Most readers do indeed judge a book at least in part by its cover, which is why major book publishers have whole departments and many, many meetings dedicated to their creation.
Judging a Book by Its Cover—the Jacket’s Importance to Book Sales
The book jacket is a sales tool, inviting readers to the text, telling them much about what they will find on the pages between the covers. Despite the adage, the book jacket generally broadcasts to the consumer much about the book, ideally casting it in the best light possible to draw in its target readers. Whether it’s in the mystery novel genre, a serious nonfiction tome, a romance or a cookbook, the reader should be able to ascertain book genre and the tone of the book from taking a quick gander at the front of the book jacket. Of course, the potential reader should also be able to clearly read the title of the book.
Read All About Book Titles, Starting With What Makes a Good Book Title
In addition to what’s typically on the front cover, the details of the plot, an idea of what some others think about the book, the biography of the author are additional pieces of information that can be found on the other parts of the book jacket—the back and the flaps—once the book is picked up off the shelf (or clicked on).
