Yesterday’s post, by Jodi, struck a chord with me. I started to post a reply and somewhere in the fifth paragraph I decided that, just maybe, I ought to flesh out my thoughts in the venue of a real post, instead of hiding it down among the comments.

It’s not something I speak of often, or admit in mixed company, but my college degree is in Advertising (a B.S. for those of you searching for irony). And that puts me in a unusual, though not unique, position to observe that many authors refuse to acknowledge the need for advertising.

“Do you also choose your books by their covers? I prefer to read before judging.” ~Tuck (Fourth Fiction contestant)

This statement embodies a baffling combination of naïveté, intentional twisting of language, and hypocrisy that is frighteningly prevalent among artists in general, and authors in particular.

Let’s start with the loose use of language in this oversimplification. Do you know anyone who judges a book by it’s cover? I have four kids and none of them—including the six-year-old—do this. What they—or should I say, we—are sometimes guilty of is judging whether we will read a book by its cover. That’s a pretty stark difference.

Next up is the naïveté of the statement. I’ve never counted the number of books at the nearest Borders, but if it’s not 50,000 unique titles I’d be surprised. How am I supposed to decide what to load up my to-read pile with if I don’t either select titles at random, or use a few superficial criteria to narrow the choices? Of course there are non-superficial criteria available to me, but if I rely on suggestions from friends and authors I’m familiar with I’m going to have to read an awful lot of sample passages to pick out what’s going to keep me company during my commute.

Now let’s take a brief look at the hypocrisy. We ALL judge “books” by their “covers” EVERYDAY. Whether it be those among us who are already miffed at the success of Dan Brown’s next novel because he sold a bazillion copies of what amounts to a pulp novel, or those of us whose eyes follow the shapely brunette we pass on the street. We HAVE to make these snap judgments in order to live our lives without being inundated by a flood of choices. For example, in anticipation of this post, when I went to the grocery store for milk a few hours ago I counted the number of novels available for me to purchase—at the grocery store I had a choice of 209 different novels by 122 different authors.

So why do so many of us—and by us I mean both writers and the larger classification artists—still cling to the notion that people shouldn’t judge our books by their covers?

I think it’s the distasteful notion that after all the blood and sweat that went into our creation—whether it be a short story, a painting, a screenplay, a sculpture or a novel—we still need to convince people that it’s worth more than a casual look. It feels a bit like making a new mother convince people that her new baby is cute. We just feel it should be obvious.

But the fact is that advertising is a necessary component—you may think necessary evil is more accurate—not just of writing or publishing, but of modern life. Candidates for president have to advertise. Charities who want to eliminate cancer, or help battered women and children need to advertise. Chewing gum needs to advertise.

Whether we like it or not, writers need to advertise.

And I’m not just talking about book covers. It’s 2009 and you’re just not technologically conscious unless you have your own website—without exaggeration, many writers have a half dozen sites in their stable. But you might be surprised if you were to count how many of those sites are an off-the-shelf template with a title that took the writer ten seconds to come up with.

I’ve read a half dozen posts this year warning authors not to get caught up in the design of their blogs because it gets in the way of actual writing. And I don’t disagree. But while under-designing your website will give you more time to write, it will also assure that the people who wander into your writing are less likely to stick around.

So the next time we’re all on our collective soapbox preaching about injustice, ask yourself why you dress up for a job interview…or a date. Ask yourself why so many of the websites you bookmark look good.

And remember, you spent too many hours to count working on that novel, or collection of short stories, or whatever you’ve written. Do you really want to shoot yourself in the foot over just a few hours spent carefully considering how you will convince people to read it?

“I see some of you plan to vote me off already. Do you also choose your books by their covers? I prefer to read before judging.” ~Tuck (Fourth Fiction contestant)

Like a few of the other writers here at Write Anything I have been following the twitter feed for Fourth Fiction, the first ever blog based reality show, which the above comment comes from. The retort elicited some interesting responses – most to do with the fact that yes books are judged by the cover.

The mistake Tuck has made is to confuse advertising (the cover) with product (the writing) and the fact they are two separate, yet interconnected entities, each with their own unique decision making processes attached to them

Let’s make no mistakes about it – book covers are all about advertising. The cover, like the best advertisement, exists to sell an idea, information, a story, a character, an expectation, a feeling, an opportunity to escape. The retailer, the reader and the reviewer are all the intended targets of the book cover woo, like a lover, the cover moves in with a psychological arsenal all intended to evoke an emotional response to get its wicked way with you.

The best covers make use of all available advertising space – the spine (to showcase a catchy title), the front cover (to enthrall with unforgettable images), the back cover (to covet you with a taster which leaves you wanting more) and then, if all those boxes have been ticked and you move onwards to home base, there is the inside cover with more information on the book and the author to seal the deal. It is all over in less than two minutes often-the most efficient of flirtations.

Author and marketing guru Seth Godin states in his article The Purpose of a Book Cover that rather than sell or accurately describe, the cover sets the book up to have maximum impact on the reader.  He lists seven ways a cover may accomplish this, by being:

• Iconic – because iconic items tend to signal ‘important’
• Noticeable across the room – you see that lots of other people own it, thus making it likely that you’ll want to know why
• Sophisticated – because this helps reinforce that the ideas inside are worthy of your time
• Original – why bother reading a book you already know
• Clever
• Funny
• Generic – reminding you of a genre or another book you liked, not generic as in boring

I tend to believe these seven points also attract readers to the book and encourage them to buy it. I would argue also that iconic has much more to do with being ‘popular’ or ‘cool’.

Sophisticated is the category I would put my most persuasive book cover for 2009 into, though it probably also falls into noticeable and iconic now, but those were not the reason I was suckered.

When I finally took the plunge and bought Twilight earlier this year, having somehow missed all the hype surrounding it (yes I think I was living under a rock!), I bought it entirely on the strength of the beautiful, haunting cover. For months I had been admiring the evocative images and wondering what was behind it. I’ll be the first to admit I was successfully sold the concept that the ideas inside were worthy my time. Mission complete. Regular readers however know my own personal take on the Twilight saga and author Stephenie Meyer.

But sometimes the book cover has the potential to get it all wrong. Nabokov understood the persuasive potential of a cover when he insisted his publishers not put picture of a young girl on the front cover of Lolita. He didn’t want the “wrong kinds” of people drawn to it. The book looked like this when it was released in 1955:

And this, grave turning version in 1999:

This was the copy I read earlier this year and felt incredibly uncomfortable reading it in public – making sure the cover was hidden or face down when I wasn’t reading. I felt it a totally inappropriate choice by the publishers given the girl in the painting is about the same age as Lolita (much younger than her 14 years in the movie adaptation) and is cropped down version of a painting which originally included a cat. My partner picked it up at a book sale for me. I’m not sure, even though I desperately wanted to read it, would I have bought this edition.

Book covers and anything which personifies and attempts to sell a piece of writing runs the risk of failing when inappropriate for the market, pushing the reader away rather than drawing them in – regardless of how mindblowing, pertinent or entertaining the writing behind may be. Tuck might like to remember this as the twitterfest continues on!

Although we know the adage Don’t judge a book by its cover it seems to me to be a warping of the actual truth You can’t judge a book by its cover. And it is true – you can’t. Anymore than you can judge the experience of a new bar of soap or a tropical holiday in Fiji from an ad. Until you have read the book you are unable to make a conclusive decision about the contents – all you can be certain of, if the book is in your hand, is the advertising pitch wove its magic on you.

Do you believe a book cover is there to sell, to describe or as Godin suggests, to set the reader up? What are your favourite book covers? What drew you to them? What category would you put them in?

Image via ecosan

In The Artist’s Way Julia Cameron talks about something called “filling the well”. All artistic endeavours draw heavily upon our artistic well. Each brushstroke, each paragraph, each performance is like pulling another bucket of nourishing water from the well.

Then one day, you drop the bucket down and instead of a splash, you hear a clunk. You’ve tapped the well for all it can give you. While you’ve been busy drawing on the well, you’ve done nothing to replenish the well.

That’s what it feels like at the moment for me. I have neglected to replenish my well, existing on the artistic equivalent of the deep groundwater, overtaxing it and myself.

There are a number of things that you can do to refill your artist’s well, and Julia Cameron’s book is effectively a twelve week course in water resource management for the artist. One method of replenishing a well not mentioned however is time – leave the well alone, stop drawing on it, let it fill back up.

But wait, you cry – if we’ve followed the metaphor correctly, wouldn’t that mean stopping writing altogether? Perhaps. But I think writers have different wells for different occasions, and it is one specific well that I’m thinking of letting lie fallow for a while. It is the well I draw on for inspiration for these articles.

And this is where you guys can help. I find that at the moment I can write when told what to write, but I’m finding it fiendishly difficult to come up with my own ideas. I know from looking at the webstats that we get a lot of hits daily, but only a handful of people leave comments. So either the majority of people are totally satisfied with what they’ve read and can add nothing further (which I doubt) or we’re not inspiring and challenging people enough.

I need your ideas for things to write about.

For some months now we’ve been trying to enhance the interactivity of the site with the readership, and the best way to do this is through the comments. So lets start writing about what you the readers want to read about. What am I not talking about, that you desperately want to read about? What areas do you think are being ignored that you want to see explored? This may be my column, but it’s your time I’m taking up expecting you to read this. That’s an obligation on me to provide something worthwhile to you.

So lets hear from you out there, the silent visitors. Let’s make this your site too. Talk to me.

Welcome to the July 2009 Creative Carnival edition!

What is this? It’s a chance to compile some great articles around the blog-o-sphere showcasing all sorts of writing. If you need to know more, or would like to submit an article for the next Creative Carnival, read this.

So, without further ado, grab a cup o’ joe, kick off your shoes and sit a spell, there’s lots of interesting reading just a click away.

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Poetry

Junius presents I Am posted at Her Name Is Omega.

CBCreations presents A Birthday Invite posted at Measure of All Things, saying, “My attempt at emulating Dr Seuss”

Richard Shelmerdine presents Some Random Haiku Poems posted at Richard Shelmerdine.

Linda Ann Nickerson presents Fireworks and Acrostics posted at Nickers and Ink, saying, “A collection of acrostic poems – from Nickers and Ink.”

Essays

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Tubing Blues posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Elisha Webster Emerson presents L’art’ Pour L’art’ It’s Child’s Play posted at My Inconvenient Body, saying, “A realistic discussion about dreams (life goals, the like)”

Tessa presents living in the past? posted at kajoemanis, saying, “It is about appreciating one’s past by forgiving it in order to embrace his/her future.”

Kaz Jordyn presents Ralph’s Birthday posted at Kaz Jordyn, saying, “The death of our local Big Issue vendor, Ralph Millward, prompted me to start writing this blog – something I promised myself I’d do several years back.”

Benjamin Solah presents Thoughts On Publishing: Emerging Writers v Emerging Bands posted at Benjamin Solah: Writer and Revolutionary.

Tiffany presents Paris Vignettes posted at tragedienne, saying, “In the summer of 1999 when I was 20 years old, I went on a study abroad trip to Paris with my cousin Danielle, sponsored by her school, Tulane University. During the month I spent there I learned a lot about Paris, and a lot about myself as well. Here are some excerpts from the journal that I kept.”

Fiction

Ram Raghavan presents Naxal shadow in forest India posted at ramraghav.com, saying, “A fictional account of life in an Indian village under the sway of Marxist insurgents.”

Andrew Amelinckx presents The True Sentence posted at The True Sentence, saying, “This is an ongoing project in which I write a new sentence everyday. It’s dedicated to Ernest Hemingway’s quest for the perfect sentence.”

Annie presents When the ship has sailed posted at Annies Musings, saying, “A woman, beyond normal measures of exhaustion, wonders if she has undertaken the right life decision.”

Adam presents An Allegory of Economics posted at Sophistpundit, saying, “didactic fiction”

Ilavaluthy presents Madness, just needs a small push ! posted at Ila, trying to find a place in the world.

Chris presents New War of the Worlds: Science and Religion posted at Martial Development, saying, “Alien Commander Kang delivers a speech on foolish humans, and their foolish war between science and religion.”

Karen presents Fantasy Leap posted at Fiction Fix, saying, “If only we could jump into our stories … and then stay there.”

Nonfiction

Relax presents How to improve your writing posted at The Wise Curve, saying, “the ultimate way to keep the pen mightier than the sword.”

Amy Dyslex presents Creative Writing Ideas posted at Write a Writing.

Joshua Dodson presents When does inspiration hit? posted at Writers Community, saying, “When does inspiration hit?”

Shaun Duke presents Reality Check: The Average Consumer and Books posted at The World in the Satin Bag.

Joshua Dodson presents Five Ways to Jump Start Your Next Poem posted at Writers Community, saying, “Five Ways to Jump Start Your Next Poem”

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This concludes the July 2009 edition of the Creative Carnival. THANK YOU for submitting your links! If you would like to see your work showcased in the August 2009 edition, please submit your links here. (Please, one link per blog. If you submit more than one link per blog, I will only use the first link submitted.)

If you submitted your link and don’t see it here, that probably means I received it after the deadline.

Thanks for visiting the carnival participants and don’t forget to check back August 8th for the next Creative Carnival.

[Fiction] Friday Challenge for July 10th, 2009:

Write about a misunderstanding between three people.

How Fiction Friday works
Fiction Friday is easy to do.

• Every Thursday, just check this page for this week’s theme or challenge.
• Spend at least 5 minutes composing something original based on the theme or challenge.
• But, remember, no editing. This is to inspire creativity not stifle it.
• On Friday, simply post what you wrote to your own blog.
• Then come back to Write Anything and leave the link in the comment section below.

If you’re participating in the Write Anything meme, please leave a link to your entry in the box below. (If you’re not participating, please don’t leave a link. People who aren’t playing will be removed). Please don’t forget to leave us a comment in addition to leaving a link!
You might also like to Tweet links from this site as they are posted.

[Fiction] Friday Participants

1. Annie Evett 2. William 3. James Ashelford 4. Emmalyn

5. rebecca 6. Uncle Tee 7. Chris Chartrand 8. Paul

9. Al McKillop 10. Ingrid Senger-Perkins 11. jeraldsjackson

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

If you’d like to participate further, just go visit some of the other links left by other participants, read what they wrote, and leave a comment. Just be sure that your comment is constructive—this is, after all, a meme to give us all a little writing practice.

Want more information? Visit the Fiction Friday page.

Technorati tags: fiction, fiction friday

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LAST CHANCE to send in your submissions!

Next CC: July 11th

Submission Deadline: 11:00 p.m. central time, July 10th.
Only one submission per blog, please.

Recently, my step-uncle moved out of our house in to his own apartment. This reminded me of when we moved to Oklahoma about six years ago. When you’re packing boxes, you tend to find things you forgot you even owned. I feel the same about writing.

Every now and then, I get the urge to do Spring cleaning whether it be Spring or not. I find stories or ideas I can’t believe I even wrote. Some notes don’t make sense or pieces I intended to finish but never did. During one of my cleaning binges, I found a composition notebook full of stories I wrote in the 6th grade.

Most were fairytale-like stories and were not well written. I couldn’t believe how far I had come with just the basics. I also recovered the rough draft for a “revenge” novel I wrote in high school along with a friend. I call it a “revenge” novel because it starred several fellow classmates (actual names and descriptions were never used) in vampire massacre plot.

Today, that may seem like a Columbine waiting to happen. However, it was anything but that. Most of the characters were friends not enemies. The first one was finished by rough draft standards and a sequel was in the works but never completed. I thought I had lost both during the last move. I still get a chuckle re-reading our “masterpiece”.

The moral of this post is to do a little Spring cleaning. You’d be amazed at what you’ll find.