Apr 9 2007
Publisher Picks the Most Bland Cover to Sell a King Recommended Novel
Stephen King has been raving about Mischa Berlinski's debut novel, Fieldwork, but berating the publisher for chosing a terrible cover. King says the cover is akin to demanding people not buy the book. It’s hard to tell from the blurry trees that this is a thriller set in Thailand. It looks like, well, a book about trees. Maybe its a story about forestry. I think we need Bam to do a mock blurb for the cover.
I’ll give it a shot. Enter the dreamworld of Sara Botany. When her physical vision begins to fade, Sara turns inward to find peace and new life amongst the garden of her mind. But Sara’s tenuous grasp on reality puts her forestry empire at risk. While Sara must battle her desire for peace against the rapacious logging industry, Sara’s granddauther Violet rises to take hold of the family business. Violet’s plans for the Botany empire aren’t as true to land as Sara’s vision. Will Violet’s youth prevent her from seeing the forest for the trees and destroy all that Sara sacrificed to build?
Exciting stuff. Can’t wait to read it.
Via MediaBistro.
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Apr 09, 2007 @ 11:14:30
Wow, it certainly doesn’t scream “thriller” does it? If I saw that in the store, I’d think it was a women’s fiction or literary fiction book. Thriller? Like a Stephen King kind of book? Not even a little bit. And hardcover too. Yikes
Apr 09, 2007 @ 11:29:26
Hey, you changed the comments to under the post. When did that happen?
Apr 09, 2007 @ 11:30:34
Last night. I’m going to change the whole thing one of these days. do do do do do do do . . . . Kind of a thriller in and of itself, is it not? Maybe I’ll use the “forest” theme.
Apr 09, 2007 @ 11:37:03
Poor Bham. She’s never going to live this down.
So, when are you going to write for us Sara Botany’s book? I’d buy it.
Dionne Galace » Blog Archive » The Most Boring Cover Ever
Apr 09, 2007 @ 14:34:20
[...] Jane wants me to write a little fake blurb for this particular cover, but honestly, I… [...]
Apr 09, 2007 @ 16:08:10
I would have passed right by this book had I come across it in a bookshop. Calling the cover dull is a slight understatement methinks.
Apr 09, 2007 @ 16:51:21
Did someone say thriller?
Apr 09, 2007 @ 17:00:40
Covers. ((shudder))
Some people are afraid of clowns. I’m afraid of covers.
Apr 09, 2007 @ 17:41:17
With my browser the comment column is 1 inch wide – looks fine with IE but not with IceWeasel (don’t ask); I’m not having a problem with any other sites but if I’m the only one with a problem I will find another browser.
Apr 09, 2007 @ 17:52:17
Wow – that was fast – looks great now.
Apr 09, 2007 @ 19:36:27
[quote comment="26276"]Wow – that was fast – looks great now.[/quote]
But not so much in Firefox on a Mac. :) I’ve got the one inch wide column now.
Apr 09, 2007 @ 19:59:52
One inch on safari on Mac, too. Jfyi.
Apr 09, 2007 @ 20:01:20
Er, but no longer. Never mind me. Very strange.
Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary » LA Times Wonders if Lit Fic Can Be Helped by Sexier Covers
Oct 08, 2008 @ 20:43:54
[...] wondered today if lit fic would sell better if its covers weren’t so anemic. If you recall, Stephen King had the same complaint regarding a book he had recommended. Fieldwork was a thriller set in Thailand, but the cover was of [...]
Oct 09, 2008 @ 06:17:10
Honestly, with a cover that dull they may as well just remove any pretence of having a picture cover and go without a picture and slap on some fancy text. A black cover with a gold symbol in the middle and the title and author’s name in a nice bold capitals would be much more eye catching than “I was leaning out of a helicopter, being sick and snapped this photo as I went past”