Can you tell a book by its cover?

[bionov]

If you saw a book titled Green Power with a cover showing cows in the foreground and the twin cooling towers of a nuclear power plant in the background, would you think that this was a fiction or nonfiction book?

[geo]

I would think it's a non fiction title.

[bionov]

This has been my problem. Actually, it’s an environmental thriller novel. The book opens with my protagonist leading a demonstration to close down a nuclear power plant. He goes on to set up methane digesters on dairy farms. That’s why I designed the cover with these two elements in mind.
I’ve had a number of hits on my website that have lasted less than 10 seconds. I’m sure they were looking for a nonfiction book. I wish I would have named this book, Green Power the Novel.
Anyway, that's why I’ve listed my novel in the "Fiction Book Forum" area for this site.

[TheWriter]

I would also think "non fiction" seeing the cover.
On the other hand, people looking for non fiction in this area might be the same persons who might be interested in your novel...

You could try to experiment with different covers - after all it is more important than we would like to think...
But I know how difficult that is once you have fallen in love with one cover.

[Crystalline]

Perhaps a subtitle would have been useful. I'm sure to change the cover and add that by your press company will be costly...

[tipmyhat]

It depends on the actual cover...

I think adding a good subtitle will help and you could ask a good designer how you can move away from the ''non-fiction'' look and feel. Try, for instance, a deep red or green filter over the design. It might not be what you want but it does give it a ''fiction'' look.

Good luck!
Daan

[J K James]

They say never judge a book by its cover.....but we do.

It sounds like a nonfiction book to me about "Green Energy" because of the title, the cows and the nuke plant towers. My first thought is it's a book comparing Green Power vs Nuclear Power.

[Stephen Osborne]

I would say non-fiction as well.

Yeah, covers can be very misleading. The printing of Walden by Henry David Thoreau I have, the cover makes it look like a kids picture book. XD
I admit, I have bought books based on the covers. I bought the Divine Comedy, without knowing what it was about, when I was younger based on the artistic cover and quickly realized I struck gold with that purchase.

[christinamartine]

I immediately thought non-fiction as well!

[bionov]

To continue the discussion, let me present my proposed cover for my new thriller novel – “The True Virus”. This time I’ve added the subtitle – “Thriller Novel”. Click on the word "image" to see cover. Will this work as a cover for a fiction novel?