Let's just be honest here: awful covers are abundant in YA literature. I was browsing the MG shelves several weeks ago at one of my local bookstores and found myself stopping and picking up several titles because of their fantastic cover art.
Yet I couldn't help but think to myself, Why?! Why are so many MG covers so beautifully done, yet the YA realm gets stuck with so many fugly ones? And then I'd proceeded to fall to my knees, pull at my hair, and let out a melodramatic and incredibly pained wail.
Not really. I don't think I could pull that off in a bookstore.
I understand that each publisher chooses each and every face to grace each of its novels. Over the past year, I've had the pleasure of interviewing authors, art directors, and designers over on my little blog. I've heard stories of rejected covers and have seen dozens of revisions of cover art. I work in an industry that's used to having salespeople, creative directors, copywriters, and clients' all try to stick their finger in every single part of the creative pie.
However, in the publishing industry, my first and foremost concern is what an author thinks about a cover. No one wants to believe that they gave birth to an ugly baby. Even so, I've been tempted several times to ask authors off-the-record how they really feel about their covers. Because honestly, no author would ever say (in any public space), "Hey, check out my new cover! I hope you like it! Even though I think it's kinda MEH and doesn't really represent what the story is about AT ALL."
And while terrible cover art makes for great discussion, I also have to admit that the sheer dislikability in a cover has never completely turned me off from reading an author's work. (Hard to believe, I know.) There are wonderful books with not-so-pretty faces, rest assured. But this is what hardcover books with removable jackets are for, right? (Unless you read this book, which freaked me out as soon as I took off its jacket)
Here are a few novels that I've heard wonderful things about but their cover art wouldn't make me rush out to buy them now (or in the future) at first glance:
The bottom line: it's the kind of folks like Nicole here at WORD for Teens that are the real book-pushers that help dictate where my hard-earned cash-money goes. They're the ones that make me care more about a novel's heart than its face. My IRL friends who recommend me books are careful to preface a beloved novel with, "You may not love the cover, BUT..." It's a bit embarrassing to admit that my friends give books disclaimers before they hand them over. But on the flip side, it's refreshing to know that people are finally coming to terms with the fact that we do judge books by their covers.
Capillya from That Cover Girl
While she's still not quite sure she's a legit blogger (since she doesn't own any animals nor needs coffee to function properly), her love of design and reading inspired her to create a blog dedicated to awesome (and awful) YA cover art. Her producer job helps finance her unhealthy spending on sneakers, baked goods, and of course, books.