I've written recently about how Seth Godin is very creative about how he markets his books. His most recent fun gimmick is that his hardover book has a two-sided paper cover. One image is goofy (a photo of a person dressed up as a wizard with a big pointed hat and a beard, as you can see, left), the other is more serious (a photo of a real guru that Godin encountered).
Of course this works best with hardcover books, but I bet it would even be possible to do this with a paperback--you'd have one cover and beneath it another one. If you preferred the latter, you just tear off the first one (maybe it would be perforated).
So if it's a typical chick-lit novel (lots of pink, an illustration inluding a cocktail glass and a pair of high heels, etc.) but you prefer not to be seen reading that genre, the second cover could look quite sober and serious.
Of course this has been done many times with the same book being released in editions with different covers, notably the Harry Potter series with their kid and adult covers, but never to my knowledge with two covers on the same paperback.
Whether or not people actually tore off the cover, for sure it would generate loads of publicity.
The moral of the story, though, isn't to steal Godin's idea, but rather his way of thinking creatively about things we normally don't bother to question.
(My book, Creativity Now! will also help you to find new ways to think about your projects and your marketing. You can buy it now from Amazon and other online and offline book sellers.)
