Romance, Rhetoric, and Representation: Visual Arguments in the Book Cover(s) of Jessa Hastings's Novel Magnolia Parks.

Although book covers may seem to function simply as accompaniments to novels' true content, they are underestimated in their ability to convey arguments, engage consumer perceptions, and build an author's brand, rendering them texts worthy of rhetorical analysis. Book covers function as rhetorical devices in that its cover forms a book's first impression with its audience and shapes readers' perceptions of the story before they read the first page. Book covers are also an essential aspect of marketing books, particularly romance novels. This article draws from the literature on visual argument, strategic communication, and genre criticism to analyze the visual arguments of the book covers of Jessa Hastings's Magnolia Parks. Specifically, the goal of this article is threefold: First, we identify the arguments being made by both versions of the cover; second, we analyze the arguments made by each of the Magnolia Parks book covers based on how it functions for the target audience; and finally, though we cannot speak to the precise intentions of the publishers, we attempt to forward reasonable and plausible arguments (based on both how the images function and the strategic communication used to market the title) as to why the book cover was altered. Specifically, we argue that rhetorical analysis of both versions of the Magnolia Parks book cover reveals which visual arguments the publishers sought to foreground and how they function, which in turn informs conversation about the intentionality behind those decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]