Judge a Book By Its Cover

To be honest, I haven’t given too much thought to publishing. 

My thoughts on marketing surround the ways in which I’ve seen book influencers permeate social media and my harsh opinion of judging a book by its cover.

The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” is kind of nonsensical, because we do judge books by their cover.

It’s a marketing tool! If I’m honest, I am drawn to books by their covers. Of course, if I have heard of a book, the reviews by people or influences I care about will impact my decision to buy or read a book. However, if I am perusing a bookstore, the cover is the first thing I see. It is what draws me in. It says something about the style, subject, and genre of the book. And I will naturally be enticed to buy something that is more aesthetically pleasing. 

Therefore, while I don’t believe we should judge people by their appearances, and while an awful book can have a fantastic cover, I do think book covers, as well as other marketing strategies, should be considered when crafting and selling a book. 

However, I do not think marketing and publication strategies should necessarily influence the storytelling itself. 

In class we talked about how every time a popular book series took off, like Harry Potter or Twilight, many books afterward mimic the style until the next big thing takes off. 

While this may appear to make sense, if one is only imitating the elements and style of a great book, it will never be great itself. None of the book series that took off in popularity were imitating another popular series style. That is how it was possible for them to be the next big style to imitate. Harry Potter and Twilight did not have the same cover. They took a bold chance and when people loved it, marketing strategies picked up the books and found ways to market them to even broader audiences. 

Art and writing are not about being published. Of course, we want people to read our work. We want audiences to enjoy our art and engage in it with us. However, as hard as it is sometimes, we have to be content with an audience of Jesus. 

Sometimes our writing will just be for God. 

Sometimes my work as an actor and singer is just between me and God. 

But that makes it all the more valuable. It becomes worship. 

When our writing is about something more than being published, I think it will often be more meaningful. 

Our storytelling should utilize the tools we have at our fingertips, which may include some imitation of styles or grammar, but ultimately, it must be rooted in creating with God, and not in publication. 

Once our stories are written, once they are told, then we can find ways to invite people to see our work. We can think deeply about the cover of our book and if it is reflecting the story we are telling. 

I am not too concerned about the changes in publication patterns. I do not feel the gravitational pull to download tiktok and start promoting my writing through social media. Because while it is the direction our society is moving, it is fleeting. 

In my Theatre as Ministry class we were talking about the difference between art and propaganda, a conversation sparked by that day's chapter of Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water. 

My biggest takeaway was that it is much more impactful to invite people to engage in your work because of a need it is meeting, rather than demanding they read/watch/listen to it. 

For example, with Oliver it is my hope that people feel invited to come engage with our story if they are in need of a story of hope, redemption, and strength in struggle. Instead of promoting that people should come see the show to support the arts or watch our work, we invite them to engage in a story with us. 

I think it is the same with writing. Demanding people read my writing through the fleeting influence of a viral tiktok is not going to affect any long lasting impact. But inviting people to engage with a story because it is offering something they need, might have a more intentional influence. 

This view may be utterly unrealistic in our capitalist economy. Maybe I should care more about the publishing trends and how it might impact me as a new writer. 

I’m sure I will reach moments where I do deeply care about it, and may even experience some fear and frustration over publication. 

But it is my hope that I will turn back to this. That I will remember that writing is a gift. And that at least in my writing process, I should focus on the story and why it needs to be told, and not the hot publication trends of tiktok. 

And then, when the book is written, maybe I can judge it by its cover a bit, and take into consideration the marketing strategies to properly invite people to engage with the piece.

Sincerely, Sophi