Hey Book Nerds! :D How have you all been? I hope you've all had a great week so far. :3 Today, I wanted to do a segment that's completely different from what I usually do - although it’s still related to books, don't worry! This segment I'm now going to be featuring on my blog is going to be called the British Blogger Opinions (or the BBO!) where I can voice some of my more *ahem* exuberant and more colourful opinions. I know this is foreign territory for me, but I wanted a post where I can branch out a bit more, and touch on some subjects that are slightly different from what I usually talk about. :) You'll have to let me know what you think of this type of post, and if you're all enjoying it, I'll be sure to do more in the future. Now, on with the post! ^.^

Cover Variations

So, I'm on Good Reads the other evening looking for the correct cover for the book I was reading at the time (Nightshade by Andrea Cremer) - and what do I find on closer inspection? No I'm not talking about just a random cover change - but cover VARIATION. By this I mean; a perfectly good book cover for a copy in the UK, but when you go to the US edition, the cover is VERY similar, however quite a few aspects of it have changed (and vice versa). Sometimes these aspects are very small and barely noticeable, like a font change - others the cover art is the same, but they've completely edited the colouring.

Examples

UK edition | US edition

UK edition | US edition

UK edition | US edition

I really don't understand why (the publishers, authors or cover art designers - whichever is to blame) they bother changing it in such a small way. If it was a completely different cover change, it would make more sense - but why keep them so similar? It really baffles me! Is it to do with something to do with copyrights? If so, why aren't all book covers slightly different from country to country? A lot of the time, I find that where they edit the original cover to change it, it ends up looking like crap in comparison to the original.

I also understand that different publishers may want to change the cover - but once again - I still can't seem to comprehend why they don't create a completely new cover. To me, it seems like they're taking someone else’s graphic work, and editing to their own liking and changing what they want. Isn't this a form of plagiarism in its own sense? There are definitely some issues going on in this whole field if you ask me. Please, don't think I'm being prejudiced! I love all the different publishing companies, and I'm not saying anything bad against them. Of course they have every right to change whatever they like; it's just something that personally annoys me. That's all I've got to say on the subject for now, but I'm pretty darn sure there will be more posts like this one in the future!



What are your opinions on this matter? Does the whole thing bother you as much as I? Let me know. ^.^ Happy reading! (:

2 comments:

  1. I don't think it's plagiarism if it's the same company (and it's certainly not plagiarism if it's stock photography), but I agree that it's a bit strange. I'd like to know exactly why they do it!

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    1. I suppose you are right on that part - a lot of them are royalty-free images as well, I keep forgetting that. But I still find the whole thing quite weird, I have no idea why they bother putting more money and time into printing a slightly different cover! Thanks for your input! :D

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