Whether or not you’re familiar with the publishing industry, the oft-repeated adage of not judging a book by its cover often falls flat in application. The truth is that a book’s cover is the first thing a person sees, whether they’re browsing through their favorite bookstore or clicking around online.
book covers
How Presses in China Acquire Translated Books from Other Countries
By Xian Wang
Translating books contributes to the exchange of ideas and dialogue between cultures and nations. Presses in China publish a large amount of translated books, both in the public domain and newly acquired books. Let’s take a look at how they handle foreign rights.
Arial versus Garamond: Tips of the Trade for Making Font Choices
By Emma Wolf
Your chosen font should invoke the messaging of the book and how you want the reader to feel while immersed in the writing. The right font is something the reader may not even notice because it flows so well with the content, whereas the wrong font can seem awkward and out of place, creating a jarring reading experience.
We’re All on Our Way to Becoming Bookstagram Stars
By Vivian Nguyen @vivqnguyen
Book lovers, take a look at your shelf. What do you see? Not all of us can be Bookstagram stars with a plethora of breathtaking displays, but recently I’ve discovered that my books seem to follow a very similar color scheme. At first I thought this was a happy coincidence, but it turns out that publishers definitely know what they’re doing. In the book publishing world, marketing all begins with the cover.
Exceptions to the Rule: Books You Can Judge by Their Covers
By Anna Stein
How does one choose what book to read next? There are indeed a plethora of ways to discover your next literary treasure. Certain authors may interest you, you may be immersed in a genre, you may have been stunned by a book’s reputation, or you may pursue an interest in either something you love or something that is new to you. There is one approach, however, you supposedly should never use to choose what your next literary adventure will be, and that is judging the book by its cover. However, while this rule does apply to almost the entirety of the publishing world, there are always some exceptions.
Conscious Book Design: How to Decrease Harmful Practices and Embrace Diversity
By Denise Morales Soto @dmoralessoto
There is an ongoing conversation about conscious editing and how important it is to making great inclusive stories. I would be the first to tell you how crucial it is for books to be edited consciously, as it increases the accuracy and the quality of a book and helps it appeal to a wider audience—something that is very important in publishing. But that is not the only area in book production that has so much to gain from conscious practices, diversity, and different perspectives—design can also benefit from these things.