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Jacket design practices 'scandalous'

CarolCarol
edited May 2009 in - Reading
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/86381-jacket-design-practices-scandalous.html

Comments

  • LizLiz
    I agree with one of the comments.. a synopsis of the book would be better. Perhaps the designer might even read the book... so often the cover bears no relation to whats inside, title or no title...
  • CarolCarol
    That's often a big problem with romance covers, the hero can look nothing like the characters description.
    Well at least we know Dorothy's cover has gone through the mill, so if it isn't perfect it won't be from want of trying...
  • dorothyddorothyd
    interesting. Waterstones seem very aware of what is and isn't right, as do the spirit authors I work with, especially the novelists. One referred me to several matching copies of his books, told me to scan the covers and send them to my editor. This I did, to get the response 'that is exactly how I saw them/' Now I wait ... again!
  • josiehenleyjosiehenley
    I agree that designers should have some idea of book contents but not just the title! As some of the comments with this article suggest, the article seems to suggest that book titles should always be literal. I love the alternative suggestion for ‘Birdsong’. Perhaps we could suggest some alternatives for classic titles that would help book cover designers (or even readers)?

    How about Jane Eyre = My Life of Hell in Mad House
  • CarolCarol
    Pride and Prejudice = Stuck up and arrogant
  • josiehenleyjosiehenley
    Excellent Carol!

    Dracula = Ancient Coffin Dweller Eats Maidens
    Emma = Would-Be Cupid Can’t Sort Her Own Life Out
  • josiehenleyjosiehenley
    Mine are sounding like tabloid headlines.
  • RedRed
    A Christmas Carol - Rich Old Bloke Has Hallucinations
  • josiehenleyjosiehenley
    We are good at inventing modernised headlines to help those poor jacket designers aren’t we?

    Wuthering Heights = Blustery Moor Breeds Disturbed Folk
    Hamlet = Thirty-Something Teen Can’t Decide About Killing Spree
  • Stan2Stan2
    ^
  • RedRed
    Animal Farm = Farm Animals Go Mental And Behave Like Humans
  • dorothyddorothyd
    Oliver Twist = My Victorian Nightmare Life
  • josiehenleyjosiehenley
    Romeo and Juliet = Teen Lovers Suicide Pact
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