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I fear that I am, at heart, a shallow person. I generally pick wine bottles by their labels, have been known to judge a man by the shoes he’s wearing, and – most shameful of all – often select my next read based solely on the cover design. Sure, good reviews are nice, recommendations from friends, a movie tie-in (or not) may push a title into my ‘must read’ column. But if the cover is striking or weird or beautiful – that pretty much trumps all. And there’s always a bit of magic involved when a cover strikes me in that particular, visceral way.
So it was with great relish that I anticipated the design process for the cover of my first novel, The House Girl. As a total newcomer to the publishing world, I didn’t know what to expect. According to my contract, I had ‘consultation rights’ on the cover but what, exactly, did this mean? Both my editor and agent assured me that my input would be valuable and that I would have ‘veto power’ – that is, no one would insist on a cover that I hated.
But how to achieve a cover that I loved?
I gathered together all my favorite book covers (which, I was surprised to find, did not necessarily correspond to my favorite books) and made some notes about why I liked them. I spent far too long clicking through the fabulous website The Book Cover Archive. I even dug out some grainy old photographs I had downloaded years ago, when I first started writing The House Girl, of historic plantation homes where my protagonist might have lived. Armed with ideas about colors, photos, themes and fonts, I wrote several long-winded emails to my editor about My Book Cover Vision.
Then, I sat back and waited.
A couple weeks passed. No word came. I wondered if she would mail me hard copies of potential designs. I wondered how many meetings she’d convened, how many ideas had been floated, how many uber-talented designers were pouring over my emails about Vision, not to mention dissecting my novel for its various big themes, searching for the perfect balance of symbolism and aesthetics that would achieve that magic connection: grab a potential book-purchaser by the throat and never let her go, or at least not until she was at the register handing over the cash for a hard-cover copy.
Finally, an email arrived from my editor. An email with a single attachment. The cover note said: Everyone LOVES this design (all caps hers). I opened the file with bated breath.
Did I love it?
To be honest, not at first. Was it too predictable? Too busy? Too old-fashioned? Too… orange? After some back and forth with my editor and agent, the designer tinkered with the cover. The colors changed, the fonts altered, an image was shifted, but the essentials remained the same. I showed the cover to some friends and family. I hesitated and considered, looked and looked some more. Finally, yes, I decided: I loved it. (In fact, I now wish I could wallpaper my house with it, but that would be a little weird…)
Was this the process I had hoped for? Not exactly. I had anticipated a soul-searching, months-long quest as the designers executed my Vision of the perfect cover. The reality was a little more pedestrian: there was a publishing schedule to keep to, and design professionals who knew what they were doing. There was also a team of people for whom cover design was not some amalgamation of magic and art but a tool for selling books, a way to mark a book for a particular audience (no vampire fans will accidentally pick up The House Girl) and appeal to independent and chain booksellers alike.
I’ve since learned that my cover experience was par for the course, if not tending towards the more positive end of the spectrum – after all, I genuinely like the finished product. Check out these stories on The Awl written by authors far more experienced than I. There’s also a pretty great new blog called Talking Covers about, well, writers talking about their book covers. Although I think my belief in book cover magic may have faded a bit, it’s a subject that I still find infinitely fascinating and, if you’ve read this far, you probably do too.
So, tell me: what do you think of my cover?
michellestodden said:
Personally, this looks like the sort of book I would flip to read the blurb. It’s lovely. Congrats!
Tara Conklin said:
Thanks Michelle! Ah, blurbs – now that’s a subject for another blog post…
Ruth Whippman said:
love it. Looks really inviting. As you say, the kind of object you would want to have in your home. I think you did really well (could have been a pair of high heels…)
Tara Conklin said:
Thanks Ruth! You’re right – high heels would definitely have been the wrong vibe. 🙂
Jessica Silverthorne said:
Hey there! I’m glad you went with the head profile – I liked that better than the full body. I love the cover!
Tara Conklin said:
Thanks Jessica!
Susie Meserve said:
It’s beautiful–more than that, it’s amazing to see one’s name on a cover of a book, no? Congratulations.
Tara Conklin said:
Thanks Susie! You’re right – it is pretty amazing, I cannot play cool about that 🙂
Susan Szafir said:
Tara – It is a beautiful cover and one that would definitely entice me to pick up the book and read more!
Tara Conklin said:
Thanks Susan! Glad you like it.
Michelle Feder said:
Congratulations, Tara! The cutout, profile, and negative-space seem to tease some themes…Whatever the aesthetic, artistic and subliminal factors, it’s lovely and I would definitely pick this up. Can’t wait!
Tara Conklin said:
Thanks Michelle! yes, teasing some themes – very well put!
Carol Vogt said:
Your book cover is beautiful and evocative – what a thrill! I too love book covers and would even go so far as to look for the book cover designer’s name in the teeny tiny print. I was particularly obsessed with Chip Kidd covers: http://bookcoverarchive.com/Chip_Kidd
Congrats!
Tara Conklin said:
Thanks Carol! yes, don’t you love that archive site? Those Chip Kidd covers are fantastic.
Danielle said:
Hmm, I don’t like it, I love it! I can’t wait to have this book (SIGNED of course) on my bookshelf.
As a graphic designer, it is a treat to read about the creative process from the author’s perspective. I’d love to see all the previous versions and their revisions. The creative process is such a fascinating (and often painful) journey.
My only complaint is that you don’t tell us the name of the designer. Woe to book cover designers everywhere, whose work helps to move those book$ in the stores!
Tara Conklin said:
thanks Danielle! Great question – I honestly don’t know who the designer is – I got the sense that it was a team effort, but I could be wrong. I will check with my editor and report back.
Susan said:
The cover is great. I have been trying to find a contact for your publisher. As I was granted access for your novel on Edelweiss. But, I have had a problem. Would you please give me the email to the contact person. I would love to review. I was wondering if I would be able to get a galley instead.
heather webb said:
I think the cover is classy and beautiful! 🙂 Look forward to reading.
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