I know I’m most definitely in the minority for this since I’ve seen a couple of people talk about this, but I like ARCs that have a cover over the actual cover. The “cover” over the cover isn’t specifically a cover – it could be a letter from the author (or authors in my example below), a snippet from the book, or a short summary of the book.
For those of you guys who still don’t know what I’m talking about, just look at the ARCs of Queen of the Tearling and The Iron Trial below and you’ll see what I mean.
The Queen of the Tearling has a premise cover and The Iron Trial has a letter written by both Holly Black and Cassandra Clare to the readers as its cover.
I don’t know why publishers do this with some ARCs, but I definitely I like it when publishers do this honestly. Maybe I like it because it makes the ARC unique since so many other ARCs don’t have a “cover” over the cover. It makes the ARC special in my eyes. It’s also fun to flip the page and see the actual cover.
How about you guys? Do you like the cover over a cover ARCs have or do you personally dislike them? Why? I want to know!
I guess I don’t really like OR dislike them. When you put them on the shelf, the spines look the same anyway haha :P
The only cover on the inside book I have is The Bone Season though. Most books I get from publishers either don’t have a cover at all (if they’re ARCs), or are finished copies :)
Nara recently posted…Review: Flirty Dancing by Jenny McLachlan
I loved that extra cover for The Queen of the Tearling ARC – it made me more curious about the story, it’s very eye-catching.
Lea @ YA Book Queen recently posted…Review: CHARM & STRANGE by Stephanie Kuehn
I think I prefer the actual cover. I’m shallow that way LOL If I can see the cover and I like it the ARC will get to the top of my TBR pile a lot quicker. That also goes for e-ARCs as well, although most publishers don’t do this.
Carolyn (Book Chick City) recently posted…Rebecca’s Coveted Releases & TBR Pile for July
I think they’re cute little additions. I don’t think it has a big impact either way, but I do think that it lets me know that the publisher has taken care to make sure this book is as appealing to readers as possible. So, a positive, but not a major one.
P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex recently posted…Cover Wars: Messenger of Fear vs. Gates of Thread and Stone
I’ve never had an ARC with a cover like that, but I like that it’s unique and it’s fun when they invest time to create such a different cover :)
Mel@thedailyprophecy recently posted…Monthly recap. June.
For me it depends on whether or not I like the real cover of the book and care about the people writing about it. For example, I got an ARC of Gennifer Albin’s “Altered” at BEA last year and was happy with the premise cover because I ended up hating the actual cover.
Shayna recently posted…The Merciless
I agree that it’s great to have a different cover on the ARCs, and even more when they make the ARCs unique that way, but it’s also great to see the first hint at the official cover on the ARC, before you get to see it in the final one…
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I am definitely with you on this one, Kelly! I love having an ARC that looks special because it makes me feel special ;D
I love looking at ARCs and thinking: this is a pre-book, an uber special book because of that unreal cover.
Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten many ARCs with different covers, because in Australia we don’t have a lot of publishers that print their own books, but I guess that means I treasure the ones I get even more!
Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity recently posted…Happy Eternity Discussions: City of Bones Part 1
I don’t get any ARCs so I can’t relate, but I just do like seeing people do something different. I remember reading your post for the cover for Katie McGarry’s books, with a dust jacket and a different photo printed on the book. I couldn’t relate until I won a Take Me On that was signed, and when I took off that dust jacket, I just spent minute looking over the whole thing because it was gorgeous. I want to see Crash Into Me’s cover on the book.
But yeah, I suppose it would just be great to see something special, so right now I am so jealous of your ARCs!
Shannelle recently posted…Oh Spam, Why Are You So Nice?
I personally don’t mind. Although I really like getting those copies with a letter from the author because it just makes it more personal.
Meredith recently posted…Hope At Dawn Review
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this or noticed it before. It is a cool effect though, especially if you can still see the actual book cover.
Julie S. recently posted…That’s what HE said Thursday- July 10, 2014