We’ve heard about not judging a book by its cover.
This goes for not dismissing a person because of the way they dress, or their
vocabulary.
In other words, ignore your first impressions.
But do we? Furthermore, do we judge a book by its cover?
Yes, sir. Certainly, ma’am. We do. I know I do.
When the cover is raunchy, I assume the book is also. When a
cover is cheaply or carelessly designed, I assume lower quality for the
content.
It isn’t fair. One out of ten times (I’m inventing this
quantitative assertion) it turns out to be a wrong judgement. But it’s right
enough times that we, or I, continue to make these judgments.
A thoughtful or brilliant cover will make me open the book
at least to read the flap-jacket. A nicely dressed and groomed person will get
an easy smile and a possible greeting.
Of course, there are life experiences that surprise us by contradicting
this pattern. A person once dismissed is revealed under unexpected circumstances
to be a gem. A book I’d never open even to read the first page turns out, after
a strong recommendation from someone I respect, to be one I will re-read many
times and consider a treasure.
Even if this sort of thing happens enough times to make “Don’t’
judge a book by its cover” an acknowledged truth, I continue to judge books by
their covers.
Which leads me to say: covers matter. Pay attention to yours
and your books’.
It is challenging not to judge based on first impressions because that is built into our brains for survival. It is also a result of our socialization, what we are taught from childhood on as acceptable or not. It takes effort, mindfulness, to not make an immediate snap judgment, but that effort often proves worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteYes, covers do matter, a lot. And if you are stuck with a bad one, it's likely you will lose sales. This is especially true if the book is sold exclusively online.
ReplyDeleteOh, about people's appearances: I worked in a retail store. One of the other salespeople said she judged a shopper by their shoes! (This was a very inaccurate way to assess whether the person could afford an expensive item or whether they were just browsing.)
ReplyDeleteGood advice. But as you said, there are plenty of exceptions. And what's appealing to one person may not be appealing to another.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. We are a visual species and we judge according to what we see and like. If a cover catches my eye, I'm more apt to read a few pages and if I like them, get the book!
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