I think it is undeniable that many people buy books based on cover art. It’s not even something new. Charles Dickens once said, “There are books of which the fronts and backs are the best parts.” I think we all know what he’s talking about.
So what exactly is going on in the minds of book designers? I took a look at a sampling of a thousand books and here is what I discovered.
- If the face is full frontal, most likely it’s a memoir.
Memoirs tend to feature the face of their authors front and center. I guess this makes sense as the point of the sale is to appeal to fans of the author. Memoirs are also meant to be candid and revealing so the approachable face invites the reader to sit down and get to know the subject.
(Curiously, another recent development is having women subjects rest their chin in the palm of their hand. I’ve seen this same pose on several other memoirs including Stormy Daniels’. Not a great image for the current times.)
2. If the work is fiction, the subject is shrouded.
These are just four examples of dozens of fiction covers I saw with the face of the female obscured. While memoirs beckon the reader with warmth and familiarity, fiction hints at the mysterious nature of their protagonists. Are we going to get to know these women? The reader is being enticed to find out the answer.
So are these books being marketed accurately? As I’ve written before, I think you are more likely to encounter truth in fiction than memoir. Memoirists are hampered by bias, self-consciousness, and a curious double consciousness that happens when you write with an awareness of audience. How accurate will anyone be when they know their “characters” will be reading the book? Fiction writers, in theory, have greater freedom to disguise figures from their lives under a thin veil.
Of course it’s not all or nothing. Just look at how well this cover captures both the mystery and the approachability of a subject.
Books Smitten 