User:StaceyHamilton/BlogEntry: 2009 June 12 10:55:47 EDT

From sasCommunity

Judging a Book by Its Cover

by Shelley Sessoms, SAS Press Acquisitions Editor

Last week I attended PharmaSUG in Portland, Oregon. My main responsibility was to answer questions about our books and recruit new authors and topics for the SAS Press program. I did that, and came away with a few new items to add to our “wish list.” I’ll blog more about that later.

But I also found myself watching people as they looked at our books. Did they pick one up because of the title, the cover, the “New” sticker on the front? What did they do first: scan the front and back, look at the table of contents, open to a random page?

I didn’t see a consistent theme, but I can tell you how I look at books. I scan the titles and then I look at the cover art. I am by no means an artist, but I know what I like. I like colors found in nature and landscapes. Put a picture or drawing of the beach or mountains on your cover, and I will look at it. I tend to ignore extremely modern book covers, or ones with geometrical shapes and stark colors. The content inside such a book might be wonderful, but I’ll never know. I don’t like the cover, therefore I don’t look inside.

Our authors also know what they like. I’m not actually part of the cover design team, but I do hear the discussions. And I talk to authors about their ideas. Recently one author told me his favorite color was yellow, and asked if we could incorporate that into the design for his book. Well, certainly! Another author had a very distinct shade of green in mind; nine tries later we found it. Some people want specific images on their covers; others leave it to the designer to find an appropriate picture. Whatever the case, lots of thought goes into the design of our SAS Press books.

I scanned our library today and saw a multitude of colors. Many were bright and eye-catching. The font was clear and easy to read. The back covers gave just enough information to make me want to open them and read more. This isn’t by accident; our production and marketing folks spend hours upon hours on each book.

So the next time you look at a SAS Press book, just know that the outside and inside were both meticulously reviewed. We strive to give you the best product possible.

And, one more thing . . . because I’m still curious . . . what makes you want to open a book and read more? Let me know at shelley.sessoms@sas.com.