TOW #25- The Cover Of Ender's Game

Goals:

·      Pick something I am interested in

·      Make sure to tie it back to the original thesis

            Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card has become known as one of the best science fiction novels of its time, become a best seller, and become translated into a movie. However, in order to acquire all of those accolades, the novel first had to bring in a variety of readers and generate revenue.  Card’s original cover utilizes contrasting colors and names of awards won in order to attract its readers.

            When one walks into a bookstore and searches through the shelves, the first thing one sees are the covers of all of the novels. By illustrating the cover to have contrasting colors, Ender’s Game is able to appear bold and stand out on a bookshelf. When it came out in 1985, the graphics of the cover would have been considered impressive and aesthetically pleasing. Thus, in comparison to all the other books that would have been shelved in that time period, the contrasting colors would have made it more prominent and thus attractive to readers.

            By adding the numerous awards that Ender’s Game received on the cover, Card is able to attract readers by illustrating that Ender’s Game is in fact a quality book. For example by adding that Card is a “New York Times Bestselling Author”, the book is able to appeal to readers who want to read something with literary value or just want to read a book written by a popular author. Thus, by including the diverse awards that both he and Ender’s Game have earned, Card is able to attract more people to read his book.

            Even though many say never to judge a book by its cover, that can often is exactly what common people do. Thus, in order to have a successful book, it is often necessary to also have a successful cover. Card accomplishes that on the cover of his book Ender’s Game by using contrasting colors to make his cover stand out, and by naming awards to attract literary interest. It is through these strategies that Card is ultimately able to attract his readers, and ultimately have a successful book.