Thursday, May 12, 2016

Armchair BEA: Aesthetic Concerns - Books & Blogs

Books

I am the worst cover judge. Back when Fierce Reads released the new The Winner's Curse covers, I was VERY MUCH NOT IMPRESSED. Granted, I feel like I had my reasons for that one, and I was both surprised and impressed when they relented and released the hardback with the originally planned cover.

 For me, covers are a part of the reading experience, especially because they can communicate expectations about the audience of the book... I don't know how else really to describe it. Also it is possible that I just like pretty things.

Cover-related choices I have made:
  1. Been interested in a book almost solely because I like the cover.
  2. Not been interested in a book almost solely because I dislike the the cover.
  3. Bought the hardcover because I don't like the cover on the paperback. (In my defense, often I do this when the hardcover is on sale)
  4. Not bothered purchasing the rest of a series I was on the fence about because I didn't like the cover change and might as well just borrow them from the library.
  5. Purchased new copies of a favourite trilogy because the tenth anniversary editions were so lovely. (In my defense there were also on sale.)
I'm just saying, look at them.

So yep, I do have a bit of a thing about covers.


Blog

This blog is in DESPERATE need of an upgrade. (Seriously.) It's more that I've been toying with moving to self-hosted Wordpress for almost two years now, and I've just been putting it off. So basically I'm stuck in limbo.

Things I really should do this year, a numbered list:
  1. Get an icon and banner made. I think making one myself is outside of my skill set.
  2. Finally decide whether or not I want to migrate to self-hosted Wordpress. I think part of me never expected to still be blogging here, so now making an actual commitment is weird to me. And so now I dither.
  3. If I'm not doing that, update the layout here. I've had this layout for way too long. WAY to long. It is very much not me.
Basically, what I'm saying is that I am truly terrible at branding. It wasn't really something that I associated with blogging when I started- I was in high school and far more preoccupied with all the things high schoolers are preoccupied with (bog mummies and mass extinction events), and really didn't know anything about building a brand. I only too one business class in high school, and it taught me very little (though I do make excellent spreadsheets). 

This is somewhere I'm totally open to suggestions... its probably always going to be one of my weaknesses, just because I'm not as interested in it as I am about going on and on about books...

2 comments :

  1. This is SO me:

    1.Been interested in a book almost solely because I like the cover.
    2.Not been interested in a book almost solely because I dislike the the cover.


    I'm a self-professed cover snob, and proud of it. ;) Anyway, great post! Best of luck with your redesign/branding. It's a fun creative avenue once you get into it, but I totally understand struggling to take that first step. :)

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    Replies
    1. I kind of feel like I'm just hanging out, being overwhelmed by ALL OF THE THINGS that need to be done for the branding thing. I imagine that it is probably one of those things that you just have to start, though.

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