Books, Book Covers, Bookstores, and Books

Judging Books by Their Covers

February 04, 2023

Books, book covers, book cover artists, bookstores, and books.

  On Book Covers 

Some weeks ago, I met with a local author who agreed to look over a cover letter for me. We started talking about the difficulties of publication, the pros and cons of going with the Big Four (or Big Three?) publishing houses, the dedication of indie presses, and what it means to have a physical book in your hand. We also talked about the setbacks of working with a publisher that insists on using a cover that just doesn't work.More often than not, indie publishers rely on strong covers, lacking the immense market infrastructure of one of the big houses. A good book cover can certainly help sell a book by catch readers' eyes and drawing them in. But even a cover that can spark curiosity may not match your own sense of what makes the book yours, what makes it something to be proud of, to hold up in front of an audience at a reading.The first (new) title from Atticus Books, Lori Jakiela's memoir They Write Your Name on a Grain of Rice, features a cover by Alban Fischer. The cover certainly sells the book, but it also contains, for future readers, everything the book may contain. It's a snapshot of the book's potential. Other Atticus cover artists have done similar work,

,

, and

among them. The cover of our fiction editor Michelle Ross's

Shapeshifting

--a pensive rabbit--had a killer payoff in the collection's last story, the dedicated work of designer

.

Indie publishing is a collaborative process, and designers play a huge role in that process. It's not just about selling the book, but ensuring its cover matches the years and years a writer put into their manuscript. When we publish an interview or a book review, we seek out the book's cover as a feature image. It's the face of the book, a visual abstract, a picture worth at least 50,000 words.

From Atticus Books and Music

Of course, a good book cover won't go far if those books don't have a loving indie bookstore to display them on their shelves.

Last Monday,

in Fountain Hills, Arizona (recently profiled

with an interview with our founder), accommodated their first private book club event, and look forward to many more to come. This particular book club will be holding monthly meetings on the second Monday of every month at Atticus Books.

If you're in the area and need an event space (for 20-25 people), Dan at Atticus Books and Music would love to add it to the calendar: Poetry readings, author signings, live music, BYO parties. According to sources on the ground, staff are psyched, stoked, and even possibly thrilled.

Send Us Something to Read

Have I used the word

books

enough? Obviously not, that's impossible.

We're open for book reviews!

We're especially interested in indie books, chapbooks, books that fell under the radar during lockdown, books going through their second edition, books by debut authors, books overlooked by the big publishers. Ideally, we prefer reviews of books published in the last two years, and our favorite reviews are a bit more analytical, something more than just a summary.

In the meantime, I hope you keep writing. The world needs it.

Peace,

Keene Short

Editor-in-Chief

THIS WEEK AT ATTICUS

BOOK REVIEW

Anatomy of a Storm-Weathered Quaint Townspeople

a book review by by Manisha Sahoo

"Pattnaik draws on the daily struggles of the people living in a small town as they embrace the roles they are born into, thrust into or choose to step into."

NEW FROM THE ATTIC

A Conversation with Rebecca Bernard

Fiction editor Michelle Ross interviews Rebecca Bernard about her new collection, OUR SISTER WHO WILL NOT DIE.

"I am someone who often feels compelled to wonder aloud at how strange it is to be a person. Look at us with our thoughts and hands, our capacity for goodness and cruelty."

SPECIAL CALL FOR THE ATTIC During February, we will have a special call for short essays drawing from experiences with video games, to be published in summer, 2023.

SUBMISSIONS

We are

for submissions in all genres! We are also open for book reviews, interviews, and mixed media.

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Our Reading List is updated each week. Go check it out!Are you a contributor to Atticus Review who'd like your book featured in the reading list? Send us an email at [email protected]. 

**For photo credits, follow links to stories.**