New Nightshade cover

[Thrawn]

Well that's a little better

 

[chelly]

I like the new logo, either one is good. Though can I ask, why is her name bigger then the title and above the title. It seems very strange to me as someone who would be looking for the title in the stores. All the other books it is the opposite the title is usually bigger and above the name.

 

[Christopher]

Though can I ask, why is her name bigger then the title and above the title.

Because she's a very famous and successful author now, and her name is a much bigger draw than the title of the book. It's a pretty standard practice when an author is that famous.

 

[David cgc]

Yes, it reminds me of one of my favorite Trek novels, "Star Trek: William Shatner," Parts One and Two.

 

[Starbreaker]

Nobody has their name bigger than Ben Bova.

Link

 

[David cgc]

Whenever I see a book by W.E.B. Griffin, I always think of the author "Howard Bell" in The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, who supposedly had a great bestseller name because they could put "Bell" in big letters with "Howard" slightly smaller on top to make a nice solid rectangle, and a character in the novel, upon seeing Bell's name written normally, remarking that he didn't recognize it "without it's trademark shape."

I'm assuming that was actually a joke poking fun at Stephen King, but my example fits better.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I'm assuming that was actually a joke poking fun at Stephen King, but my example fits better.

Douglas
ADAMS

 

[Dayton Ward]

It may be a joke to some, but certain authors' names have indeed become brand names unto themselves, and publishers (and bookstores!) take this kind of thing very seriously. Griffin and King, along with Tom Clancy, Danielle Steele, John Grisham, Nelson DeMille, L.A. Banks and Hamilton herself are examples which come immediately to mind.

So, yeah, when a publisher has an opportunity to tap into that sort of thing, they'd be stupid not to do exactly that.

Another aspect of the "phenomenon" - This past weekend, I was talking to friend and fellow author Carrie Vaughn, who recently dealt with her former publisher wanting to make her name "exclusive," and prevent her from writing under her own name for anyone else but them. She was rather against that idea, and to make a long story short, future Kitty books are now being published by Tor (Check it).

 

[David cgc]

I'm assuming that was actually a joke poking fun at Stephen King, but my example fits better.

Douglas
ADAMS

Well I'll be damned.

 

[phrog]

It may be a joke to some, but certain authors' names have indeed become brand names unto themselves, and publishers (and bookstores!) take this kind of thing very seriously. Griffin and King, along with Tom Clancy, Danielle Steele, John Grisham, Nelson DeMille, L.A. Banks and Hamilton herself are examples which come immediately to mind.

You left out the ultimate example, James Patterson, the quintessential bookstore shelf brand name.

 

[Dayton Ward]

I left out a bunch of names, mostly because I wasn't trying to list them all.

 

[phrog]

Snarky reply man, geez.

To me, as somebody who worked in book retail for years, Patterson is *the* example of what you seemed to be trying to say. Considering he doesn't even write them (for the most part), he's all brand name, marketing and sales based on that name. Everything with his name sells and he is the culmination of that idea, at least to me and many folks I knew in that industry.

Was trying to agree with you.

 

[Christopher]

I don't even know who a lot of those writers are...

 

[Dayton Ward]

^ Every single one of those names, as well as Patterson, are mainstays pretty much anywhere and everywhere you see books being sold that isn't an actual bookstore. Walmart, Target, airport newsstands, grocery stores, and every other place that -- generally speaking -- turns their noses up at the likes of you and me. They, along with others I didn't bother listing or am forgetting, are at the top of the pyramid you and I are trying to scale, man.

Snarky reply man, geez.

To me, as somebody who worked in book retail for years, Patterson is *the* example of what you seemed to be trying to say. Considering he doesn't even write them (for the most part), he's all brand name, marketing and sales based on that name. Everything with his name sells and he is the culmination of that idea, at least to me and many folks I knew in that industry.

Was trying to agree with you.

Sorry. I took it as bypassing the larger point I was trying to make in order to say "LOOK! You missed this one. HA HAH!" just because it's the internet and doing stuff like that is what makes people's junk tingle. I apologize for misreading it.