Publishers' tactics

Einhard

I was in a book shop recently and spotted a novel called Voltaire's Calligrapher that looked quite interesting (yes, I do judge a book by its cover!). The synopsis only piqued my interest further, and the fact that the quotations from various literary reviews, sprinkled liberally on the covers, were fulsome in their praise, further persuaded e to make the purchase. Once I got home however, I realised that the reviews from the cover actually referred to an earlier work by the same author, some of which were printed in the traditional way in the first few leafs of the book. There was though, absolutely nothing to suggest this on the cover. The publishers are basically attempting to boost sales through dissumulation, attributing to this work the reviews its predecessor. Surely this isn't an acceptable practise? Are there no standards that publishers have to abide by when marketing their works? Or do they have carte blanche to use such tactics? The book was quite good, but it's left a sour taste in my mouth.

E.T.

I think that's fairly normal - I've seen it on plenty of books, going back a good few years. Sneaky, but normal.

raah!

Rather irritating indeed, I'm sure one day someone will take it to the high courts (or which ever courts would be appropriate for this sort of thing) and fight the injustice :P.

Einhard

E.T. wrote: »

I think that's fairly normal - I've seen it on plenty of books, going back a good few years. Sneaky, but normal.

Books often have reviews on their covers referring to previous works by the same author alright, but any that I've seen usually make that pretty obvious.

raah! wrote: »

Rather irritating indeed, I'm sure one day someone will take it to the high courts (or which ever courts would be appropriate for this sort of thing) and fight the injustice :P.

This is too serious an issue for the High Court! Nothing less than the European Court of Human Rights will suffice. Or better still, get the tribunal in the Hague involved!!

monkey9

It is a really sneaky thing to do. If they made it clear what book they were referring to, fair enough. I've encountered this myself and it's so annoying.

Denerick

I try to avoid reading the blurbs on the back. For example:

'Denericks latest novel, boards.ie, a history of cretinism, is hardly a tour de force. Cynical, self indulgant and boorishly pyschotic, Denerick has succeeded in laying bare the innate flaws of his own character, and in the process reveals the virtuousness of mankind.'

Can become:

'Denericks latest novel, boards.ie, a history of cretinism... a tour de force... reveals the virtuousness of mankind.'

Raspberries

I've come across a novel by Nora Roberts, a fairly prolific romance novelist. She's pretty crap but there was a line at the top that I thought was hilarious-

'The most successful author in the world!' Washington News. Or something to that effect.

So it might not be the best idea to go by the reviews on the cover.

nompere

Can't believe that the obvious hasn't already been posted: "Never judge a book by its cover".

Eliot Rosewater

Denerick's cover would contain the quote from the book itself "Irish people are idiots, therefore...". Unlike the critic's quote, that one would true to the tone and outlook of the author.

Einhard

Denerick wrote: »

I try to avoid reading the blurbs on the back. For example:

'Denericks latest novel, boards.ie, a history of cretinism, is hardly a tour de force. Cynical, self indulgant and boorishly pyschotic, Denerick has succeeded in laying bare the innate flaws of his own character, and in the process reveals the virtuousness of mankind.'

Can become:

'Denericks latest novel, boards.ie, a history of cretinism... a tour de force... reveals the virtuousness of mankind.'

I often wondered about that too. Can publishers abbreviate and edit negative reviews in such a way as to turn them nto glowing endorsements? It would explain a lot!

nompere wrote: »

Can't believe that the obvious hasn't already been posted: "Never judge a book by its cover".

I don't usually, but every now and then I just go with it and make an impulse buy. Surprisingly enough, from my experience anyway, the cover can give a decent indication as to the quality of the book. Voltaire's Calligrapher wasn't a bad read at all.

nompere

Einhard wrote: »

Surprisingly enough, from my experience anyway, the cover can give a decent indication as to the quality of the book. Voltaire's Calligrapher wasn't a bad read at all.

I remember buying a book when I was about 16 with what I reckoned was a very erotic and promising cover. The book was (to a 16 year old) much too worthy and wordy, and had no titillating sexual content at all - let alone what the cover suggested was available.

No more details - some things are private!

Denerick

nompere wrote: »

I remember buying a book when I was about 16 with what I reckoned was a very erotic and promising cover. The book was (to a 16 year old) much too worthy and wordy, and had no titillating sexual content at all - let alone what the cover suggested was available.

No more details - some things are private!

Ah! There's nothing worse than expecting pornography and getting romance

nompere

Denerick wrote: »

Ah! There's nothing worse than expecting pornography and getting romance

As always, I defer to the voice of experience!