READy to Talk is a new discussion meme that will come up few and far between, just when I have something bookish on my mind. Something that I want to get y’alls opinion on!
This READy to Talk was brought to on by thinking about my current read. On the very last book the publishers decided they wanted to change the cover………
YIKES! The dreaded cover change. It always seems to happen when the last book in a series is about to come out or there’s already 2-3 books out for the series already. We’ve all been there when we’re eagerly anticipating the next cover reveal in a series we love…… And then it doesn’t match. This would be ok SOMETIMES if there was something to justtify their actions. Like if they replaced the covers with ones that look better. But that’s always the case. Normally, it’s often times NOT the case lol
As someone who likes her series to match, I will most times NOT buy the book if I see the cover has changed. And this will especially make me angry if I don’t like it. I’ll wait until I can get it from the library or I’ll buy it for my Kindle so I can hide the cover. I know it sounds shallow, but I can deal with not looking at it all the time every day, but with it being on my shelf in the open where everyone can see? Yeah I’d be looking like this all the time:
I know the call is up to the publishers, but what are the deciding factors that make them decide they don’t want to go in that previous direction anymore? What makes them decide that those other covers weren’t good enough? And why do they wait so long to figure it out? And why is it that sometime they remake all the covers or sometime they don’t and just leave the last one as different? I’d really like to know so that I can be on the committee to make them stay the same lol
Here are some of the series cover changes that were for the better:
I won’t put the ones that I’m not too fond of, but if you ask me, I’ll tell you.
What do you all do when there’s cover changes you love?
Do you buy the entire series over?
What do you do when there’s a cover change you don’t like?
Do you just stop buying the series?
What do you do with the first few books you had?
Oh man, I've seen Sarah Dessen's covers change so many times it seems! I used to read her way back when I was in middle school or very early high school and the covers I have were totally different! Those have since been donated since I no longer read contemps.
I'm with you on cover changes. Generally I feel like I hate them or just dislike them. And I always always wonder why they felt the need to change the cover on the last book! I mean, there are times I really wanted to see what that final cover would look like! Like with Maria V. Snyder's Study series! The first 2 covers were gorgeous!! Then they redid them just before the third one came out. And now they're supposed to be redoing them again to match the current Study book that continues the series.
That's not even counting all the other versions of the cover there are that even get redone!
Also I really loved how Andrea Cremer's Nightshade originally looked and then BAM! Cover change at book 2.
It even goes hand in hand with ARCs sometimes. Like I really really liked the ARC cover of A Book of Spirits and Thieves by Morgan Rhodes and then they changed it. The change isn't terrible, but I thought the ARC was awesome. I'm trying to track an ARC down, but having zero luck in that area.
But yeah, cover changes tend to be a love em or hate em. If I hate them then I won't go for the matching covers. Like my Shatter Me trilogy doesn't match because I have the original hardcover. I wasn't won over by the new ones, but never bothered to buy the new Shatter Me cover since I bought the old one from the bargain bin for a good price! LOL!
It's also funny in a sense because one of my series I read did change the cover for one book. It was Victoria Laurie's Psychic Mysteries which have a cartoony look, which I think is adorable for some reason! Makes the book look fun and engaging! They decided at book 5 that they wanted to go with a "real person" look which was really just the bottom half of their legs. Well, that lasted for 1 book! They were going to do book 6 that way too, but then changed their minds again and went back to cartoony people. They never even republished that one to have a matching cover. Which I found odd, but oh well!
Okay, I think my comment has surpassed a decent length but your topic really got me going! I'm definitely of the type that like to have matching covers. I usually don't have a problem with a cover change for the most part. Though I tend to favor the original cover for nostalgia reasons and always wonder what the next book would've looked like, some cover changes blow me away! Like Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini! Loved the hardcover but these new covers are just WOW!
Okay, I talked even longer! My apologies! LOL! Bye! 😀
lol Don't apologize! This was what I hoped would happen! I HATE cover changes and I don't get why they have to happen. I can't stand a non-matching series. I'd much rather not even have the book than have a series that doesn't match. For instance, I have the first book for a Morgan Matson book, but the second one came out in May but I don't want to buy it because they changed the cover. I like the new one better, but they shouldn't have changed it after I bought it.
And then the even worse ones where I don't have a choice, like Anna and the French Kiss. I have the original two in paperback, one Lola in paperback with the new cover, and an Isla in a hardcover with the new cover. The only reason I won't get rid of the original ones is because I got them signed! Ugh publishers need to get it together!
Thanks for stopping by!