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The Steve Laube Agency

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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Judging a Book by Its Cover

By Steve Laubeon November 18, 2024
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We’ve heard the cliche “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” True. But you do “buy a book by its cover.” We all do. That colorful billboard attracts the eye, disseminates information, and sells the content. Even when the billboard is the size of a postage stamp on Amazon.com, BN.com, or iTunes, you make a judgment on the quality of the book based on its cover.

It is hard to find just the right image, texture, font, and copy to make a book cover work. Mix in the fact that everyone has different tastes, and you have a recipe for controversy. Back in my days at Bethany House, one person on the cover-design committee didn’t like the color orange; so the head designer tried to work around that to avoid getting work voted down in those meetings!

Today I’d like you to take a quiz on the following books and vote A, B, or C as to which cover design you like best. Try not to peek at the one in print before you vote. Think like a marketer and not only your personal taste. Think about the book itself and which image reflects the content in a way that you might buy it. These are actual cover designs I have seen for the same book in the past. I’m sorry, the thumbnails are small and cannot be clicked to enlarge. That is part of the point of this exercise; it teaches you to view a cover like one is viewed online. And when you finish voting, watch the embedded video below to see the extraordinary cover variations for a general-market novel published by Penguin Random House. (FYI, a couple of the images are a little more racy than I would like.) I cannot imagine the time and cost it took to create the final design.

I posted this quiz ten years ago on this blog, and over 50 readers voted. None got them all correct! Can you do better without looking them up? I will post the “correct” answers later in the day.

A

B

C

FifthMan_comp2 FifthMan_rev5 FifthMan_comp1d
 Wings5  Wings1  Wings4
 KOC1  KOC2  KOC5
 comp Half ticket flat  Comp yellow tag  Comp cute pig
 WhiteCvr_a  WhiteCvr_b  WhiteCvr_c
 a (1)  a stand_up_guy  A Stand-Up Guy option A
 Tenny_comp13_teale  Tenney_Clouds2_teale  Tenneycomp#10

 

 

Place your vote below!

 

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Category: Art, Book Business, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Covers

Fun Fridays – November 15, 2024

By Steve Laubeon November 15, 2024
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Palette cleanser with today’s video. Sheer Joy! Conquering the get-it-done pile!

Read moreFun Fridays – November 15, 2024
Category: Fun Fridays

We’re Engaged!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 14, 2024
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No, we’re not engaged in anticipation of a wedding. We’re engaged in your work as literary agents. When we respond to you with suggestions, we’ve read enough of your work to discern that we like your writing style and story and may eventually pursue representation. If we offer recommendations, please consider them. As a writer, you have a right not to take any of our suggestions. …

Read moreWe’re Engaged!
Category: Agents

Point of View #4

By Lynette Easonon November 13, 2024
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Last time I talked about Deep Point of View. Now, let’s jump into some practical tips for application. Eliminate “Distance” Words Eliminate “distance” words like “saw,” “heard,” “felt,” “thought,” “wondered,” “noticed,” and so on. Is there ever a time you’d use those? Of course, but for now, let’s try not to use them. I call them “distance” words because they distance the reader from …

Read morePoint of View #4
Category: Craft, Writing Craft

How to Be a Successful Author-Entrepreneur With Kara Swanson

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on November 12, 2024
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Become an author entrepreneur by learning to leverage transferrable business skills to build a sustainable writing career.

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Category: The Writing Life

Veterans Day

By Steve Laubeon November 11, 2024
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Today is a special day in the United States where we honor our veterans. It is our opportunity to thank and celebrate all those who have served our country in military service. Thank you for your service! In 2021, Andrew Budek-Schmeisser posted these great words, and we are reposting them with his permission. They are perfect for this day: They did not have deferments,or parents in high places,yet …

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Category: Personal

Fun Fridays – November 8, 2024

By Steve Laubeon November 8, 2024
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Today’s video is a classic problem for those of us who love books. Can anyone relate?

Read moreFun Fridays – November 8, 2024
Category: Fun Fridays

Writing Out of Your Mind

By Dan Balowon November 6, 2024
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To be a successful working author, at some point in time you need to write about things that don’t already exist in your mind. Even Christian writers are not immune to this. If you write about something in the Bible and never learn the context or study the actual meaning of the text, you might be missing something important. Relying on memory or thinking, I know this stuff, can be dangerous. …

Read moreWriting Out of Your Mind
Category: Creativity

Why Can’t I Find My New Book in My Local Bookstore?

By Steve Laubeon November 4, 2024
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Some might think this question is silly and antiquated since we know that 100% of all books are sold by Amazon and that no one buys physical books any more, and least of all in physical bookstores. Why? Because there aren’t any more bookstores! They have all closed. But wait. Even if a publisher attributes 50% of their total physical book sales to Amazon, we cannot ignore the other 50%! But …

Read moreWhy Can’t I Find My New Book in My Local Bookstore?
Category: Book Business, Book Sales, MarketingTag: Book Business, Book Sales, Bookstores

Fun Fridays – November 1, 2024

By Steve Laubeon November 1, 2024
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Today is my wife’s birthday. Pardon me while I send her this video greeting.  (I’m the one at the end of the video wearing glasses.)

Read moreFun Fridays – November 1, 2024
Category: Fun Fridays
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