# How to Market a Book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 6, 2017, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-market-a-book/790578 "2017-07-06T02:23:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-market-a-book/790578/1 "2017-07-06T02:23:10Z")
I was looking through some Jules Verne titles, and I was struck at how very different the covers are. These are for the relatively obscure novel **Mistress Branican** Here’s one English-language edition. THe cover is identical to the one they use for another Verne title, _Clovis Dardentor_ > **[Mistress Branican (Dodo Press): Verne, Jules: 9781409925224: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Mistress-Branican-Press-Jules-Verne/dp/1409925226)** > > Mistress Branican (Dodo Press) \[Verne, Jules\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Mistress Branican (Dodo Press) Here’s another: > **[Mistress Branican: Verne, Jules: 9781484012505: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Mistress-Branican-Jules-Verne/dp/148401250X)** > > Mistress Branican \[Verne, Jules\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Mistress Branican Here’s an edition in French: > **[MISTRESS BRANICAN (French Edition): Verne, Jules: 9781521234389: Amazon.com:...](https://www.amazon.com/MISTRESS-BRANICAN-French-Jules-Verne/dp/1521234388)** > > MISTRESS BRANICAN (French Edition) \[Verne, Jules\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. MISTRESS BRANICAN (French Edition) and another: [https://www.amazon.com/Mistress-Branican-Illustrée-biographie-lauteur-ebook/dp/B06XVQ2KNV/ref=sr\_1\_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499307433&sr=1-5&keywords=mistress+branican](https://www.amazon.com/Mistress-Branican-Illustr%C3%A9e-biographie-lauteur-ebook/dp/B06XVQ2KNV/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499307433&sr=1-5&keywords=mistress+branican) And a French e-book: > **[MISTRESS BRANICAN (illustré) (French Edition) - Kindle edition by Verne, Jules,...](https://www.amazon.com/MISTRESS-BRANICAN-illustr%C3%A9-French-Jules-ebook/dp/B01MZ7YZRP)** > > MISTRESS BRANICAN (illustré) (French Edition) - Kindle edition by Verne, Jules, Benett, Léon. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading MISTRESS... But here’s the Italian edition: [https://www.amazon.com/Mistress-Branican-Italian-Giulio-Verne-ebook/dp/B0711RZ7FR/ref=sr\_1\_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499307433&sr=1-4&keywords=mistress+branican](https://www.amazon.com/Mistress-Branican-Italian-Giulio-Verne-ebook/dp/B0711RZ7FR/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499307433&sr=1-4&keywords=mistress+branican) This makes me want to learn Italian ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-market-a-book/790578/2 "2017-07-06T03:27:48Z")
Jules Verne books are out of copyright which means anybody can put them up on Amazon with whatever cover they choose for whatever price they want. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-market-a-book/790578/3 "2017-07-06T10:57:20Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Jules Verne books are out of copyright which means anybody can put them up on Amazon with whatever cover they choose for whatever price they want. Yes. And a lot of issued versions are the original awful translations from a hundred years ago. The audio edition I have of 20,000 Leagues is the abhorred Lewis Mercier translation that cuts out big portions of the book and mistranslates the rest. We’re in the midst of a third Verne renaissance, and brand new accurate translations are now available. In some cases (_The Brother Kip, the Mighty Orinoco, The Invasion of the Sea_) books that had never been translated have in the past 15 years been translated into English. In other cases, books that have been extensively rewritten by his son (_The Lighthouse at the End of the World, The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz, The Golden Volcano, Magellania_ etc) have finally become available. In other cases, previously lost works have been reprinted. It’s actually worthwhile in many cases to get the new versions, even if it costs more, because the older versions can be pretty awful. And, of course, they can put whatever cover they want on it. That Italian edition of _Mistress Branican_ makes it look like the porn version. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-market-a-book/790578/4 "2017-07-06T11:39:29Z")
I do like the jolly neo-imperialist collected symbols of all the world type thing as in your 3rd link, a little sister of SteamPunk; however the Scandinavian/Northern France painting of the 5th link wins my heart ---- although more suited to Gissing or George Moore than Verne. The 1970s ( small independent publisher ) look of the 2nd has it’s charm but is somewhat rudimentary. Thanks for getting all this. I generally found Verne admirable but relentless and tedious in those earlier translations. Just like his inspiration from the puritanic animal slaughterers, **The Swiss Robinson** , that delightful as **Crusoe** [Robinsonade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinsonade). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-market-a-book/790578/5 "2017-07-06T11:50:01Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > I generally found Verne admirable but relentless and tedious in those earlier translations. Just like his inspiration from the puritanic animal slaughterers, **The Swiss Robinson** , that delightful as **Crusoe** [Robinsonade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinsonade). Verne was _obsessed_ with the Robinsonade. He himself wrote either one long or two short sequels to _The Swiss Family Robinson_ (depending upon how you count his books) He also started _the Shipwrecked Family_, his own independent take on the idea, but abandoned it (A translation was first published only a couple of years ago). He later incorporated material from it in another Robinsonade, the more successful _Mysterious Island_. And then there’s _Godfrey Morgan_ (AKA _a School for Crusoes_) and _Two Years’ Vacation_ (Verne’s proto-Lord of the Flies) and the Robinson’like touches in _20,000 Leagues_ and _Hector Servadac_ (AKA _Off on a Comet_) and his other books. As for the style, you get very different flavors from different translators. And it helps when they’re not eviscerating his work, like Mercier Lewis/Louis Mercier was. Read the more recent translations, again, for more fluid style. There are new editions of _The Begum’s fortune_ and _Carpathian Castle_ that are far better than the I. O. Evans Arco/Fitzroy editions that used to be the only available English translations. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-market-a-book/790578/6 "2017-07-06T12:15:28Z")
OK. It is implied there that Crusoe inspired colonialism, which I think a bit weak — one man grabbing a portion of this earth ( he’s gonna be _somewhere_ anyway ) is not the same as arriving with Alexander’s army. I think the primary appeal is to humankind’s love of lists. I don’t know if inventory-theme is a thing, but it’s always cute to read stocks and supplies available to the heroes, and in the case of the Swiss, plundering the doomed vessel slowly. \* - Of course, to the unbearable Defoe and his early readers a certain moral purpose was primary. Makes it rather unbearable itself.