Hi, HourGlassMemory, and welcome to the Cooler.
I was always curious about this thing, and it's been in my head for years:
No problem. Most people are curious about these same things.
1- How do editors....or the person(or group responsible for it) come up with a cover picture for our novel? Do they ask us if it suits our book? Do they ask for your opinion? Do we choose the image? Or do they just push you back while they all mess up with your book?
As the others have said, the goal of selecting cover art is to entice people to pick the book off the shelf and buy it. What often happens is that authors have something in their head that they think will make a good cover. Sometimes it does -- other times, not so much. Now, on our first novel, we actually suggested an historic photograph that we thought would make a great cover. The publisher agreed, and used it. But it was a small company, and didn't have access to professional cover artists. Keep in mind that cover art can cost a publisher from $1,000 to $25,000 EACH. Since the first impression of the book is primary to whether the book gets purchased, publishers seldom skimp on the cover (if they can avoid it at all.) While occasionally, the artist fails to create a vision of what's IN the book, the goal remains the same: get the book off the shelf and into the customer's basket. After the register rings, it's all elementary. Now, there is a contract perk known as "cover consultation" in the publishing industry. Sometimes, the authors really DO know their readers, and have an eye for what will sell the book. In these cases, the publisher will OCCASIONALLY (and it's a big deal when it happens) allow the author to consult on the cover before it's sent to marketing.
2- If you can draw like sketches and stuff, do you think it's good to take them when you're going to present them to your publisher or editor or whatever( I get confused with those names) If so, should I do it before or after it gets "accepted" ?
Quite a few publishers have a process called the "Cover Concept Memo." This is a document that asks the author's opinion on the cover. You can describe the physical appearance of the characters (so you don't have a blond hero who winds up a redhead on the cover), and any particular scenes from the book that you think might be a great action shot to grab the reader's eye. You can certainly send along a sketch with the memo. It's always possible that the artist will get inspiration from the sketch or drawing and turn it into something spectacular. For our latest book, we gave certain details to the artist, such as the hair color and nationality of the heroine and said that the setting was in Denver, CO (and we included a photo of the area). The artist turned those details into a SPECTACULAR cover that should really jump off the shelf. The lower part of the back cover is the skyline of Denver in neon. If you want to see what I mean, click
here
3- How do you get a professional to paint/draw/color your book cover? You call them and if they like the book they''ll do it?
As the others said, the publisher will choose the artist. You don't have to do a thing.
4- Do editors or publishers(whatever) dislike exagerated things like a heist where the characters steal like...100 objects or something?
Editors dislike cliches if it will cause the reader to shake their head and put down the book. If you can manage a different twist of a cliche -- by having the ending take a startling twist, then go for it.
5- Do editors themselves read our books before they get "accepted" or do "specialized" people do it instead?
Editors ARE specialized people, and yes, they do read the books before they pay you money to publish it. Occasionally, they'll hire "readers" to go through the "slush pile" (unsolicited manuscripts/queries) and pick out the ones that might show promise. But then the editor (and sometimes more than one editor) will read it.
6- Why do publishers keep publishing novels that are about the same thing?like..Lord of the Rings type of novel? There's always elves, trolls, profecies, magic and a bad guy.It's starting to get boring.(that's just my opinion, I do not want to hurt anyone's feelings either)
Because they keep selling. That's the goal of publishing. But eventually, the majority of buyers will agree with you. They'll get bored and not buy anymore, and the publisher will move on to something different.
7- What is the diference between Editor, Publisher and Agent?
The agent works for the AUTHOR. They are paid a portion of the money that the author earns to negotiate the contract (to get the author the most money and best terms) and, as the others have said, they are a strainer for above-average books that the publisher can probably sell.
An editor is an employee of a publishing house. The others described it as well as I can, but I'd add that there are often different levels of editors at a company -- each responsible for different things.
A publisher is what the others have stated.
Out of Topic: 8- What is the best way to describe music in a novel? You just say the instruments and "adjectivate" their preformance?
Describe it for what purpose? Are you intending on one of the characters CREATING music, or merely listening to it? Let's say that your character plays the guitar. You can describe the music by describing the sensation of his fingers on the strings, or furrowing his brow because one of the notes is "off" and he has to fiddle with the tension until it's right again. The reader then knows that he has an ear for music, and will know that when the adjustment is done, the music will sound "good." As a listener, the character can notice someone tapping a finger or foot in time to the bass notes or dipping their chin in time to a rock or rap beat. By observing someone ELSE, the reader can follow the flow of the music through words.
Does that help?