April 19, 1865 funeral procession

[L Verge]

I seriously doubt the creativity of many folks who have control over the titles of books. There has to be a play of words to attract the attention of modern readers. I remember receiving a phone call a few years back from Anthony Pitch. He had planned on They Have Killed Papa Dead for years. His publisher wanted to name it something else. He wanted my opinion, and I told him to stand firm. The market would be Lincoln and Lincoln assassination people, and they would recognize the significance of the title without having to even pick up the book. Anthony won.

For the longest time, authors could not even choose their book's cover. James Swanson asked his sons for their opinion on a cover for Bloody Crimes, and they immediately said there had to be red in it and also knives. One of my staff members used to work for Borders Books, and she said that red was definitely an eye-catcher, no matter what the subject. The covers with bold colors and graphics were usually placed face forward on shelves as you walked into the store to deliberately catch your eye.