Dutch cover

While in Utrecht I had the pleasure of seeing my book in Dutch for the first time, and was delighted by the playful interpretation of the curve. We're starting to think about the US paperback version, which we may release in late 2007 with a new cover. What do you think--would a fun pencil-sketch curve help explain the Long Tail without seeming too math/homework-ey? (The typography would be more like the current US hardcover, but I'm thinking of replacing the enter key with something a little more, er, on point)

(See this post for what other countries have done with the cover.)

Comments

[Ches Chen]

I think book covers should fit the local marketing culture and what will attract sales (duh!). I like your current cover because it invokes a certain brand ...very simple, clean, lots of white space, recognizable - that's the imagery on Malcolm Gladwell's books. I also think you should use the same hardcover cover so people who have been waiting for the paperback can make the direct link and buy it right away!

[Mathijs van Abbe]

I like the cover. It is plain and simple.
It's also good to read that you're coming to The Netherlands soon and I am looking forward to talking to you about our interpretation and solutions for the long tail.

[Vincent LaConte]

I like the simplicity but I think the Dutch simplicity is a little too radical. In some ways the Japanese cover is more successful, by making it clear this is the "tail" of a distribution curve.

Playing with animal tail imagery in conjunction with a minimalist diagram would be fun, but just an animal tail without the diagram tail loses too much information.

I actually like everything about the aesthetic of the US hardcover, just not the Enter key.

[Bertil]

I'd go for lost fo white space, simple title & author's name, a sketchy line with "sales" next to the ordinate line, and, more importantly, six or seveen photos:
- Madonna on the left (take to your lawyer about this one);
- LG15 (for the hype factor) in the middle;
- your dog&wife on the right;
and (maybe) two arrows on the bottom, with a small dash:
- "before" or "mass-media" going from the left margin right to the first two;
- "after" or "now" of "Internet" going all the way right.

It would be pretty much all your book in a single drawing --- why buy it then? --- but that is all the strength of what you are saying. If I'm not clear, I can send you a sketch.

Another idea, more simple, would be no drawings, just a sub-title:
Why this book millions (and it doesn't really matter).