| |

I’m an author, journalist and one of the UK’s social media pioneers. Here I write about publishing, self-publishing and crowdfunding. I am also the author of Argleton, a novelette about a mysterious town that appears on digital maps but doesn’t exist in reality. I self-published via Kickstarter and Amazon Kindle, and am negotiating my way through the publishing world and exploring new business models for entrepreneurial authors along the way. As a freelance journalist, I have written about social media and technology for FirstPost.com, The Guardian, CIO Magazine and Computer Weekly.

Contact Suw Charman-Anderson

The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading...
Business 1,945 views

Book Covers And Social Media: The Basics

Neil Gaiman has his Twitter handle on his dust jacket flapIt’s well known, and has been for years, that in order to get the most out of social media you have to use it as part of a wider communications and marketing plan. Traditional channels must support new social channels, and visa versa. There must be cross-pollination. For many companies, this has translated in to making sure that your ads include your Facebook and Twitter accounts, and even related Twitter hashtags. But what should it mean for publishers?

Flicking through a new book that I recently bought, I was struck by the fact that the cover didn’t include the author’s Twitter account details, despite the fact that this particular author is very active on Twitter. I decided to do a straw poll of the physical books, both self-published and published, which I have acquired over the last three years. Although Twitter, Facebook and the web have been around for a lot longer than three years, I figured it was only fair to give publishers the benefit of the doubt and a bit of extra time to wrap their heads around how social fits in to their existing habits and processes.

I looked at the covers and innards of 16 traditionally published books, across SF, fantasy, crime, YA and literary genres, and three self-published books. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that 19 isn’t a particularly impressive sample, but much of my recent buying has been ebook based, and for the purposes of this straw poll, they can’t count. But even with only 19 books, the results were staggering.

I first looked at the covers and dust jackets of each book, searching for links to:

  • Author’s website
  • Author’s Twitter account
  • Author’s mailing list
  • Publisher’s website
  • Publisher’s Twitter account
  • Publisher’s mailing list
  • Other links to Facebook, etc.
  • Author’s email

Of the 16 traditionally published books, 10 had links to the author’s website, and all 16 had links to the publisher’s website. There were another 11 links to other websites, primarily the parent company of that particular imprint, but also sometimes links to the source of the cover image. One publisher, however, decided that one mention of their URL on the back cover wasn’t enough, and that three was a much better number. There is such a thing as overkill.

Only two covers included the author’s Twitter handle. Two. And I know for a fact that of the 15 of authors represented (one author had two books in the heap), 14 are on Twitter, and most of them are very active. Only one author — ironically, the youngest of the authors represented; so much for ‘digital natives’* — was not findable on Twitter.

But wait, you say, surely there’s plenty of room inside the book for all these links? You’d be right, but you’d also be, oh, so very wrong. Only three books carried their author’s website details somewhere inside, although again, all 16 included the publisher’s URL, plus another 9 additional publisher-related links. There were no Twitter, Facebook, mailing list or other links for the authors in any of the books.

Furthermore, none of the books included links to the publisher’s Twitter, Facebook or other social media presences, and no links to relevant mailing lists. None. Nada. Not a one. Can we see anything wrong with this picture?

Gollancz, however, gets a special mention for including a QR code on its info page. I know some people hate QR codes, but that’s like hating taps or telephones. QR codes are tools and it’s how you use them that’s important. Gollancz used them to send readers to their non-mobile-optimised blog. I would have advised them to instead create a custom landing page for each book, with bookstores links for the other books in the series, links to the author’s website, latest Tweets, etc. You’ve got one opportunity to do the right thing with QR codes, and Gollancz, whilst getting brownie points for the attempt, could have done a lot better.

So what about the self-publishers? My sample was laughably small, but two out of three included author website on the cover, and a different two included a publisher website link (my assumption is that they have created their own publishing house for the sake of credibility, which is a whole other discussion). Inside the books, two included the author website, one included the author’s Twitter account and mailing list, and two included the author’s email address.

For many self-publishers, it’s a bit of a no-brainer to include all your key links in your books (including your email is a matter of personal taste). But regardless of whether you are a self-publisher or a traditional publisher, there’s no excuse for missing out key pieces of information that readers might find useful from your cover and inside the book. In my opinion, your cover copy should include:

  • Author Twitter handle or Facebook link, depending on which the author prefers
  • Author website URL if they have one, or a link to the author’s page on the publisher’s website if they don’t (and that page must be kept up to date!)
  • Author mailing list URL, if they have one

Internally, you should provide all the links you have, ie all the above, plus:

  • Publisher website URLs
  • Publisher Twitter handle or Facebook link
  • Publisher mailing list URL
  • Any other useful URLs you have, eg if you have a very visually focused author, then include Pinterest.

If you decide to use QR codes, do not send users to a generic page, but to a customised landing page that gives them what they want: more information about that author, that book, other books in the series, other books by that author, links to their website, Twitter account, etc. Landing pages are not difficult to do and every single author on your list should have one, regardless of whether they are active online or not.

We are now firmly in the 21st Century and the internet is ubiquitous. Your readers are online, they are using their mobile phones and their tablets to find out more about the authors they love. Don’t make it hard for them — give them the most important links right there on the cover, where they can see them at a glance. The rest should be clearly listed on an easy to find page inside, not mixed up with copyright and edition info.

If you are a book cover designer, or a typographer working in book design, you should make it standard practice to ask your clients for this information. If you are an editor, you should be asking your author for this information. This is not optional anymore, it must becomes standard practice for both self-publishers and traditional publishing houses.

* I can’t use the phrase ‘digital native’ without pointing out that the concept is claptrap, a construct created to draw false lines in the sand between generations. There is absolutely no good evidence that young people understand digital any better than people twice their age. See page 23 of my report for Carnegie UK Trust for a good solid debunk with references.

Post Your Comment

Please or sign up to comment.

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

  • Rick Carufel Rick Carufel 1 year ago

    As an indie publisher one of the most important things about a book cover, if not the most important is that the title and author’s name must be legible when viewed as a thumbnail. This is in most instances the first look at a book by a potential buyer gets. If this is not clear in thumbnail size the buyer will click on another book they can read. Nothing else compares to this factor with book covers in importance.

  • Suw Charman-Anderson Suw Charman-Anderson, Contributor 1 year ago

    Whilst that’s good advice, Rick, it’s something mentioned in a lot of cover design blog posts by other people. I have yet to see a cover designer address the question of what information actually needs to go on a cover, particularly a back cover, which is what we’re talking about here.

  • It’s certainly a learning curve, becoming an indie publisher of stories. Smashwords allows for tons of links; in fact, they encourage it.

  • The problem has several aspects. The first is that, unfortunately, many of the larger publishing houses believe that they (and not the author) are the star. Hence, they will promote themselves at the cost of the author, not realising that the reader doesn’t care.

    Secondly, the demographic of editors and traditional publishers is that of an ageing group; most still remember the dot com crash at the end of the nineties, and some still believe that internet is a fad. They therefore do not see the necessity of putting that kind of information because they think it will not be around in a few years (perhaps even superseded much the same way the mini-disc was).

    Finally, the publishers are out to promote their current stable of writers. If a successful author jumps ship, the first publisher ends up promoting what is essentially a rivals work by carrying such information like FB and Twitter pages.

    The summary is that traditional publishers still do not know how to respond the rise of digital channels, and I’m not sure that there is an easy answer.
    ****
    Martin Adil-Smith is the author of the novella “The Demons of Emily Eldritch”, out now. http://www.amazon.com/Demons-Emily-Eldritch-Spirals-ebook/dp/B00DS1IIAW/

  • Suw Charman-Anderson Suw Charman-Anderson, Contributor 1 year ago

    All good points, Martin. I think there are pockets of forward-thinking people in publishing, but not enough and they don’t yet have enough political capital. It’s a very, very similar situation to that in journalism at the moment, except several years behind. And with the additional delusion that people care about publishers when in reality, there are very few brands that people even recognise. You’re also right that there’s no easy answer, although I hope that at least some publishers start to realise what’s going on.

  • I couldn’t agree more. When my agent was in negotiations with a publisher, and suggested a QR code on the back cover, linking to my FB Fan Page, the response she got was “what’s a QR code?”
    And this was only a few years ago.
    Perhaps the issue is one of platform proliferation? A few years ago, I think the primary method of “sharing” content was FB or Twitter. Today there is linkedin, reddit, google, submit, stumble upon… and I’m sure I’ve missed a few out .
    Where does it end? And is it reasonable for a publisher to include all of these? Probably not.
    I think that the issue is that what publishers do have a digital management strategy (and that’s not many) don’t revise nearly often it, nor do they tailor to an individual author.
    In the modern age, writers can market themselves and build up a following before they are signed… but it will vary. Anne Rice uses Facebook, Neil Gaiman is primarily Twitter and blog, and others use wordpress.
    Is there an answer? What do you think?

  • Suw Charman-Anderson Suw Charman-Anderson, Contributor 1 year ago

    There’s no need to include all of those, in fact, most of them won’t make sense in the context of a link on a book cover. You wouldn’t link to your Reddit profile, for eg, because that doesn’t provide the average fan with a good way to connect with you.

    Every author must have a website, blog or a page on their publisher’s site. That’s non-negotiable. As for social media, which tools you use depend on which ones you’re comfortable with and which ones provide the best response. It doesn’t matter if it’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or MySpace – it’s about where you’re active and where your fans are. It’s not about specifying one tool to rule everyone, it’s about knowing where your author lives online and telling their readers that.

  • I agree in part with what you have said… and disagree with other aspects.
    The internet and, by extension, the social platforms, provides the author the ability to communicate directly with the reader.
    However, communication is two way. So the reader is able to email/ comment on posts etc.
    So I agree with you that it’s about where your fans are active, but I don’t agree you when you say that it matters where the writer is… because with the proliferation of platforms, a writer needs to be active nearly everywhere, especially if they are at the beginning of their career and trying to build a following.
    And there in the lies the quandary; does an author use a single site (albeit linked with others via apps), and run the risk of missing some his/her target demographic? Or do they abandon writing in favour of promotion and follow the proliferation model? The answer will the dictate what goes on the cover.
    Personally, I think it comes down the author and the existing size of their following. Anne Rice recently said that if she could give up Facebook she could, but in the absence of a viable alternative she’s sticking with it.
    What’s your view?

  • Suw Charman-Anderson Suw Charman-Anderson, Contributor 1 year ago

    Thanks for the comment Martin. Of course, you don’t want to dilute your efforts by trying to be everywhere. You need to understand where your readers are coming from, and you can do that using analytics on your website or blog to see which sources provide most readers. You can also use URL shorteners like Bit.ly or a social media platform like Hootsuite to track where your links spread. This can help you know where to focus your social media efforts. Equally, if you use Facebook and a fan page, you can see detailed information about who your fans are. You want to make sure that you’re reaching your readers, and using social media and web traffic data can make sure you’re getting the most for your efforts. What you don’t want to do is try to be everywhere, because it will wear you out and it won’t be effective.

  • Excellent post and comments on this touchy subject. As part of every book reading/signing, I do a Q&A, and I always ask the attendees what they look for or want in a book cover. Of course the graphics and title, but just about all tell me they look to the back cover for additional information. After reading a good book, several tell me they look for information on the author, where to purchase the next book, website, or anything pertaining to the author and their work. In all due respect to publishers, mine included, NEVER are they concerned with who the publisher is. Most readers have no idea who the publisher of a book is, nor do they care, so they tell me they’d have no reason to click on the publisher’s website or QR code. I ask, so I know what they’re looking for.

    To me, it makes sense in this increasingly digital age that writers become much more face-forward and easily accessible. Putting links or QR codes on the back or inside back cover, ideally with the author’s profile, just makes good business sense. This same information should be available on any marketing promo material, such as book marks, etc.

    If readers are looking for it, for heaven’s sake – give it to them! As you say Suw, QR codes are great, but given the reader landing pages they care about. If they have to spend time finding the information they want, they’ll give up and move onto something else.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2013/09/28/book-covers-and-social-media-the-basics/
www.forbes.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2015-32
98800
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:D3XX7YVA6VMP5VUNXHLVDIYZYZYQ27AI
<urn:uuid:93b919d3-1b39-4ffa-8bdd-7609279ba4d1>
2015-07-30T08:56:53Z
23.0.160.72
sha1:LL3L4ZRXGWAKR2FELG5H7IWF4KYWG4DX
<urn:uuid:8727f4f4-397e-4f19-8685-b757d74da3ba>
http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2013/09/28/book-covers-and-social-media-the-basics/
response
<urn:uuid:05933f66-e3d6-4f04-a668-43798c2931e0>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2015-32
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for August 2015
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf