Meadow337
Former Moderator
Book Covers And Social Media: The Basics
http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2013/09/28/book-covers-and-social-media-the-basics/
It’s well known, and has been for years, that in order to get the most out of social media you have to use it as part of a wider communications and marketing plan. Traditional channels must support new social channels, and visa versa. There must be cross-pollination. For many companies, this has translated in to making sure that your ads include your Facebook and Twitter accounts, and even related Twitter hashtags. But what should it mean for publishers?
Flicking through a new book that I recently bought, I was struck by the fact that the cover didn’t include the author’s Twitter account details, despite the fact that this particular author is very active on Twitter. I decided to do a straw poll of the physical books, both self-published and published, which I have acquired over the last three years. Although Twitter, Facebook and the web have been around for a lot longer than three years, I figured it was only fair to give publishers the benefit of the doubt and a bit of extra time to wrap their heads around how social fits in to their existing habits and processes.
I looked at the covers and innards of 16 traditionally published books, across SF, fantasy, crime, YA and literary genres, and three self-published books. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that 19 isn’t a particularly impressive sample, but much of my recent buying has been ebook based, and for the purposes of this straw poll, they can’t count. But even with only 19 books, the results were staggering.
I first looked at the covers and dust jackets of each book, searching for links to:
Of the 16 traditionally published books, 10 had links to the author’s website, and all 16 had links to the publisher’s website. There were another 11 links to other websites, primarily the parent company of that particular imprint, but also sometimes links to the source of the cover image. One publisher, however, decided that one mention of their URL on the back cover wasn’t enough, and that three was a much better number. There is such a thing as overkill.
Only two covers included the author’s Twitter handle. Two. And I know for a fact that of the 15 of authors represented (one author had two books in the heap), 14 are on Twitter, and most of them are very active. Only one author — ironically, the youngest of the authors represented; so much for ‘digital natives’* — was not findable on Twitter.
But wait, you say, surely there’s plenty of room inside the book for all these links? You’d be right, but you’d also be, oh, so very wrong. Only three books carried their author’s website details somewhere inside, although again, all 16 included the publisher’s URL, plus another 9 additional publisher-related links. There were no Twitter, Facebook, mailing list or other links for the authors in any of the books.
Furthermore, none of the books included links to the publisher’s Twitter, Facebook or other social media presences, and no links to relevant mailing lists. None. Nada. Not a one. Can we see anything wrong with this picture?
Gollancz, however, gets a special mention for including a QR code on its info page. I know some people hate QR codes, but that’s like hating taps or telephones. QR codes are tools and it’s how you use them that’s important. Gollancz used them to send readers to their non-mobile-optimised blog. I would have advised them to instead create a custom landing page for each book, with bookstores links for the other books in the series, links to the author’s website, latest Tweets, etc. You’ve got one opportunity to do the right thing with QR codes, and Gollancz, whilst getting brownie points for the attempt, could have done a lot better.
So what about the self-publishers? My sample was laughably small, but two out of three included author website on the cover, and a different two included a publisher website link (my assumption is that they have created their own publishing house for the sake of credibility, which is a whole other discussion). Inside the books, two included the author website, one included the author’s Twitter account and mailing list, and two included the author’s email address.
For many self-publishers, it’s a bit of a no-brainer to include all your key links in your books (including your email is a matter of personal taste). But regardless of whether you are a self-publisher or a traditional publisher, there’s no excuse for missing out key pieces of information that readers might find useful from your cover and inside the book. In my opinion, your cover copy should include:
Internally, you should provide all the links you have, ie all the above, plus:
If you decide to use QR codes, do not send users to a generic page, but to a customised landing page that gives them what they want: more information about that author, that book, other books in the series, other books by that author, links to their website, Twitter account, etc. Landing pages are not difficult to do and every single author on your list should have one, regardless of whether they are active online or not.
We are now firmly in the 21st Century and the internet is ubiquitous. Your readers are online, they are using their mobile phones and their tablets to find out more about the authors they love. Don’t make it hard for them — give them the most important links right there on the cover, where they can see them at a glance. The rest should be clearly listed on an easy to find page inside, not mixed up with copyright and edition info.
If you are a book cover designer, or a typographer working in book design, you should make it standard practice to ask your clients for this information. If you are an editor, you should be asking your author for this information. This is not optional anymore, it must becomes standard practice for both self-publishers and traditional publishing houses.
* I can’t use the phrase ‘digital native’ without pointing out that the concept is claptrap, a construct created to draw false lines in the sand between generations. There is absolutely no good evidence that young people understand digital any better than people twice their age.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2013/09/28/book-covers-and-social-media-the-basics/
It’s well known, and has been for years, that in order to get the most out of social media you have to use it as part of a wider communications and marketing plan. Traditional channels must support new social channels, and visa versa. There must be cross-pollination. For many companies, this has translated in to making sure that your ads include your Facebook and Twitter accounts, and even related Twitter hashtags. But what should it mean for publishers?
Flicking through a new book that I recently bought, I was struck by the fact that the cover didn’t include the author’s Twitter account details, despite the fact that this particular author is very active on Twitter. I decided to do a straw poll of the physical books, both self-published and published, which I have acquired over the last three years. Although Twitter, Facebook and the web have been around for a lot longer than three years, I figured it was only fair to give publishers the benefit of the doubt and a bit of extra time to wrap their heads around how social fits in to their existing habits and processes.
I looked at the covers and innards of 16 traditionally published books, across SF, fantasy, crime, YA and literary genres, and three self-published books. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that 19 isn’t a particularly impressive sample, but much of my recent buying has been ebook based, and for the purposes of this straw poll, they can’t count. But even with only 19 books, the results were staggering.
I first looked at the covers and dust jackets of each book, searching for links to:
Author’s website
Author’s Twitter account
Author’s mailing list
Publisher’s website
Publisher’s Twitter account
Publisher’s mailing list
Other links to Facebook, etc.
Author’s email
Author’s Twitter account
Author’s mailing list
Publisher’s website
Publisher’s Twitter account
Publisher’s mailing list
Other links to Facebook, etc.
Author’s email
Of the 16 traditionally published books, 10 had links to the author’s website, and all 16 had links to the publisher’s website. There were another 11 links to other websites, primarily the parent company of that particular imprint, but also sometimes links to the source of the cover image. One publisher, however, decided that one mention of their URL on the back cover wasn’t enough, and that three was a much better number. There is such a thing as overkill.
Only two covers included the author’s Twitter handle. Two. And I know for a fact that of the 15 of authors represented (one author had two books in the heap), 14 are on Twitter, and most of them are very active. Only one author — ironically, the youngest of the authors represented; so much for ‘digital natives’* — was not findable on Twitter.
But wait, you say, surely there’s plenty of room inside the book for all these links? You’d be right, but you’d also be, oh, so very wrong. Only three books carried their author’s website details somewhere inside, although again, all 16 included the publisher’s URL, plus another 9 additional publisher-related links. There were no Twitter, Facebook, mailing list or other links for the authors in any of the books.
Furthermore, none of the books included links to the publisher’s Twitter, Facebook or other social media presences, and no links to relevant mailing lists. None. Nada. Not a one. Can we see anything wrong with this picture?
Gollancz, however, gets a special mention for including a QR code on its info page. I know some people hate QR codes, but that’s like hating taps or telephones. QR codes are tools and it’s how you use them that’s important. Gollancz used them to send readers to their non-mobile-optimised blog. I would have advised them to instead create a custom landing page for each book, with bookstores links for the other books in the series, links to the author’s website, latest Tweets, etc. You’ve got one opportunity to do the right thing with QR codes, and Gollancz, whilst getting brownie points for the attempt, could have done a lot better.
So what about the self-publishers? My sample was laughably small, but two out of three included author website on the cover, and a different two included a publisher website link (my assumption is that they have created their own publishing house for the sake of credibility, which is a whole other discussion). Inside the books, two included the author website, one included the author’s Twitter account and mailing list, and two included the author’s email address.
For many self-publishers, it’s a bit of a no-brainer to include all your key links in your books (including your email is a matter of personal taste). But regardless of whether you are a self-publisher or a traditional publisher, there’s no excuse for missing out key pieces of information that readers might find useful from your cover and inside the book. In my opinion, your cover copy should include:
Author Twitter handle or Facebook link, depending on which the author prefers
Author website URL if they have one, or a link to the author’s page on the publisher’s website if they don’t (and that page must be kept up to date!)
Author mailing list URL, if they have one
Author website URL if they have one, or a link to the author’s page on the publisher’s website if they don’t (and that page must be kept up to date!)
Author mailing list URL, if they have one
Internally, you should provide all the links you have, ie all the above, plus:
Publisher website URLs
Publisher Twitter handle or Facebook link
Publisher mailing list URL
Any other useful URLs you have, eg if you have a very visually focused author, then include Pinterest.
Publisher Twitter handle or Facebook link
Publisher mailing list URL
Any other useful URLs you have, eg if you have a very visually focused author, then include Pinterest.
If you decide to use QR codes, do not send users to a generic page, but to a customised landing page that gives them what they want: more information about that author, that book, other books in the series, other books by that author, links to their website, Twitter account, etc. Landing pages are not difficult to do and every single author on your list should have one, regardless of whether they are active online or not.
We are now firmly in the 21st Century and the internet is ubiquitous. Your readers are online, they are using their mobile phones and their tablets to find out more about the authors they love. Don’t make it hard for them — give them the most important links right there on the cover, where they can see them at a glance. The rest should be clearly listed on an easy to find page inside, not mixed up with copyright and edition info.
If you are a book cover designer, or a typographer working in book design, you should make it standard practice to ask your clients for this information. If you are an editor, you should be asking your author for this information. This is not optional anymore, it must becomes standard practice for both self-publishers and traditional publishing houses.
* I can’t use the phrase ‘digital native’ without pointing out that the concept is claptrap, a construct created to draw false lines in the sand between generations. There is absolutely no good evidence that young people understand digital any better than people twice their age.