A cross-analysis of how a story's "Beats" inform the cover of movies and books, and why we call them "Bingo Beats".
The proverbial "cat" should be out of the bag by now if you've been following this blog: We're huge fans of "Save the Cat", including of course the infamous "Beat Sheet". Now obviously, just like everything else, we respect the Beat Sheet as being but a tool, and that tools do not write books; writers do! But as a tool, this blog's particular jive is to cross-examine book and movie covers with that of Beat Sheets in order to identify any particular patterns along the way. Call it an experiment; an obsession; a quest!
The results of that experiment so far....
Turns out that "Bingo" is the Cat's Name-O. Not the dog's!
That's what we're calling them anyways: "Bingo Beats". Because time and again, we're finding the same story sections being used to inform and inspire the cover of various tales:
We've seen it in the movie poster for Coraline as she's about to crawl through the little door leading to her "Catalyst" moment...
We've seen it on that infamous Jurassic Park signage/symbol, glowering upon us as we "Break Into B-Story" for the first time in the eponymous tale...
The world over is more than familiar with the little Snitch we see Harry Potter catching during his wizardly "Fun and Games" in The Philosopher's Stone...
And of course, just about every movie cover ever from Disney loves to do that "spread display" of all the "B-Story" characters that await the protagonist on their quest!
The pattern so far is simple and yet profound - The best covers are derived time and again from between the Catalyst thru the Fun and Games! And this shouldn't surprise anybody really, because Blake Snyder called it out in his book:The Fun and Games Story Beat is the "Promise of the Premise", as per the quote below:
"It is the core and essence of the movie's poster. It is where most of the trailer moments of a movie are found." - Blake Snyder; Save the Cat. Page 80.
Notice those keywords: "Movie's Poster". And what is a poster if not another variation of a movie cover, after all? They are both tools that writers and producers should be leveraging to do one thing - Create a primal itch that readers/watchers just have to scratch! To do that, the cover must connect with the user right away, in some manner, in order to lure the reader in to a world they've never seen before (unless of course it's a "Pre-Sold Franchise", like Spiderman). Otherwise, why should a user bother picking up your story?
Unfortunately, books are at a disadvantage here when compared to their movie counterparts. Very rarely do books get the benefit of having an fancy, animated visuals that inspire and awe onlookers. Instead, our friends in print are forced to do an extra amount of heavy lifting with their covers alone; covers that are then recycled as advertising for web banners and the like. Perhaps that will change in the future, now that Kindles and Nooks can provide digital access. But until the day that book advertising can be just as flashy as movie ads, we here at How Are You Covered? are going to suggest three things to Indie authors who are considering the cover of their Books-To-Be:
Find an artist and pay them for a custom cover. You spent all this time writing a unique tale, after all? Why not give it an equally unique cover?
If custom is not in the budget, then shoot for a pre-made cover with a face on it that could match your character. There's a reason Disney loves slapping a spread of every - single -character - in - the - movie across their covers. People connect with characters!
If you can't find any pre-made covers with the right face, then pick something that can reasonably represent your Catalyst, B-Story, or Fun and Games somehow. Giant robots and spaceships are always fun if you're writing a sci-fi; scary pumpkins at night if you're writing a Halloween story going wrong; or maybe a mystic-looking keyhold that's a-glow with magic, if you're writing a fantasy. Just something that reminds you of the above-mentioned #BingoBeats.
Whichever option you choose to employ, make sure you put thought into it. As much thought as you put into writing your novel in the first place! Don't just pick pretty but "generic" stock photography!
In fact, use this as a rule: If it looks like it could work on a motivational poster, then it's probably too generic to catch your readers eye!
Because seriously... Who on Earth even reads motivational posters?
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