My personal belief is that Covers and Titles are the biggest influencers for teens. As I have my very own little test group at home (i.e. a teen daughter) I thought I'd find out straight from the horse's mouth what influences her to get a book (forgive me for comparing my DD to a horse - she looks nothing like a horse. She's quite lovely actually. Not that horses aren't lovely too. And where did that weird saying come from anyway? Must research and do a blog post about weird sayings another time. Sorry. I digress.)So the next time Daughter Two and I were in a bookstore and she was picking up a couple of books for her collection I asked her why she chose those particular books.
One book, The Clearing by Heather Davis, she said she picked up first for the pretty colour of the green on the cover (she's into colour choices now since she has to pick one for her room walls) and that it drew her eye. The title was interesting (what happened in The Clearing?) and then the back cover blurb intrigued her because it was a bit of a time travel love story. So all three of these things drew her in but the most prominent was the cover.
The second book she got was Looking for Alaska by John Green. This was strictly a choice based on a friend of hers having read it and recommending it.
The third book was Whip It by Shauna Cross. Again the image on the cover drew her in but then she remembered that a movie was made of it and she heard the movie was good so she wanted to see what the book was like.
I also remember when I brought home Across the Universe by Beth Revis (which I purchased because of all the positive reviews I'd been reading) and Daughter Two's reaction was "Oh, I wanted to check that one out because the cover was so pretty."
Totally unscientific but it supported my belief that Covers are probably one of the biggest influencers for a teen who doesn't have a preconceived notion of what she/he wants to read when she walks into a book store. That cover may hook them but the back cover blurb might keep them hooked. Then they might check out the first page or two (at least that's what I've always counselled my kids to do if they're about to spend some hard earned cash on a book). I don't always check out the first page if a book has received fantabulous reviews but if I know nothing of the book besides what's written on the back or inside flap then I will check out the writing.
But what about the title, you ask? I always thought it was one of the things that hooked a potential teen reader more than anything. I still believe that though I have no scientific proof (or unscientific because Daughter Two only peripherally acknowledged that a title helped her in selecting her books). I know ILLEGALLY BLONDE was a title that got attention from agents and editors but have no idea if it hooks a teen reader. I do think the cover draws the eye and am hopeful that a teen will pick it up because of that and read the back cover blurb etc.
I know publishers spend a lot of time and money on getting the right cover so there must be more scientific data that confirms all the expense that goes into either getting the right stock photography, or hiring an artist or photographer to create original artwork. I wonder also, with the proliferation of e-books whether the same sensibilities will happen when browsing through e-books? My brother, not a teen mind you, but an avid iPad book user says his main determinant for buying an ebook now is the free chapter download and not cover or blurb. So the first chapter will become even more important than it already is I guess. But will teens buy e-books in the same way? Or will they browse through the covers and download the most evocative covers for them?
What do you think? Covers, title, blurb or all three?
My teenaged daughter will totally reject a book if she doesn't like the cover. Sometimes I have to convince her it's good and she'll like it, and to ignore the cover.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea: There must be some kind of brain neuron during the teen years or something that calls them to visual signals. But recommendations are still the best way to influence for sure.
ReplyDeleteMy teenaged step daughters also go for all three - covers number one, recommended number two, and back blurb number three
ReplyDeleteI love good covers and clever titles, but for my teens, the biggest factor in book selection is probably word of mouth. They're very visual, and I've heard them criticize covers they don't find appealing, but I'll bet they'd still read a book with a bad cover if a like-minded friend had recommended it.
ReplyDeleteHi TerryLynn: I think Art Directors should definitely get a raise when all these teens are buying a book because of a cover!
ReplyDeleteHi Mary: No question, I do think word of mouth trumps all the others. But when a teen is just browsing with no other ideas to guide them in their choice the power of the cover seems to rule.
Oh the pressure, if consensus says it's the cover. Which I'd probably agree with. Loved the one for 'Illegally Blonde'.
ReplyDeleteI think alot of teenage girls buy a book if the movie has an R.Patz in it or some other hunky lead.
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ReplyDeleteHi Gina! Ha! That might just be the number one influencer! (not my DD tho. But put Chris Pine of Star Trek fame on a cover and she'll shell out 20 bucks without question) :)
ReplyDeleteHi Brenda: Thanks so much - I'm biased but I kind love my cover too!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was teaching, my students picked books by word of mouth. But when we'd go to the Scholastic book fairs, they chose books by the covers. So I think it's a combination of the two. If their friends recommend the book, they'll check it out. If they aren't going off a recommendation, then I think the cover has the most pull.
ReplyDeleteIf I haven't heard of an author, the cover is the first thing that draws me. I'm a sucker for a good title, too (I love ILLEGALLY BLONDE, for instance -- I would have picked that up even if I hadn't already met you online). Word of mouth is good, too, of course, but it can take a while for a new book to generate that kind of buzz, so you'd best have a good cover and title to begin with. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly: Teachers are another big influencer on kids purchases I think - especially teacher-librarians. If they recommend a book in their libraries the kid will at least check it out. Otherwise they might not have even heard about it.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda: With the way it's so difficult to get a book noticed in the sea of books out there everything helps - cover, title, blurb. It sure doesn't hurt to have something catchy that's for sure.
I wonder if girls and guys choose books differently: if a teen girl would notice the cover first, but a teen guy might notice, say, the title? I'd ask my boys, but they're three and seven...
ReplyDeleteHi Ishta! You know, that's a really interesting question. The Boy isn't a teen yet but I should ask him the next time we're in a bookstore.
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