book is about before deciding if I buy it.
All in all the cover that catches my attention first is the one I will read the title on. After I’ve looked at the covers that catch my eye then I will start looking at titles on the other books that didn’t grab me to start with.
I think it’s different for everyone. I love a good cover, but the title just grabs me…or not.
I think my Facebook and Twitter buttons on the side are too big….
Hmmm. they are a tad large. 😉
But no bigger than the ROW80 badge. LOL
I really focus on the title of a book first. Yes, the color of a cover might catch my eye, but I’m not picking up a book until I’ve read and like a title.
Then the cover will further draw me in. If everything looks interesting, I’ll read the blurb to see if the subject matter suits my tastes.
Covers are an important part of a book’s initial appeal, but if the title doesn’t draw me in, I might never see the cover at all.
Wow, someone that agrees with me! 🙂 I sort of felt like I would be in the minority because people talk about covers all the time, but people rarely mention titles.
You should post a blurb for your husband’s story on this blog and ask people for suggestions for the title? That would be fun.
I’m one of those people who looks at a cover first. I’ll often buy a book just cause I loved the artwork!
I actually almost did that with one of my books, Emma. I don’t remember which one, maybe The Gnome. It can always be done in the form of a contest. If I can’t think of a name for it, I might do that. We’ll see after I start working on it.
I can see buying a book for the artwork if it’s a print copy, but it doesn’t matter much to me if it’s an ebook. I like seeing the initial cover, but once I’ve bought it, I don’t care. That’s the downside of not buying print books…you don’t have the pretty, shiny on your shelves. 🙂 The cover for my novella compilation, Loving the Dead and the Undead turned out so beautifully, I was SO glad I did that print book.
The cover has to be good. There are far too many cool sounding books and not enough time to read all the samples, so that’s my filtering system. If the cover looks pro, I feel there’s a better chance the author took the time to write an awesome story.
I also use the cover to clue me in as what genre the story falls in. If it looks like a genre I’m not interested in, I move on. So, there’s something to be said for researching covers in your genre and carefully choosing the right one.
The way you feel about the cover is kind of the way I feel about the title. I filter more by titles. That definitely doesn’t discount the importance of a good cover. But for me, title is first, cover second. There are going to be a few exceptions, because some covers are so good, they blow you away. But some of those awesome covers don’t contain good books…I’ve found that time and time again. So I DO read samples before I buy anything unless I’m already familiar with the author’s work. I know it’s time consuming, but I like the fact you can read a sample right there on Amazon without downloading it.
I see what you mean about researching covers in your genre. Since most people DO look at the cover first, if a book looks like it’s about one thing, then it’s about something totally different, the reader is going to be disappointed.
I think for me it has to be a good title and a good cover. I admit that, looking back, some of my titles are boring (esp. Restoring Hope). I’d never give it that name again, but since it’s already out there, I’m letting it stay as is. However, these days, I bounce title ideas a lot. I like to browse books to see what words catches my eye. Then I arrange them with other words I liked. I can’t say this always works. For Her Counterfeit Husband, I brainstormed with a friend for an hour and she came up with it. 😀 I’m glad you like the title.
I like Soul of a Vampire, and I think putting “vampire” in the title is catchy, especially when you’re looking to grab your target audience’s attention. When I was a teenager, the Vampire Diaries first came out in paperback, and I snatched the entire trilogy up without reading the book description because I was intrigued with “Vampire” and “Diaries.” I know it was the title of a series rather than each book (and i don’t remember each title of the books), but the series title still sticks with me after all this time. So yeah, titles are very important. 😀
My first book was A Rocky Path. It was a play on words because she met the hero down a rocky path and their relationship was a rocky path. But readers wouldn’t know that until they read the book, so I’m not sure it was such a great title.
I love the title Her Counterfeit Husband. Oh, and I’m also loving the book…I’m about a third way through it. I’m still blown away that you dedicated the book to me! That was so awesome!