Scarecrow

Does this irritate anyone else?

A book is written, and it has a great cover. Or maybe not a great cover, but at least a cover with a picture on it. Example:

http://images.contentreserve.com/Ima...5%7DImg100.jpg

A decade or so later, as the series is reprinted, for some reason the publishers decide to replace the cover with something boring and blank, under the guise of a "collector's edition" or some such bullshit. Example:

http://ec3.images-amazon.com/images/...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

This irritates the hell out of me. I'll find an old series in the library or something, decide I like it, and go to the bookstore to purchase it, only to find that it's been re-released with a cover that's boring as hell. How could anyone conceivably prefer a blank, dull cover to one with a beautiful illustration on it?

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Hodge

What the fuck? Why would they remove the cover art for Km Stanley's Mars series? That's great cover art!

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DesolateValkyrie

yeah...that doesn't even make sense. the point is to sell, right? so they should try to grab your attention...what a dumb buisness move. lol.

Couchfiend

Yeah, thats pretty strange. Maybe they couldn't get the copyright or something for the original cover art?

G. Palmer

Was the second one a hardback of paperback, and was the first a hardback or paperback?

I like plain covers on hardback books, I mostly buy hardbacks if I want a good version of a book on my bookshelf, so often by the time I've purchased it I already like the book and will probably never touch the hardback cover again in my life except to reorganise my bookshelf - I read the paperbacks, but again, cover art is only important when you're trying to sell the book to people browsing on a shelf. At least in my view.

Scarecrow

They were both paperbacks. I think Couchfiend might have a point when he suggetss it's a copyright thing; perhaps the new covers are being published by a different company, who won't let them use the old illustrations.

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strangedaze

the worst is when the book is made into a film and they use a still or something for the cover. ie: Fight Club, Million Dollar Baby, The Shipping News, etc.

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Der_Parvenu_Meister

the cover is everything, like you know the american psycho cover, the art one with the blood on his face? or muscle or what ever it is? the latest release of american psycho I've seen is some white cover with red stuff in water and in tiny letters " american psycho", looks rubbish.

AdrienneW

They probably do this for several reasons. One, they don't want to have to pay the cover artists any royalties (some do take royalties for payment) two, they only paid for so many "copies with rights" to that art work. Unless a publishing company buys the art work out right, they do not "own" it and cannot print it forever and ever without compensation to the artist.
Lastly, and it fits under all of the above, higher profit margin and less expense, when you don't pay an artist to decorate the book for you.

Scarecrow

If I ever get something published, I won't except anything but the best cover art on all of my books. If we lost copyright or whatever, I'd demand that we get somebody new to draw another cover equally as good. None of this "collector's edition" shit.

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PageOfCups

You don't get a choice about cover art when you don't self publish. The publishing house choses it.

On another note some of the best covers I've seen have been incredibly plain. Sabriel by Garith Nix springs to mind. The cover for the first paperback of that was white with lots of small white runes that you could only see when you titled the book in the ligh and a red symbol on the front. Simple and very atractive. The cover now is more complex and to be honest I don't like it.

lilacstarflower

That first cover seems to have suited what the book was about. Although not a picture everyone may like it attracted attention

That second one was just plain boring - I wouldn't even pick that one up to read what it was about

Stewart

Of those two covers I would not go near the first one. The second one might, at the very least, encourage me to pick it up and have a look to see what it's about.

The first suggests throwaway space opera and the second implies a bit of class and staying power.

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Leamadzw

I prefer classic and simple covers for my bookshelf, but like cover art when i first read a book because it helps sets the scene. I love stepbacks too. The Virginia Andrews stepbacks are fantastic!

Flintenspiel

I always thought you weren't supposed to judge a book by its cover.
(Maybe that was just referring to originals, not re-releases.)