The Design Of A Novels Cover

I don't normally choose a book based on it's front cover (I usually rely on the blurb, or maybe a quick read of the first couple of pages), but it does help, and many people read a book based mainly on the front cover. I think trusting entirely on it may be a bit unreliable, but that's just me.

1. My book, Ostrich Boys, doesn't have a very appealing cover (according to me). It has a black background, covered with curvy roads filled with trains, cars and bikes. There's also a picture of a coffin, and the authors name and title of the book follow the roads. I didn't find this particularly engaging, and nothing really jumped out at me.

2. No, as I said, I didn't really choose this book for it's cover and nothing really jumped out at me. I think that perhaps a more substantial image, such as three silhouettes of boys on a train sitting next to an urn, would have made a better cover. Or perhaps just a close up of a coffin (but that would probably be just a tad morbid).

3. For a good front cover, I really think you need something that leaps out at the reader, but also tells them something about the book. I think dull colours are very boring, and don't attract as much attention as bright, vibrant ones. I don't think that there should be many images on the cover, just one or two central ideas.

4. Why yes, I have. I once read an adult book called the Poet, which on it's cover had pictures of a dark and frightening wood. At first, I thought it would be a horror story set in the woods, but when I read it, it turned out to be an action packed foray into the criminal mind, touching on several taboo subjects.

5. I've asked Harrison Pankhurst if I can study his books front cover. The book is called Monkey Mountain, and is written by Justin D'ath. Being familiar with this series, I could tell you the main plotline, but for this task I'll act like I have never heard of the books. The cover shows a young teenager in a boat, fighting off a ferocious monkey, whilst a volcano explodes in the background. From this, I can gather the fact that it's probably an action adventure based book, and surviving the wild will be a big part of the book.