The Strategy Behind Changing Book Covers

Digital Marketing in the Attention Economy

Listen up, folks. It's time to talk about something that really gets under people's skin. Something that ruffles feathers and stirs up anger. I'm talking about changing book covers.

Now, I know some of you out there are thinking, "Berin, why can't you just leave things alone? Why do you have to go messing with perfectly good covers?" Well, let me tell you something, my friends. Book covers are a publisher's number one marketing tool. They're the first thing a potential reader sees, and they need to grab that reader's attention and tell them what they need to know.

As someone who has spent a lot of time in the publishing industry, I can tell you that changing a book cover is not a decision that's made lightly. It's a strategic move designed to increase sales and get more eyes on a book. In fact, I've heard from both professional editors and indie publishers that if a book isn't selling as well as it should, the first thing to try is changing the cover.

So, when I recently changed the covers for all of the Foragers Guild books, it wasn't just some random whim. It was because there was a major problem with the old covers. They looked great in print, but as a thumbnail, it was hard to read the title. And let's face it, in today's world of digital sales, the thumbnail is everything. If the cover doesn't look great as a thumbnail, people aren't going to click on it.

That's why I'm not done yet. There's going to be a change to the DoubleZero books soon, for similar reasons. I'm not changing the covers because I don't think the current ones look great. In fact, they're some of my favorite covers that I've ever designed. But at the end of the day, I need to pay the bills and keep the lights on. And if that means tweaking the marketing tools once in a while, then so be it.

So, to the vocal three of you out there who are upset about me changing book covers, I want you to understand that it's not about me being indecisive or trying to confuse anyone. It's about doing what's best for the book, the bottom line, and the future of Lightspress as a whole. It's about staying ahead of the curve and adapting to the changing landscape of publishing.

And if that means changing a few covers along the way, then so be it. Because at the end of the day, what really matters is that people are reading and enjoying great books. And if a new cover helps get more people to discover a book they might not have otherwise, then that's a win.