What Annoys You About Books and Book Marketing?

 by Sybil Johnson

I'm pretty much a live and let live kind of person. I don't get annoyed easily. (Some people I know might not agree.) But certain things about books and marketing bug me. 

Covers: 

As long as the cover of a book matches the kind of book it is, I'm okay with it. A cozy mystery should give off a cozy mystery feel, etc. I might like certain covers better than others, but it won't prevent me from buying a book. 

I've seen a lot of comments lately in various places, including in reviews on Amazon and blog posts, where some users declare that if they suspect a book cover was generated by AI they won't read the book. I'm not one of those. 

I don't even know how to tell if a book cover was created by an AI program. I did ask Copilot how to tell. It gave me some ideas, but, really, how do I know it's telling the truth? Maybe all of the AIs have banded together and are giving out false information! Anyway, I know how much it costs to get a cover created for a book so I'm okay with using AI in the process whether it’s using AI to create it entirely or a real person using it to help the process along. 

I probably won't use it myself, but I'm not going to not read a book because AI was used for the cover. The interior, though, that's a different story.

Inconsistencies and too many typos: 

I really like a book to be consistent. Even when it comes to use of words. e.g. When an author uses "back yard" and then later "backyard" in the same book, I notice. It annoys me. Just pick one and use it consistently. That’s what I say. I won’t stop reading, but I’ll notice it. 

I also notice typos. I understand a few here and there, but when it's riddled with them...yep, it annoys me.

Giving away too much info: 

This one's a big one. So big that it will make me stop reading a mystery series. I've only come across this once or twice in all of my very long reading life. I don’t like it when an author tells me whodunit in a previous book in the series. Maybe I haven’t read that book yet. I know most people read books in a series in order. Most of the time I do this, but not all the time. So don’t give away the plot from a previous book, thank you very much. 

Stuff in parentheses in a book title: 

Go to Amazon. Look at a book title. There’s usually something in parentheses after the title. Like “The blah-blah-blah series Book x.” I’m good with that. What I get annoyed with is stuff like “An utterly gripping...” or “An absolutely addictive...” I don’t like being told how I’m going to react to a book. Being annoyed by this is probably why I'm no good at marketing. It won't stop me from reading/buying a book, but it does cause a split second of annoyance. 

Here's your chance to say what annoys you about books and book marketing. Tell us. We want to know!