Can You Judge a Book by Its E-cover - Essay Example

Can you judge a book by its e-cover? Books are the last media to be untransformed by digitalization, but recent trend and seismic shift in market andconsumers approach are likely to take a leading role in this change. The e-book market is very competitive; and many e-book reading devices that were around in the early 2000 have now ceased to exist. Latest devices like i-phone, i-pad, e-reader, be-reader and many other e-reading devices are now available in the market with a big market share. Mobile phones are set to take a most important role in this growth. Whereas e-book readers are still at the first stage of their evolution, mobile handsets like iPhone are generations ahead and can promote the creative potential of e-books with no difficulty. If we look at the book market, we will see that it has proved to be more flexible than any other consumer sector; there was an overall 1% decline in the entire year 2009. However, sales showed an increase in book-stores and e-book stores like Amazon.com. Digital technology is at its boom in the market; it has started to achieve a real visibility with more affordable e-readers for the very first time, making their headway in sales. I-pod and i-phone occurrence has increased the growth of audio books and more rapidly e-books. At the same time, as digitalization, united with the power of the social web, is also leading to new expansions in self-publishing, all together with downloads and print-on-demand. According to the survey, seven from ten consumers are readers and buyers, among which women are at top, being the key readers, and especially those who are childless and are third agers. On the other hand, man is keen on non-fiction and more likely to buy hardbacks, for knowledge or for work (Mintel, 2007). E-books are read on pocket-sized devices known as e-readers which can store up to 350 digitally downloaded books. Retailers as Waterstones and Amazon are now competing to become the primary suppliers of eBooks. Amazon has itself launched kindle e-reader; it has a wireless internet link, similar to a mobile phone that allows the downloading of books and daily newspapers on the go (Sandoval, McCarthy, 2007). E-readers and e-books continue to grow in popularity. The new world of cyber has made e-books a popular product, and they maintain to gain more attractiveness. E-books are bought and sold online just as products are bought and sold in the offline world. Billions of e-books are sold on the Internet since many years, and many people make a very good living buying and selling these e-books; some are writing and selling their own e-books as well (Hendrckson, 2010). It seems like the variety of books keep on contracting, even as the number of titles grows. The paper media is cutting back on review pages, while free content on the internet has made paying for an expensive hardback as something consumers tend to keep themselves away from. Full-price books are considered to be expensive, despite them being cheaper than most nights out. Actual problem is that, for shops such as Borders, Waterstones and WH Smiths, books have only ever been part of the customer pulling technique; they depend more on music items, coffee stands, smart stationery stuff etc, and focus more on their sales. Waterstones flagship branch on Piccadilly in London is the biggest bookshop in Europe, with expert floors focusing on creative writing, academic field and childrens books. The 5th floor bar provides a relaxing area for customers in between heavy sessions of serious browsing. On offer in the shop are Bestsellers, gift stationary, cards, Indoor games, London magazines, maps, travel Literature as well as knowledge-based games which are a big part of store. It advertises in-store events such as Ant and Dec book signing and Katie Prices autobiography signing. The main entrances where books have been displayed, many of them are bundled as three-for-two. Waterstones in London is the flagship academic branch, and Europes biggest academic book specialist. They have similar superstores throughout the UK, including Glasgows Sauchiehall Street, Bridlesmith Gate Nottingham, Deansgate Manchester, and Milsom Street in Bath (Neill 2008). Waterstones launched its own web site after ending its five-year association with online retailer Amazon at the end of 2006. Consumers can now buy books directly from the website/chain, as well as read staff advices and check the stock of their local shop. Waterstones online bookselling service at www.waterstones.com proposes a choice of more than 3 million labels and exclusive content, which includes convincing recommendations provided by Waterston’s well known knowledgeable booksellers. Recently, Waterstones has also included a virtual assistant section, in which customers can ask questions that do not appear under the FAQs or are being neglected and not considered important as a company’s point of view. There is also an option of search engine (recently developed) to offer ideas or suggestions for authors for their book names or book titles. The Waterstones.com team also offers book recommendations and suggestions for customers browsing the website. If you click on a photo, one of the 15-strong team takes you through to a brief biography of the member and details of what they currently like. It also includes the site events link in the website. Recently Watersones has launched its multichannel loyalty cards. In 2008 it had attracted 2.8m members, exceeding their original three-year target for 1.5m cardholders. A significant proportion of transactions in branches and online at waterstones.com are made through the card. The card provides valuable data lapsed and infrequent or infrequent purchasers of books. The proportion of active buyers has increased, with fewer infrequent and lapsed customers. This is directly attributable to the email programmed; Email is used to support seasonal activity and to test special offers. For example; this has included a double point’s offer at Easter and bonus points for buying at Mothers Day (Neill 2008). 17 Enterprise prophet Release 2010 forecast for community networks, Web 2.0 The Global Human Capital Journal The eBook market is a very competitive one and many eBook Reading devices that were around in the early 2000s have now ceased to exist. As an eBook enthusiast oneself, people think it is not very practical to own so many electronic devices (one for communication, one for computing, and one for reading an e-book etc.) The trend is towards mixing different functions into a single device, and hence, the devices that survive for eBooks are mainly in other categories now. Despite the fact that it is true that just like a movie review, you cannot always tell if you will like an e-book or not just because someone else does or will never a review can help you analyzing the quality and subject and contents of a book. Sometimes tags/titles and details do not give you enough information but reviews of books can tell what other people thought of the contents and subject matter when shopping for e-books. Since many years this has been the case or perhaps a trend that booksellers and publishers have attempted to address. The types of books sold and the way people buy them are changing. Customers are most likely to buy on impulse while browsing in a shop and are more likely to be inclined by personal recommendation from friends and family. Familiarity of the author and the design of the cover of the book typeface and text, the choice of paper etc. all contribute to a book’s look and feel and thus influence customers’ choice. Out of four from ten buyers, who like to browse in bookshops while they are out, are more likely to buy books as gifts. Although many men read for pleasure, they are far more likely than women to mention the useful aspects of books and reading; they read for education or work, while women are more likely to read in free time to relax. A books materiality is often taken for granted. In the publishing industry, however, the pretext, specifically the books cover, its representation is the foremost feature of the book. The cover sells the book; literary worth becomes irrelevant if the book does not, or cannot, reach the readers. Publishers are also entering the digital age and have renewed their push onto mobile arena; either printing or publishing online, they are aware of the fact that what consumers see in a book is usually its cover, and the eye of the average consumer can right away identify at least four different types from the distance of 10 feet (romance novel, techno-thriller, chick-lit, DIY handbook). Few book cover authors have exposed an antipathy for this marketing strategy among this specialist set of graphic designers. In Kevin van der Leeks point of view, a good book cover is “one that conveys the content of the book in a way that is intriguing and compelling to its intended audiences.” The usage of pictures or characters from the film/movie made on similar novel cheapens the book i.e. it’s ridiculous, Joel Holland said “I’d prefer something more tasteful and respectful of the author’s work rather than the accomplishments of the film.” In his point of view, changing the book cover by film characters’ images is, “the easy way out and ensures a certain profit.” Karen Templer, founder of Readerville said “turning a book into an advertisement for a movie is nothing less than bizarre to me.” Taking an example of Dan brown’s novel Da Vinci code. Even the book and film may not meet the consideration they have received; it is easy for a publisher and publicity team to turn such books into cultural events. We have gone through continual editorial about the book, and then the publicity surrounding the film. And now as a representative of all imperfect literary editions, the story is little more than a lengthy version of its new cover having film characters on it (Leary 2006). Book jackets or covers are protective and decorative. They are the readers first impression, and most of the readers are attracted by the books cover. According to publishers, the jacket or cover of any book is often the most powerful marketing statement it can make. Its what the reader first lays eyes on and usually before even knowing the inner content of the book. Designing a book jacket is an entirely different artistic field, one that is inseparable from our notion of literature, text and reading. With a little patience, anyone can design custom book jackets for their favorite volume (Doverspike, 2010). It is not a book cover that might be ugly, but mainly a cheap-looking book. If the book doesnt look professionally done, it makes people think that there wasnt any effort put into the book. A first impression is what counts and a book has to catch the buyers attention right off; hence the only source to catch reader’s attention is its cover. It is not strange to wonder that if the book cover is not decently done then may be the story is lacking. If an author is someone we have read anyway and liked, then a book cover doesnt matter to us at all because we are going to get the book in any case. But then again, we believe that best authors and story tellers have best book covers. The perfect situation is when the person designing the cover has read and fully understood the work of author and attempted to capture its spirit on the cover. “Spirit” means the core or basic concept of the book, after all, no book can be completely captured by a visual or physical explanation just as no book can ever be fully realized by a movie. During a conversation about books and their jackets/covers, the Vintage creative director, Suzanne Dean has presented a slide showing the work of cover designers who had influenced her and made such beautiful covers which did justice to the content of the book. In her point of view, the difference between the jackets seen and those of Paul Rand and Alvin Lustig were striking. During the discussion, Suzanne Dean pointed out one example in particular, a Georges Simenon novel designed by Dick Bruna of Miffy fame. It was nothing more than a yellow window on a black background, a beautiful and eye catching color combination, which managed to convey the menace and suspense of Simenons fictional world (Evers, 2010). The concept of e-books is being loved by many readers; they tend to enjoy reading books on digital device, it gives access to thousands of books and novels and articles and online purchasing power in hand without a computer or having the need of going to a shop or search in the library. Apart from all these advantages people get irritated with the unreasonable prices charged for most of them. The irony is that e-books don’t have any printing and production costs, but they still have the same price as a printed and published book, they charge as much as they like (cnet news, 2010). E-books have many benefits, and readers really appreciate all the devices and e-books’ easy and timely availability. In spite of a bulky library, one can fit literally thousands of books on their computer and enjoy them anywhere they want. It also makes it easier to share this information with family, friends, and coworkers. Information changes speedily today. Books on many subjects can become dated very rapidly. E-Books can be easily and quickly kept up to date. When you order an eBook, it can be the most up-to-the-minute information available. If you want specific information and its available in a book, you can purchase an eBook and download it right away. As an alternative of waiting for a printed book to be delivered, you can access the information at anytime anywhere. Hence we can say that Yes, people judge the book by its cover. Even moving at distance from a book shop, sometimes the book cover attracts the reader a lot, and without any intention people purchase books which they found interesting by its cover. Same is the case with e-readers who have specially purchased costly electronic devices like be-reader, e-reader, installed application on i-phone etc. just to enjoy books anytime anywhere they want; they also get attracted by books’ e-covers, since in the case of purchasing a book online sometimes you cannot look inside the book without purchasing it. So the only means of being attracted by the book is its e-cover. References Sandoval, McCarthy, (2007).http://news.cnet.com/Amazon-to-debut-Kindle-e-book-reader-Monday/2100-1025_3-6218828.html Minte, (2007).http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen/display/id=395633 Hendrckson (2010) http://ezinearticles.com/?Ebooks-Continue-to-Gain-Popularity&id=402241 Neill G. (2008) “Waterstone’s staff get Selling” viewed 23/05/10 from http:/thebookseller.com/news/52431-watestones-staff-get-selling.html (Human capital journal, 2010) www.globalhumancapital.org, viewed on: 23-05-2009 “17 Enterprise Visionaries Release 2010 Predictions for Social Networks, Web 2.0” from: http://globalhumancapital.org/?p=1103 Independent (2010) www.news.cnet.com “Viewed on 23.05.2010 from http://news.cnet.com/Amazon-to-debut-Kindle-e-book-reader-Monday/2100-1025_3-6218828.html Leary, M. (2006) “Judging a book by its cover” www.fil-think.com viewed on 24-05-09. From: http://www.film-think.com/2006/08/judging-book-by-its-cover-da-vinci-code.html Evers. S “judge a cover by its book” www.guardian.co.uk viewed on 24,052010 from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/may/19/boring-book-cover-jackets-stuart-evers Doverspike L 2010 www.ehow.com viewed on 23-05-2010. From: http://www.ehow.com/how_4912408_make-book-jacket-cover.html Read More