I wonder how often this comes up or if anyone else has thought of it.... As you get into the querying stage, and you ready your email account for the abuse you're about to put it through, and you scour the PublishersMarketplace... do you ever second guess yourself, looking at these agency websites thinking, "Oh it'd be a dream to be represented by Susie McAgentson...but the covers for their leading authors are so urgh...."
I know the author has no (limited, if any?) say in regards to the cover that will grace their book once it's published, but why do all these high end agencies have such sub-par, boring covers? I'm not going to throw any under the bus (although to prove my point, I can, if asked) but I think people know what I mean.
A lot of famous, best selling books have pretty bland, odd, generally lackluster covers. Sometimes, it's the smaller publish-house books that have a really eye-catching cover that would make one proud to put on the shelf. Sometimes, a book doesn't even get a revamped cover until it reaches the best sellers, NYT lists, and thus, deemed the extra effort to make it pretty.
I know we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but as authors, don't we have at least a sliver of right? It's our work. It's our story. It should be presented in a way that makes us feel proud. Granted, I haven't found any cover reveal threads where people were horrified with the result, but could it be that the end finished product blinds the author of any negative thoughts they might have had about the cover? The "Oh my gosh it's finally here and finished and pretty and going to be released with my blood, sweat and tears" overwhelms the "Well, that's not the font, contrast, image, person I would I used, but..."?
I've sort of derailed myself, so I'll go back to the original question... have you ever second guessed yourself from querying/accepting rep someone specific if it meant that it wouldn't get you the cover you really wanted?
I know the author has no (limited, if any?) say in regards to the cover that will grace their book once it's published, but why do all these high end agencies have such sub-par, boring covers? I'm not going to throw any under the bus (although to prove my point, I can, if asked) but I think people know what I mean.
A lot of famous, best selling books have pretty bland, odd, generally lackluster covers. Sometimes, it's the smaller publish-house books that have a really eye-catching cover that would make one proud to put on the shelf. Sometimes, a book doesn't even get a revamped cover until it reaches the best sellers, NYT lists, and thus, deemed the extra effort to make it pretty.
I know we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but as authors, don't we have at least a sliver of right? It's our work. It's our story. It should be presented in a way that makes us feel proud. Granted, I haven't found any cover reveal threads where people were horrified with the result, but could it be that the end finished product blinds the author of any negative thoughts they might have had about the cover? The "Oh my gosh it's finally here and finished and pretty and going to be released with my blood, sweat and tears" overwhelms the "Well, that's not the font, contrast, image, person I would I used, but..."?
I've sort of derailed myself, so I'll go back to the original question... have you ever second guessed yourself from querying/accepting rep someone specific if it meant that it wouldn't get you the cover you really wanted?