What do you look for in a good book cover?

[Moonlight91]

The cover must say something about the story but not give away too much. There is the saying: don't judge a book by its cover - but let's be honest... we wouldn't go for a book in the store if the cover is not to our liking.

I tend to pick up books with very simple designs. The cover shouldn't be to overloaded.

[TaaraLynn]

If I know a movie is a book first and I'm interested in it, I'll go for it/look for it regardless. Other than that, I mostly have a description in my mind of what I want to read, and I search words or genres along those lines. If I am in a bookstore/library, I'll go into that section, look at spine titles, try my luck, and go straight to the back of the book for the summary.

Then, I go by authors I like. And sometimes by books that have chapter previews within them.

[JazmynElizabeth]

Has to be eye-catching. If it's a crime fic, bloody clothes, silhouettes, knives, etc are a great way. Simple designs tend to be more eye-catching for me .
But I won't even look at a book if the font of the title doesn't perfectly match the picture. That's the main thing.

[palilogy]

Compelling or simple imagery does it for me.
I hate when there is too much going on and the font and illustrations are all over the place.

[kgj]

A good book cover it should have a sense of attraction ,precise and simple for a reader

[quentaje]

The book title is important. If it's obscured or hard to read, my eye just moves past it.

[DATo]

I have learned over the years to ignore the outer packaging of everything from merchandise, to people, to ideologies. It's what's inside that counts. I think we can all recount instances in our lives where the outer look of something served only to enhance expectations which later proved grossly disappointing. Therefore, the graphic artwork of a book cover is totally immaterial to me and I tend to ignore it. My book choices are exclusively based upon reviews and personal recommendations.

[Jennifer Fernandez]

I know they say, "Don't judge a book by its cover", but the book is the first impression the reader has of a book. When I'm browsing books the most attention-seeking covers are the ones I inspect thoroughly. I believe the cover should reflect the story and its ambiance. It should be made by a professional graphic designer because they know what they are doing. I have seen countless books with a poorly made cover that show an amateur just pasted images together and that's it. This only showed me the author doesn't care about the elements of his/her book. Think of it like a job interview. If you go with your grease-stained pajamas, you don't stand a chance to be hired. You have to show that person you are a professional in your field and know what you are doing.