John McGann: The Cover That Almost Was

There are a lot of things that factor into the decision of what picture goes on the cover of the magazine.

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You'd think that the best picture of the issue automatically gets the cover, but that's rarely the case. A magazine cover is as much a marketing piece as it is a piece of art. You need to hook the reader's attention, get them to pick the magazine off the newsstand, want it enough to buy it, and eventually become a subscriber. A cover picture needs to tell the story visually, as well as complement the words we put with it.