Book Covers

I'm lucky. My book starts at Stonehenge and my youngest daughter took a great shot of the monument a couple of years ago. Zeus' artist, Clive Dalton, dramatised it and added the figures. I think it's a great cover and you're right, Storyteller5, it does catch the eye at book signings. I've had a large poster made and framed to make the most of this fact. You can see the cover on http://www.zeus-publications.com/the_gatekeeper.htm

Aside from my own (okay, actually, even though that was a cheeky joke, I truly do believe my cover rocks and I always recommend people go check out the artist's page: www.roccoart.com - he just recently won an award from Borders for his picture book) . . .

I'd have to say The Vesuvius Club had a cover that really drew me to it. I know it's very simple looking, but the cover totally gets across the feel of the book. Also I like turn of the century poster art, and there is definitely that inspiration coming across here as well.

Chip Kidd has a new book called The Learners. Coincidentally, he uses the Milgram obedience experiments in the 1960s as a plot point -- which I do as well. Our books came out just a week apart, which is just freaky. Anyway, the author designed his own cover, and I think it's awesome.

To me, Chip Kidd is the greatest book-cover designer ever. So genius.

I like your book's cover, Will Lavender! It conveys the academic context, and the sense of it being an institution being so much larger than any individual, in a very powerful way.

I used to collect books with cover art by Edward Gorey. He was an amazing cover artist and designer. An exhibit of some of his covers here; it doesn't include my favorite, which was his cover for Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim. Edit: Hey, someone put it up on Flickr!

Oh I love Edward Gorey! Thanks for the links Ice Cream!

Chip Kidd does my brother's covers. I'm very happy with Whitney Cookman's work on Look Me in the Eye.

I'm with some of the other posters, I love my first book's cover, see my avatar. A moment frozen in time. You can see all three in the AW Library, link below.

allen

Storyteller5 said:

So I'm curious about book covers other have really loved. Anything catch your eye?

Click to expand...

I fell madly in love with Robert Gould's covers for Louise Cooper's Time Master trilogy: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n1/n6010.jpg I thought he pegged the otherworldliness of the story nicely.

And I was also floored with my own cover: http://www.tor-forge.com/madkestrel My artist, Shelly Wan, is an award-winner, and I was so lucky to have her!

It's the girly stuff that catches my attention. Women in fancy dresses. There are some rockin Historical Fiction covers out there...

I am really pleased with the cover of my debut novel. The illustrator, James Griffen, did a fantastic job catching the heroic character of my MC. This is his blog where he talks about how he goes about completing the various covers he works on -

http://paintlayers.blogspot.com/

In the case of my book (and most of what he does) it a pretty complicated process that involves historically accurate costume production, model selection and photography, and a variety of illustration techniques.

Toothpaste said:

Aside from my own (okay, actually, even though that was a cheeky joke, I truly do believe my cover rocks and I always recommend people go check out the artist's page: www.roccoart.com - he just recently won an award from Borders for his picture book) . . .

Click to expand...

The USA cover is beautiful, but the UK...honestly, I think it is not very appealing. Has the author of a book any influence on the cover?
I have to admit, I judge books mostly by their covers, so, should I ever write a book I could not accept an ugly cover.

Some of the "Chronicles of Narnia" covers are really pretty:


http://www.amazon.de/dp/3800050048/

Gina_Marie said:

Click to expand...

Our school's book fair was delivered today, and this book was on the shelf! You're right - it's gorgeous! And it sounds good, too. so I'm buying it.

Menyanthana said:

should I ever write a book I could not accept an ugly cover.

Click to expand...

You say that as if you, as the author, have a choice...

Menyanthana said:

The USA cover is beautiful, but the UK...honestly, I think it is not very appealing. Has the author of a book any influence on the cover?
I have to admit, I judge books mostly by their covers, so, should I ever write a book I could not accept an ugly cover.

Some of the "Chronicles of Narnia" covers are really pretty:


http://www.amazon.de/dp/3800050048/

Click to expand...

Ah to have a say in the matter. Would you rather not be published or have an ugly cover?

The thing about my UK cover is this. It was wrong. It isn't ugly, but it is marketed to the absolutely wrong age group, far too young. Interestingly though, I have had people tell me they much prefer the UK cover to the USA one, so don't forget it is all a matter of taste.

But really, the author is the last person to have a say on their cover. Aside from the editor and marketing department, there is also one other group that I never thought of before I was published, and that is the book buyers. If the buyer for Barnes and Noble says, "Well the books sounds interesting but you have to change the cover or we won't buy any" by gum the publisher changes the cover. Because Barnes and Noble is responsible for selling a heck of a lot of books.

There is so much more to it than just our opinion.

Nonetheless Scholastic UK were wrong with my cover. They have acknowledged that, and when the book comes out in paper back in May, it will have the North American one.

I am lucky. Very very lucky. I have a publisher who was willing to admit they made a mistake and fix it. Not every author is that lucky, and unfortunately it is our lot to have to deal with it.

I have learned, when it comes to both title and cover, you can hope for the best . . . but there is only so much you can do if it's the worst. An agent is helpful in that, but even they can't work magic.

So I guess it is up to you. Do you really want not to be published, with a cover that may actually be marketable but you just can't see how, or not published at all . . .

Not only does the author not have a say in the cover, as Toothpaste says above sometimes even the PUBLISHER is left out of the decision.

True story. My cover was changed by the folks at Borders and Barnes & Noble. (For the better, I think.)

I never gave too much thought to it. I don't know a thing about packaging or selling books. When my editor asked me if I had any ideas (this was very early on), I said no. I was interested to see what they could come up with.

Being both a reader and writer of fantasy, I have to say I ADORE covers by Cliff Nielsen. He did some of ours, plus lots of others. A few of them:

Anonymisty said:

Our school's book fair was delivered today, and this book was on the shelf! You're right - it's gorgeous! And it sounds good, too. so I'm buying it.

Click to expand...

I hope you enjoy it. If you do there are two more books in the series. Both good reads.

Toothpaste said:

Ah to have a say in the matter. Would you rather not be published or have an ugly cover?

Click to expand...

Depends on the level of uglyness, I think. And on the question if I need the money or not.

Menyanthana said:

Depends on the level of uglyness, I think. And on the question if I need the money or not.

Click to expand...

It is demeaning work, but if one is desperate enough...

Oh. Books. Covers. Sorry, I thought we were talking about something else now.