# Title or Author at the top of the cover?????



## Ralph Rotten (Jun 30, 2018)

So the last few years there has been a trend to put big-name authors' names at the top of the book cover, and the title below.
I was never a fan of it, but...

So now when you look at a bookshelf it seems like half the books have author on top, and half have title at the top.  And of the ones with the author at the top, I don't recognize at least half of them.  Granted, they are frequently not my genre so it may just be my ignorance, but it seems like a lot of authors put their name at the top hoping that sheeple will see it and think that they must be a big-name author if they have their name at the top all fancy-like, so they buy their book.  


My question is for those of you that have published, traditional or Indie, how do you weigh in on the front cover layout?  Would you deign to put your name at the top of your books? 

Hell, for that matter...should I deign?


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## moderan (Jun 30, 2018)

Title, and in bigger font, is my preference. All six of the books with my name on them feature that arrangement. Might, as you say, depend on name cachet. Ramsey Campbell, say, is on the top line.


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 30, 2018)

Agreed.
I had considered placing my name on the top, but with a name like Ralph Rotten it could be confused with the title (which led to the random thought about writing a book called Ralph Rotten, by Ralph Rotten, just for S&Gs.)


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## Pete_C (Jun 30, 2018)

Publishers sometimes major on the name of authors with recent successes to sell their back catalogues. Then others see this and design their covers accordingly. Then indies look at published covers and mimic them, putting their unknown name in the spotlight via their debut Unicorn Erotica masterpiece. 

Title first and largest.


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## Bayview (Jul 1, 2018)

I had to check my latest release to see! Looks like name on top, but in a smaller font and different colour than the title. My eye still certainly goes to the title first rather than the name...


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## Ralph Rotten (Jul 1, 2018)

Bayview said:


> I had to check my latest release to see! Looks like name on top, but in a smaller font and different colour than the title. My eye still certainly goes to the title first rather than the name...




So you're almost there with the big name on top, but not quite. 
Very cool.
I'm still just a bottom-of-the-cover schmuck.


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## Bayview (Jul 1, 2018)

Ralph Rotten said:


> So you're almost there with the big name on top, but not quite.
> Very cool.
> I'm still just a bottom-of-the-cover schmuck.



I think it was more a case of working around the graphic, but... yeah, let's pretend I'm a BIG NAME!


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## Anita M Shaw (Jul 2, 2018)

I'm an on the bottom little name author as well. And I used to do just that. Put my name in little letters at the bottom. Then a book designer offered feedback on the cover and told me that just because my name belonged at the bottom doesn't mean I can't make it as big as I have space for. So now I make sure my name is big and bold(er). 

Gave up using a script font for my pen name on my romances as I felt it came off too skinny. I used two fonts for the titles, one a script and one not, and echoed the non script font for my name. Seems to stand out more that way.

Doubt I'll ever be a top of the cover author, but one does dream! Meanwhile, I'll do what I can to look great at the bottom!


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