Oh no! What on earth has happened to The Long Song?

We loved the hardback cover — rich, beautiful and arrestingly different. So why does the paperback look so much like a whole bunch of other literary fiction? This seems to happen again and again — publishers spending time, effort and love on their hardbacks then taking the dullest, safest route for the paperback editions.

In this case, a generic image is coupled with a bland, recessive font — a shocking waste for a big title with such long backlist potential. The Observer quote is also an odd choice, implying that Small Island didn’t show Levy at her best. Not a great incentive for a potential first-time purchaser of Levy’s books.

Why do so many publishers lose their nerve in paperback? Is it fear of breaking the mould? The experience of recent years suggests that, in any genre, taking a risk on your paperback cover pays off handsomely — look at One Day or the Millennium Trilogy. To play it safe is such an enormous waste of talent, creativity and vision and of your potential for stand-out on the online or physical shelf.