James A. Moore Quotes

I have a strong say in how my books are marketed, and the covers - I am very firm that I don't want pink and fluffy, or stick figures sitting drinking cocktails. That's simply not appealing to me.

All writers know how important a good title is. It's the first thing readers see, along with a knock-your-socks-off cover - a seductive 'come hither' for the story within.

I have always felt that effect covers are very good covers. They bring you into the story if you pay attention to them.

Why wouldn't - how couldn't - an author care about how his or her books look?

One thing I learned working at magazines was that if you couldn't get people to look at a page or a cover, then you were fired. It was all about how you create arresting works, and by arresting I mean stop people, even for a nano-second.

I used to do jacket design, and I'm very conscious of covers, and probably meddle more than other authors would.

Actually, I love trying to figure out why certain books become hits while others, which may be just as good, have trouble finding an audience.

Bantam has an incredible team working on my books, and I'm so thrilled that the art department is so amazing, since those covers are the 'face' of my stories!

All the marketing and advertising sells the book as what it is and hopes that the book will be displayed so that your readers can find it.

I wouldn't buy a book simply because I like the cover. I would pick it up. The jacket can call your attention to it. But in that sense, Oprah Winfrey is worth all the jackets in the world. A jacket is basically trying to do what she does all on her own.

I didn't think that personal style had much value in graphic design.

Readers are always surprised to learn that authors have little or no input regarding the cover art for their books.

I love design in general, the creativity. Whether it is golf courses, my apparel line, ads we do or our business with AriZona, design is fun.

There's a lot more to publishing a book than writing it and slapping a cover on it.

I think most new writers are better off going with traditional publishers who will actually, at a minimum, edit your work, package it well, and market it for you.

Publicity doesn't work for books. It really doesn't. All it does is get your name in front of a reader who might then glance at your book. Or not.

I have been an art director, a book designer, a book-jacket designer and an interior designer.

I used to want covers that represented the book's contents very closely and were also pretty. Many folks automatically believe that this is what makes a good cover. But I've changed my mind about this. While the cover should not lie (by implication or outright), its job is simply to say: 'Pick me up!' to someone who might like the book.

I steer clear of books with ugly covers. And ones that are touted as 'sweeping,' 'tender' or 'universal.'

A blurb might bring a reader to a book, but then the book itself has to do the rest of the work.

The simple fact is, the more people who buy your books, the more are likely to read you. That's what I'd like to see happen.

Buying new books supports the writer by providing both a royalty and an audience; a writer whose book sells well has a better chance of selling another.

My work is about making candy for the eyes. It's about grabbing your attention.

I am always consulted about covers, and give feedback, but I am also aware that what causes a customer to pick a book up off a shelf in the UK is very different from what causes a customer to pick a book up in the US.

Making books has always felt very connected to my bookselling experience, that of wanting to draw people's attention to things that I liked, to shape things that I liked into new shapes.