In the past German covers in general were more than disappointing. To this day they often tend to be boring, cheesy, uncreative and sometimes have nothing to do with the books they are designed for.
Here are some examples of German cover tragedies (both from Heyne).
The German cover of "Tempest Risisng" by Nicole Peeler.
No, this book is not about mermaids!
I miss some exciting colours and I dislike that the cover is so misleading.
Not a good job in my opinion. This cover looks like way too many others and will never manage to stand out.
Not a good job in my opinion. This cover looks like way too many others and will never manage to stand out.
The original cover.
This is how you get people interested in a book and how you make your book stand out! One of my favourite covers and I applaud the art department of Orbit for this great job.
The German cover of "Savour the Moment".
1. The book plays in the middle of summer and not in autumn/fall.
2. Why not use the bride theme? The books are about brides and the wedding business. I will never understand why the German publisher thought that a season theme would fit to the books.
The original cover, elegant and beautiful. And thank goodness with a bride theme.
This is a cover that I like to look at and that makes me want to buy a book.
But there are also some German publishers who understand that a cover is a powerful tool to market and sell a book. I like what was done for the Hunger Games trilogy and I love what Egmont Lyx is doing for their paranormal, UF and romantic suspense covers.
Here are some examples of German cover triumphs.
All three covers of the books in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins are in this style. One is red, one is green and the last one is yellow.
IMO they did a good job with the covers. They look interesting, intriguing and all three covers fit together.
This is the German cover of the first book in the Kate Daniels series.
Beautiful, strong and the inside of the cover is also great.
This is the German cover of Slave to Sensation.
The cover looks beautiful, sexy and makes me want to know more about the book.
Another great job by Egmont Lyx.
I'm a German Book Blogger as well, so it's great that I found your site!!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely and totally agree with you on the German cover issue, it drives me crazy so often! I have no clue why they turn great original covers into bad and shitty awful covers here in Germany.
But, I have to say, I adore the Hunger Games cover, it's actually an improvement!
I think the worst German covers ever were the Twilight ones.. *hangs head in shame* such beautiful original covers...
Have a good start in the week!
Hi Danny, didn't realize that you are from Germany, so cool! I like the Bewitched Bookworms blog and will go to Let's ride the Vanquish right now (love your blog title).
ReplyDeleteI agree on the Twilight covers, such a shame. At least some of the later published paperbacks look like the originals.
I also like the Hunger Game covers, my mom is reading the books in German right now (they are a bit too sad for me) and they definitely look impressive.
Many contemporary romances also look horrible, so cheesy and like my 3 year old niece designed them (I guess she would do a better job).
I love them all.
ReplyDeleteYes I'm from Munich and I'm blogging with some of my US girls at the Bewitched Bookworms! Glad you like our Blog!!!
ReplyDeleteMy Vanquish blog was my Twilight blog, where I started blogging more than a year ago, but it turns more into a personal blog right now which is fine :-))
I should give my mum the Hunger Games too, I really love those books. I made my mum read Twilight so I guess she can read those too!
Yeah, I also made my mom read Twilight and now she, my sis and I go together to the movies. I also gave my mom books by Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews and she enjoyed them.
ReplyDeleteI was in Munich about ten years ago so I don't remember a lot of the city (besides some nasty people we met in the train stations).
I cant believe that's the cover for Savor The Moment! It just doesn't fit the story at all.
ReplyDeleteYou sometimes have to wonder what the artist was thinking when you see covers. This is true in the US as well as in Germany or any other country for that matter. They don't have to be bad, just misleading. The Nora Roberts cover is a perfect example of a nice cover that has absolutely nothing to do with the story.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when they get them right, they are wonderful.
Thanks for the examples.
Hi Sabrina, I have an award for you! You can pick it up at Mad about Romance
ReplyDeleteAll the best
Jude x
I understand what you said about the covers...if the book isn't about a mermaid why use one in the cover?
ReplyDeleteThe Hunger games cover is interesting. I'd have picked that book.