Dell Publishing Company brought out Young Wizards novels in hardcover between 1983 and 1990, and the paperbacks between 1983 and 1992. During this period they appeared in a surprising range of covers for such a short time.

The quality of any book cover finally comes down to the question of how much the publisher is willing to pay. For a first novel by an unknown author, a publisher will routinely not want to spend too much, since there's always the possibility that the book will flop. This being the case, the publisher will set a "top spend" figure for cover art, and the book's editor and art director will then try to choose an artist who both suits the subject matter of the book and is affordable. The author is almost never consulted about the choice of artist, and probably won't be until his or her books are selling regularly and well. And maybe not even then.

Click "next" to discover how this can affect a series that's just starting out...

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