Wednesday 30 June 2010

This Damned Necklace Won't Stay On (Part 2)

In response to this post...



..She Reads and Reads spotted another use of these images (by Martin Scott-Jupp)...



..to which I'll add this one...

10 comments:

Ian Koviak said...

that's great, but nothing beats the exorcist: http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/5/9780061962165.jpg

Derek said...

I reckon this blog should be made mandatory reading for all book cover designers.

JRSM said...

Derek, I thank you!

Ian, that's a unique photo! It doesn't count!

JRSM said...

Ian, I just gotwhat you meant, and now I feel stupid. Sorry about that!

Hammad0 said...

nice post...eye opener

Mayowa said...

Is there a particular reason why publishers reuse these images so many times?

Fill a layman in will ya?

JRSM said...

I'm certain it's not deliberate. It's just that, with limited money to spend per cover, it's a lot cheaper to buy a stock image than it is to hire a photographer to create a new one. The problem with stock images is that, for the most part, there's no easy way to find out who else has already bought it and used it, so you may well end up using a photo another book already has as a cover.

Mayowa said...

@JRSM,

Thanks for the schooling.That is rather interesting...

Publishers and agents say that one of the benefits of the traditional publishing industry is a well executed book cover. I wonder what writers will say to that when they discover that they can simply buy a nice image of iStockPhoto.

Doesn't this take away business from you guys?

Anonymous said...

I find it hard to believe that after this many identical covers, book publishers are still clueless that 10% of all books now have this cover photo. I am groaning...

ghrency said...

I agree with you.Exorcist is one of a kind and no one beats it.



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