What Is a Dust Jacket and Does a Hardcover Book Need One?
Contents
What is a dust jacket?
When it comes to publishing a children's book, there are a lot of decisions to make. Not the least of which is whether or not to include a dust jacket when publishing a children's book. So, what are the benefits of a dust jacket? What are the drawbacks. And at the end of the day, is a book jacket worth having? Ultimately, only you can answer that, but not without some extra information!
What are the negatives of a dust jacket?
- They fall off, rip, and are generally annoying. This is the biggest complaint, right? Dust jackets just get in the way. Kids rip them. Book Jackets get all wrinkled and are hard to keep on the book. And are they even keeping the dust off? No! Because the pages of the book still get covered in dust on the top!
- Dust jackets increase the cost of printing a book
Pro Tip: When it comes to self-publishing a children's book, every cent counts. And adding a dust jacket to the book costs extra money. But before you dismiss it, ask yourself if the slight added cost outweighs the benefits.
What are the benefits of a dust jacket?
- Dust jackets increase perceived value
- When it comes to list price for a book, a dust jacket offers higher perceived value—and therefore affords you a higher list price. A book without a jacket (called a paper over board or POB) often retails for $9.99-$12.99, while a book with a jacket retails for $17.99. That’s a fairly substantial difference for something that doesn’t cost that much extra money to create. (For more information on how to price your book, check out How Much Should You Charge for Your Self-Published Book?)
- Book jackets offer increased real estate for marketing materials
- A standard picture book without a dust jacket relies solely on the back cover to hold cover copy and any other marketing information. Any about the author information usually gets relegated to the last page of the book, cutting off space for the story itself.
Pro Tip: But with a dust jacket you have a lot more space for that material. The book summary usually goes on the inside front flap, along with the price of the book, while the inside back flap offers a nice space for an about the author and about the illustrator. That leaves the book back cover open for a nice illustration, or perhaps a quote or two in favor of the book. For more information on writing a great book back cover, check out my article How to Make Your Book's Back Cover Copy Stand Out.
- Libraries like them
- Have you ever taken a picture book out of the library? Odds are you’ve noticed that they always have dust jackets on them, usually with a layer of plastic around them. The reason for this is that the combo of the book jacket and the plastic around it makes the book more durable. (Having CIP Data also helps get books into libraries. For more information, check out What Are Library of Congress Control Numbers and CIP Data? )
- Bookstores like them, too
- Bookstores prefer to carry picture books with dust jackets. Part of that is because of the higher value and part of that is because the jacket protects the books from damage while in the store. So if you plan to get your books into bookstores, keep in mind that they aren’t likely to take a hardcover book without a dust jacket.
I get the dislike for them. Personally, I have a STACK of dust jackets sitting on a shelf. I take them off as soon as I get a book so my kids don’t rip them. But I have kept all of them and will put them back on some day. And on my own books, I’d opt for the jacket any day.
But is it right for you? Only you can answer that!
