Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

I was posting some books on paperbackswap and I come across a book that is similar to one I was wanting to read. I had gotten excited thinking it was the one I wanted to read....I was disappointed! Here are the books:

and

Anyone think of any other covers that are similar? I'm just curious about it!

I can think of quite a few books with the same cover. They always confuse me! Why do publishers let this happen? Do you think someone can get sued for having the same cover?

The publishers use stock art, so there's no issues of being sued. And this happens ALL the time, especially with the big publishing houses -- lots of blogs will post the covers with the same art and poke fun at the lack of originality/budget in the art departments...

Ohhh thanks for explaining that to me, Susan. I know authors usually have little to no say in their cover but it would irk me if my book had the same cover as another book.

I know! I get why publishers do it, but that doesn't mean I don't think it's cutting corners.

I'm surprised the really big publishers do it. I would think they'd put more into it. I have noticed smaller publishers making more of an effort into covers though. Which is great because the cover is the first thing you see.

Budget cuts. The big publishers are HURTING; they're bleeding red ink all over the place. In response, they're cutting staff, cutting corners wherever they can. It's going to bite them in the rear shortly, if it hasn't already started.

Scary industry to work in isn't it? Do you think eBooks have anything to do with the budgets or is it something else?

I began to notice an issue a number of years ago (like, ten or so) when publishers were throwing millions of dollars at superstars, but not recouping the money. Or even coming close to it. They were bleeding right and left, all to get the bragging rights for books by various politicos and stars. That's when I first started hearing of mid-list authors losing their contracts.

but I bet there's always been some cover similarity, even before that. Hiring an artist for a book cover is expensive, and it's something that's easy to trim from a budget. Stock art is easier to obtain and less temperamental than the stereotyped artist... *grin*

Very interesting. I would love to work in the publishing industry and I know it's hard to jump into but it's good to learn what happens behind the scenes.

It's all about networking, babe. Getting a job in publishing isn't a foregone conclusion yet. But I do think the industry's in for some big changes and contractions before things smooth out.