Let’s talk about SEX!
Okay, no, I don’t want to talk about sex at all. I want to talk about covers. But I got your attention, didn’t I?
And that’s the whole point of a cover. See the nice segue-way, there? I don’t just randomly yell the word sex. SEX!!!!
My cover is, as I write this, being carefully crafted by the AMAZING artist Sharon Tancredi:
http://www.sharontancredi.com/
I have seen the sketches, and I am over the moon with her, her aesthetic, and her ideas for Tempest. She is also an insanely nice woman who took the time to read my manuscript AND email me about it. So I feel I am in very good hands.
A lot of people have asked me about this part of the process. It seems, in many ways, the part everyone is most interested in. They’ve wanted to know how much input I’ve had, etc. My experience has been unique, I think, in that the Orbit team just does everything right. I think I’ve had quite a bit of input on the cover, to a certain extent, but I’ve mostly spent that time shouting, “OHMIGOD YES! YES YES YES!!!”
I am like the Molly Bloom of the Urban Fantasy world, with my neverending affirmations.
My point is not actually Joycean; my point is that covers are important. I know it; you know it. I buy books for their covers. Not all the time, but it happens quite a bit. Especially if it’s a book by an author I otherwise don’t know.
So, let’s talk about covers, as I open up the floor to you guys. For the non-author types: what kinds of covers do you look for? How important do you think a cover is to you? What would you like to see? What’s an example of a great cover for you. For the authors out there, what was your experience with getting your cover like? Do you have a dream cover/cover artist? Any apocryphal stories floating around regarding covers?
PS: For a sneak peek into Orbit’s art department, go to:
http://www.orbitbooks.net/2009/01/28/the-making-of-an-urban-fantasy-cover-part-i/
Comments
I can't wait to see your cover, Dr. Peeler!
I think your cover art has become more important, too, because you have to sell your book, often by cover alone, among a sea of many other books, also sporting covers that are trying to get you to buy them. I can't possibly read even chapter one of every new book that comes out, so I have to rely on cover judgment or the judgment of others with more reading time (yeah, I know, work in libraries, no time for reading. Seems to be a contradiction, but it isn't).
Toni
Nicole: First of all, your name is beautiful. Classy. Sophisticated. ;-) Secondly, I love that you brought up the US/UK divide. I just moved back to the US from Scotland, and the cover changes are INCREDIBLE. Usually, for the worse. Part of it is that the UK can depict so much that the US can't. For example, when Bellow's Ravelstein came out, the UK cover had a beautiful tina tea cup and saucer with a cigarette put out in the center of the saucer. It was PERFECT. But the US couldn't have a cigarette on the cover, so it was just a pristine tea set. Which was random and pointless. Thirdly, I, too, hate when you can tell the person who did the art never read the book. Por ejemplo, when the protag is dark, and short, and the cover model is tall and lithesome and blonde. That was my WORST nightmare for Tempest.
Silver Adept: That is SO interesting, what you said about children. Maybe we're training, with all our glossy graphics, our kids to be cover whores?
Toni: I agree, I think there's a disconnect that occurs when a cover doesn't "match" the book.
T.M.: Maybe they're all devotees of Lawrentian sexual philosophies.
*kicks dirt*
For me (as a reader) I want the cover art to not just reflect what's in the book, but also be an image that will take my imagination beyond the boundaries of the book.
My 3 favorite cover artists are
the above mentioned Lisa Desimini -- she does the Charlaine Harris covers
Dan DosSantos --Patricia Briggs', TA Pratt, Mike Resnick covers
Chris McGrath --Jim Butcher, Kat Richardson, CE Murphy (and just about every other UF author. lol)
They all have amazing sites featuring their art.
That's interesting, how you suggest that really good cover art can actually enhance or even challenge your reading of a book.
And very good chocies for cover art! I especially like how McGrath balances what seems like staple genre art, but does it in a way that's still expressive and interesting.
You will always have those who know exactly what they are going to buy before they walk in the doors at Borders. These are the same people who can walk into a grocery, grab what they need (and nothing more) and be back in the car in ten minutes. Annoying aren't they? But a good deal of buyers will grab your book to read the back, only because the cover snagged their attention.
That's why I "front" my books when I visit my local Borders. There are a few other authors out there whose books I also front, just to be nice. (See, I CAN be nice when I've had my meds)
I like bright covers with lots of colors, shiny things and Illustrator. Oh, and long walks in the park.
And I generally prefer the UK covers to the US ones. There's just something inorganic (for lack of a better term) about the US covers.
Another thing is, they have to be appealling. Visually, I mean. Nothing makes pass over a book quicker than a pseudo bodice ripper-style covers. I like a well crafted chap as well as the next lass, but I'm not into Fabio covers. The colours and the graphics, even down to the font, need to work for me, make be believe the art. The last books to really grab me by an unknown (to me) author was Stray by Racel Vincent and Kitty and The Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn and that was a few years ago now. These days, I go off recommendations, but if there are choices of covers, then I go for the nice ones!
If it's an author I know and like, however, all these points are moot anyway.
The covers with girls looking hot with their killing gear on just catches my eye. (& I'm not half gay.) Ha!
But, I also liked the Twilight book covers, just plainly because it was simple, yet beautiful. It told a story about the book.
Bah, thanks for listening to my ramble.
Honestly, there are enough writers who I'm trying to keep up with these days that a cover has to really work to sway me. There's tough competition in my TBR pile right now.
When I read Twilight, I didn't care for the book very much except that I read it while listening to The Killers' "Are we human." The two fused together in my mind, and I think I "read" each of them in light of the other. The song's just damn good, so I think that helped the book (for me), but now I wonder what the song would be like without the backstory of the book inevitably invading my thoughts. In some ways, it's nice to have more feeling to the song than just the words and music, but I wanna wonder if *I'm* dancer instead of constantly wondering about the non-human qualities of Edward Cullen.
That said, well-tailored cover art can only be a Good Thing, and you look like you're well on the road. Ooooh, I can't wait to see it!