Note: This time of year is always very busy for me. Last year, I hadn't really started blogging yet, so I was able to keep myself above the craziness. This year, I am. My blog is slightly inactive due to the holiday craze. Hopefully will return to the regular posting after the new year. :)

-Bri

Friday, April 8, 2011

2 Books...1 cover?

I've noticed that a lot of book seem to have the same image, only edited differently. There are tons of examples!




And it's not just any book, either. There are some really popular book that have "cover lovers."


And this trend doesn't just stop at books! No, it goes even further!




Could I just ask, WTF is going on with book and their covers?
I get it, people use stock images, but this was just outrageous! And you may say, "Well, there aren't that many covers that do this. You're just overreacting."


Overreacting? Try looking at this:


What's your take on this, guys?









22 comments:

Katie (The Literary Files) said...

WOAH! I have noticed some matching covers, but who knew there was that many! Geez! I noticed Sing Me to Sleep & Sharing Sam, but OMG at Maximum Ride and Kindred, I thought they were the same book when I saw reviews! And For Keeps and Sharing Prince Charming I can't believe I never noticed that before!
I LOVE this post Brielle! Cover art is important and I think it should be unique to each book :)

Julia @ That Hapa Chick said...

Oh goodness that is INSANE!!!! O.O

Jasmine Cervik said...

I used to work in a salon and that last girl is in a TON of salon type ads for hair. It's crazy!

Brielle said...

@Katie
Oh my goodness, I know! I had seen some, but I never knew that it was this bad. And then it got brought up in a chat and I decided to research it. It's crazy.

--Brielle

Brielle said...

@Julia I know. And this wasn't even ALL of the ones I found.

--Brielle

Brielle said...

@Jasmine
I've noticed that too! You could probably flip through just about any salon magazine and find her photo.
She must hate the days when her hair looks bad. Poor girl.

--Brielle

Paranormal Night Owls said...

Holy cow! I remember talking with you about this problem but I didn't realize how many novels share the same cover or almost the same cover until this very moment. This is insane and.

I remember mentioning how "Evermore" by Alyson Novel" shared the same cover as another but the only difference was the colouring.

Thanks for this post, Brielle.

Brielle said...

@Akasha

I know! And this doesn't even begin to show all of the covers. The art department is failing when it comes to cover designing. Stock images = BAD!

I remember seeing Evermore had the same picture but I couldn't remember what the other book was.

You're welcome! Thanks for the comment!

--Brielle

~Enamored Soul~ said...

First of all, new follower *alert* :)

Wow, thanks for this post Brielle. I mean, a few recycled covers may have made sense - but THIS many, seems like a real problem. And, I mean, there's not that much of a dearth in terms of stock images. I think that each cover should be representative of the story within! I know we all love "pretty" book-covers, but I'd rather see a unique one, than just a pretty one! :)

Thanks again, for bringing this to our attention. Have a wonderful weekend!

~Hira~
Email: Enamoredsoul(at)gmail(dot)com
Twitter: @inluvwithbookz

Brielle said...

@EnamoredSoul

I know. I'd much prefer a unique cover to a simply pretty cover. I mean, honestly, we could have both. I think art departments are just reusing stock images, personally.

No problem. You too. :)

--Brielle

Evie said...

Wow, I never noticed anything like that! I wonder how can this even be possible.. don't you need to like have the rights to use a specific picture?
Very interesting!
I'm your new follower :) Would be great if you could follow back!

Evie

Chandra said...

Really enjoyed this post! I never realised this before but oh my gosh! There are so many similarities! That's crazy! I mean, there are so many different concepts for the covers that could've been used! It's ridiculous and it detracts from the originality of the book in a way, what a shame...

Brielle said...

@Evie Stock images. Everyone can buy them, anytime they feel like it.

--Brielle

Brielle said...

@Chandra Vidar

Thank you. I know, this is pretty insane. Like I've said, art departments are probably reusing images so that they can lower costs and such.

--Brielle

Mary Lindsey / Marissa Clarke said...

I'll be really honest with you. Getting a stock photo cover was a huge fear of mine. I was overjoyed when Penguin created an original cover for me that matches my book exactly, including the rose petals and an origami rose on the back. Whew. Your collages were interesting. I didn't know about many of these. Well done.

Brielle said...

@Mary I'm really happy to hear that! It's great that you got an original cover!
Thank you!

--Brielle

We Heart YA said...

Haha, it's great to see it all laid out like this. As an amateur designer, I know people use stock imagery (like you said) but it's incredible to see how little is done to make it unique in some cases.

Hopefully someday when my cover is being designed, I can point to this post and say: Dude, they totally notice. ;)

Brielle said...

@We Heart YA

You do that! We DO notice and it DOES bug us. At least, it bugs me. I'm sure there are others, just look at all the comments!

--Brielle

Robyn Lucas said...

Thanks for posting! i never realized this before. That is pretty lazy. I know stock photos are used, but geez... Overuse?

Brielle said...

@Robin Lucas

It is, really. I can't believe how little effort some of these make to look original.

--Brielle

Unknown said...

Brielle Honey you are a genius! I have never seen half of these!! I think if they try to make it different it works but like Katie said its unoriginal. :P

Brielle said...

@Kare Thank you. :D I agree. Fail for them.

--Brielle

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Comments make me smile! If you liked the post(or have any questions), then leave a comment! Thanks! :)

--Brielle

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