Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Cover Story: How My Book Got Its Face


I'm a sucker for pretty book covers. I always have been. As a kid in libraries, I’d scan the shelves for anything that caught my eye. I picked up Twilight in a bookstore knowing nothing about it other than it was a vampire story—I fell in love with vampires in 6th grade—and that the cover was beautiful. The striking red of the apple against the stark white of the cupped hands and angled forearms, the black background and silver title sold me in about two seconds. I didn’t love the book and didn’t read any of the sequels, but every time I pull Twilight out to get rid of it, I end up admiring the cover like a work of art and put it back on my shelf. 

My bookcases are filled with pretty books. I mean, all books are beautiful, but those with pretty faces as well as words are likely to go far in our visual culture. It may not be fair, but it’s true: people judge books by their covers all the time. So we authors cross our fingers that we’ll get a good one, because the thing is, we don’t have much control over the cover.

When I sold my novel, it was a Word document on my computer; a manuscript I hadn’t printed out in its entirety for years. It wasn’t yet a physical object, or rather its physicality was blank. When I pictured my book as a thing, it looked like a pile of papers, a faceless body of words.

Then one day, an image magically appeared in my email inbox. No one had told me exactly when I’d see my cover, or what it might look like. No one had asked me for any ideas or input, though I suppose, if I’d had strong opinions about my vision, I would have said so. I know other authors who sent photos or drawings, or other covers they loved. I did none of that and yet there it was as an attachment from my editor. I held my breath as I waited for it to load. Suddenly, my book was looking back at me.

I didn’t immediately fall in love. At first, I didn’t know what I thought. How do you react to finally seeing the face of a being you know so intimately? My book and I were like one of those couples who meet online or through the paper and write to each other and talk on the phone for months, revealing every detail about themselves without having seen any photos, the internal so familiar and the external only imagined. A face-to-face encounter changes the whole relationship in a second.

Generally, an author is shown a cover from the designer. She then has three options: reject, accept, or request changes. Of course, there are always those horror stories of authors who had no say at all and hated their covers, but I have also heard of authors going through three or five versions to find one that’s exactly right. For good reason—a book’s cover is how it presents itself to the world. It’s important. Like you’d choose an outfit based on your activity, your cover should fit your audience, should give a sense of the book’s mood, should make people want to pick it up and hold it in their hands.

It’s a partnership, working with a publisher, so you may not get exactly what you envisioned all those years as you built a relationship with your book. And some authors have told me that was a good thing: that the design their publisher presented was so much better that what they’d asked for; better than they’d imagined. The designers are, after all, designers. Try to be open-minded.

When you do see her face for the first time, it’s less complicated than meeting your internet boyfriend in person because, unlike his, the book's face isn't permanent. You can change it. If you hate your cover or you really feel that something isn’t working, speak up! Be polite and respectful, but say something. Your cover is what everyone will see, what your book will wear out in the world, her shining face. It should be something that feels right for her, and for you.

Isn't she pretty?
I know I was lucky with my cover. After the initial shock wore off, I decided I liked it. I really liked it. I asked for a few changes—small adjustments to colors, lightening the girls’ hair which was originally black and my characters are blond—and now I’m head over heels in love with it. I love the colors and the font and the ragged edges. I love the interesting composition, eye-catching photo, the feeling of protectiveness between the two girls, and their vulnerability. It captures the "tough and tender" tone of Hand Me Down perfectly. Now, I can’t imagine my book without this beautiful face.

Find out more about Hand Me Down at www.melaniethorne.com

12 comments:

  1. A cover is so important, Melanie! I love yours. It's a beautiful book and it has a beautiful face!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, everyone! It's hard for me to comment due to technical difficulties, so apologies for the lack of individual comments. But I'm so glad this post struck a chord and helped some of you. Holly, very funny about the gerbils not making the paperback cover. I've been surprised by the difference in covers when they switch to paperback--they seem to really want something different if they do a new one. Thank you all for saying nice things about my cover and for sharing your thoughts!

      Delete
  2. Got chills reading this! I, too, have kept a purposely blank mind about what the cover will look like. Hoping the surprise is a good one! Thanks for sharing your experience, Melanie.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great post! When my 25 year-old daughter saw your book on my TBR table she said, "I'd buy that just based on the cover!" (she bought Twilight based on the cover too, before she had any idea what it was about LOL)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your cover definitely conveys tough and tenderness. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love that cover, Melanie. I was fortunate and liked my cover right off the bat. Normally, I don't care for the whole "head chopped off just showing the body" that seems popular right now, but the cover really fit my MOTHER OF PEARL book. And Julie....I can't wait to see YOUR cover too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great post, Melanie! And I, too, would pick up your book based on that cover, so kudos to you and your designer. I had a very weird experience with my first book, a memoir about my dad being a gerbil farmer. The first book cover showed gerbils popping out of farmers' boots. Very cute. Then, for the paperback, the publisher used a cover showing a little girl (definitely not me!) running through an orchard of flowering trees. Nothing to do with gerbils or the story. Why? Because apparently many women hate rodents!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'd pick that book up just for the cover - very intriguing!
    My three covers are being shot right now - and I'm a wreck. I'm so glad to hear that the face becomes familiar after a bit. Thank you for setting my mind at ease.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I, too, love the face of your book! Such a powerful image.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I, too, love the face of your novel. What a powerful image!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks, everyone! It's hard for me to comment due to technical difficulties with Blogger, so apologies for the lack of individual comments. But I'm so glad this post struck a chord and helped some of you. Holly, very funny about the gerbils not making the paperback cover. I've been surprised by the difference in covers when they switch to paperback--they seem to really want something different if they do a new one. Thank you all for saying nice things about my cover and for sharing your thoughts!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks, everyone! It's hard for me to comment due to technical difficulties, so apologies for the lack of individual comments. But I'm so glad this post struck a chord and helped some of you. Holly, very funny about the gerbils not making the paperback cover. I've been surprised by the difference in covers when they switch to paperback--they seem to really want something different if they do a new one. Thank you all for saying nice things about my cover and for sharing your thoughts!

    ReplyDelete