I'll go you one further and go straight to the real culprit: bad writer.
I think the contemporary wisdom says, "If debut author uses a prologue, it's probably not a good book." You aren't going to find many good books...
Or, let there be silliness off page; just don't mention it in the book. If they don't fit the tone, mood, and setting of your work, readers it...
Heh. Can't believe I forgot the coolest one. In another novel, I have a character that uses a "charged particle stream that ionizes and...
In my work, I have few ways to debilitate a magically-powered individual and other mana channelers from accessing magical power. Most can probably...
No worries. It just looked like it was starting to take over the thread. I remember I preferred Borders to some other books stores because they...
That reminds me of my bank website. Trying to log in to my account is like finding my way through a maze of credit card promos. I already have the...
I remember that as well. I was usually okay if the series was listed inside the jacket or in the blurb, but that wasn't always the case,...
Yeah, that's the general feeling I'm getting. There seems to be a great difference of opinion on the matter depending on whether it's a printed...
Note on the OP: As stated in the OP, the second cover is only an early draft and not representative of the final style. When edited by a graphic...