Horror Reanimated… the home of Bloody Books

Cover Story, The Sequel by JD’L

October 28th, 2008

I’m glad Bill brought this subject up. He’s absolutely right in what he says about how people buy books. It’s an attraction thing, just like choosing a lover. Psychologists understand the generalities which men and women find attractive. These generalities appear on the covers of magazines and sell them in their millions per day. We call these generalities models. We call them celebrities.

Of course, selling books can’t work in exactly the same way but similar psychological principles apply. Discovering the secret of what is attractive in the right way to as many people as possible is the name of the game. If not, all books would have plain covers; titles alone would be enough to send people digging for their wallets.

Seeing the cover of your debut novel is a special moment, as you’ll have picked up from Bill’s response to first seeing the cover for Through a Glass, Darkly. MEAT’s first draft UK cover had a matt finish. Only the hook shone metallically. The colours were darker and rustier. The original strap line was ‘What’s the worst thing you can imagine?’. The unedited review copies went out with that strap line. As we neared publication, the line became ‘You are what you eat’.

The overall cover design was simple, stark and pertinent, fitting the title exactly. I loved it. Something Bloody Books set out to do was ‘de-ghettoise’ their horror titles: get them front of house in the major chain stores. And this they achieved right out of the gate with MEAT - despite a cover that screamed ‘horror!’. I was delighted to see my novel on the 3 for 2 tables in Waterstones and Borders. However, I suspect Meat’s cover polarised browsers. To the horror fan, it was a definite maybe, especially with a Stephen King quote blazoned above the book’s title. But, to more mainstream readers, I think it became a definite no-no. So, while sales were good, we only attracted the hardcore horror fans willing to take a punt on an unknown author. It’s only now, as word spreads about the research behind the novel that other less horror-centric readers are jumping on the band wagon. I suspect a much wider range of readers found the cover of Through a Glass, Darkly a more tempting prospect.

Comments from some reviewers suggested the UK cover of MEAT was practically a spoiler. Others hinted the jacket was at odds with its contents.

The Hungarian and German translations of MEAT are very similar to Bloody Books’ original. However, the French cover is a shot of a wooden chopping block and a meat cleaver. Barely a trace of blood. And they’ve called it ‘Les Bouchers de Dieu’ (The Butcher’s of God or God’s Butchers depending on your take…) Personally speaking, it’s a far less striking cover but perhaps this is a good thing. As with all things in publishing, time will tell.

Contrary to all I’ve said so far, I also believe that really good books will not lie down and be ignored, even if they have unappealing covers. Books which are able to satisfy a wide audience and which move readers in a lingering way, these books will be talked about and word will spread. There will be foreign sales and there will be reprints.

One final thing to mention about covers:

Bill talks about being involved with the choosing of the design. This is a rare thing indeed, believe me. If you’re not selling books in the tens of thousands per week, it’s very unlikely you’ll be consulted on cover art. Sure, it’ll be in your contract that you’ll be ‘consulted’ but the reality will be that your publisher is likely to consult you when it’s too late to make changes. Bill and I are incredibly fortunate to have a found a publisher like Bloody Books. They talk to us every step of the way. Of course, their say is final when it comes to covers – they’re the ones taking the financial risk of publishing our books, after all – but I can honestly say BB is a rarity among publishing houses.

I’m damned glad I can say that.

(And Master Petherick sipping a little of my blood of a Friday evening seems a small price to pay.)

Knowing Bill has received his cover for The Absence, the proposed cover of The Garbage Man can’t be far behind. I can barely contain myself…

Entry Filed under: Writing Chat