Cover Talk with Kasie West

I love talking to my fellow authors. Our experiences are so similar, yet so very different, that every one of us has a new story to share. Everyone says that the moment you get your cover it really hits you - you're an author. The cover is your story - and you - packaged for the world. So the process of the cover reveal can be slightly panic inducing. Does it fit your story? Is it what you hoped? Will it sell? With this in mind I put together the CRAP (Cover Reveal Anxiety Phase) Interview.

Today's guest is my fellow Friday the Thirteener Kasie West, author of PIVOT POINT available February 12th, 2013 from HarperTeen!

Did you have any pre-conceived notions about what you wanted your cover to look like?

Yes! And this fact terrified me. I had a very clear picture of what I thought would be an awesome cover.

How far in advance from your pub date did you start talking covers with your house? 

It was October of last year. So what is that? 16 months before my pub date? That’s a long time.

Did you have any input on your cover?

Yes. Like I mentioned in question one, I had a very clear picture in my head which I spelled out word for word to my editor. Ha. She was very patient with me. My cover isn’t like the picture in my head but they did use the basic concept and then made it a lot cooler than I imagined.

How was your cover revealed to you?

I had gone to New York with my husband who was traveling for business and was able to meet my agent and editor for lunch. My editor surprised me with a mounted picture of my cover. Do you know how when you’re opening presents in front of people and you feel like you have to be extra animated and grateful? Like, “Oh, who got me the nose hair trimmer? It’s exactly what I wanted!!” That’s how I felt as I was getting ready to open my cover in front of my editor and agent. Lucky for me, it was exactly what I wanted.

Was there an official "cover reveal" date for your art?

No, there wasn’t. I knew it would be about six-eight months before my publication date, but I had no idea when exactly.

How far in advance of the reveal date were you aware of what your cover would look like?

I saw my cover for the first time December of 2011. So about 14 months before my pub date.

Was it hard to keep it to yourself before the official release?

Yes! And then after a while I kept forgetting that other people hadn’t seen it yet. Then I thought it wasn’t going to be as exciting to reveal it because it had been sitting on my shelf for six months. But I was wrong. It was still very exciting.

What surprised you most about the process?

How much I loved my cover.

Any advice to other debut authors about how to handle cover art anxiety?

Deep knee bends?? No, that would only make you sore. I guess my advice is to be vocal. If you have good ideas, share them. If something about your cover bothers you, speak up.

Cover Talk with Kendare Blake

I love talking to my fellow authors. Our experiences are so similar, yet so very different, that every one of us has a new story to share. Everyone says that the moment you get your cover it really hits you - you're an author. The cover is your story - and you - packaged for the world. So the process of the cover reveal can be slightly panic inducing. Does it fit your story? Is it what you hoped? Will it sell? With this in mind I put together the CRAP (Cover Reveal Anxiety Phase) Interview.

Today's guest is my agency-sister Kendare Blake, author of ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD and the sequel GIRL OF NIGHTMARES - available TODAY from TorTeen!

Did you have any pre-conceived notions about what you wanted your cover to look like?

Before I get to that, have I mentioned how much I enjoy Mindy’s acronyms? Anyway, pre-conceived notions. It might sound weird, but no. And here’s why. I’d already been through the cover art thing with my first novel, and understood that I would have little to no input on the cover, whether I liked it or not.

Sure, my editor asked for my thoughts and what I did and didn’t want, but I didn’t believe her! So I kept my mind blank. What did it matter? I was going to get, what I was going to get. But then I got the art for ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD and realized, well, that was exactly what I wanted. So I trusted them with GIRL OF NIGHTMARES, because, hey, they were trustworthy.

I’m trying to keep my “mind is a blank” philosophy for my next series. I’m failing.

How far in advance from your pub date did you start talking covers with your house?

Hmm. Hard to remember. I saw the early cover for GIRL OF NIGHTMARES in October 2011, and it pubs in August, so we must’ve started talking about it about a year in advance.

Did you have any input on your cover?

When my editor asked me to fill out the cover questionnaire, (character descriptions, locations, other covers I liked, etc.) she asked what I absolutely did not want to see, and said she would try to stay in line with that. I appreciated this greatly.

And I said no faces. No big faces. Because it would’ve been Anna’s face, and that would’ve been a big, dead face. Hey wait, that sounds neat.

How was your cover revealed to you?

Sent via email. Although for the final cover of GIRL, my Tor author pal Kiki Hamilton actually got hold of it first and snuck me a peek. Shh. Keep that on the DL.

Was there an official "cover reveal" date for your art?

No. My editor sent it to me and said it was final, and that I could blast it around where I liked. Of course then the cover for GIRL changed, and I was sent a revised image to blast around wherever I liked.

How far in advance of the reveal date were you aware of what your cover would look like?

I saw a concept sketch for GIRL in…September? I think. I never saw a concept sketch for ANNA, but I did see a few early drafts, when they couldn’t figure out what to do with her hair.

Was it hard to keep it to yourself before the official release?

My editor cleverly avoided that problem by only letting me see it when it could be released. Does this mean she has no faith in my restraint?

What surprised you most about the process?

Honestly, the beauty of the covers. I actually had a nightmare about it at one point, that they’d decided to go with an Encyclopedia cover, and when I cried, my editor said, You’d better get on board, or I’m dropping you.

Good thing it was only a nightmare.

Any advice to other debut authors about how to handle cover art anxiety?

No! Ha, ha. But seriously, no. Freaking out is part of the inaugural process. And nothing that I say is going to stop you from doing it. So embrace it. Burn incense to the cover gods. Bite your nails. Hold chant circles. And if you get a cover you hate…take several hours to flip to people you know and love. But only those people! Then talk about your issues calmly with your agent, who will then talk about the issues with your publisher.

It can often be changed!

Cover Talk with Alex Lidell

I love talking to authors. Our experiences are so similar, yet so very different, that every one of us has a new story to share. Everyone says that the moment you get your cover it really hits you - you're an author. The cover is your story - and you - packaged for the world. So the process of the cover reveal can be slightly panic inducing. Does it fit your story? Is it what you hoped? Will it sell? With this in mind I put together the CRAP (Cover Reveal Anxiety Phase) Interview. Today’s guest is Alex Lidell, author of THE CADET OF TILDOR which will be available January 10, 2013 from Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin).

Did you have any pre-conceived notions about what you wanted your cover to look like?

Orange. And with a sword. The word TILDOR just feels orange.

I also had expected to see at least one of my characters on the cover.  Upon reflection, this wish had more to do with me wanting to see my character’s picture than with a genuine belief that the characters belonged on the jacket.  See, that’s why writers don’t design covers!

How far in advance from your pub date did you start talking covers with your house?

When I first met my editor, shortly after she acquired CADET, she handed me a copy of GRACELING (Cashore is also a Dial author) saying that she thought I'd like the novel. The editor also pointed to the cover, saying that she imagined something similar for my book. "And glitter," she said.  "We like glitter."

And then that editor left publishing.

My new editor and I talked about the cover once the major edits were done. Glitter has not come up in conversation.

Did you have any input on your cover?

On a scale of 1 (you'll see it when we're done) to 10 (draw your own), I'd put me at about a 5:  Enough to feel involved and considered, but not so much that I could mess things up.

How was your cover revealed to you?

Anticlimactically. An email showed up out of the blue one day saying, "ok, cover time. Here is what we have in mind."

I was excited to learn that the designed had specifically asked to work on CADET and read the whole novel, which does not usually happen.

Was there an official "cover reveal" date for your art?

Yes! We had a Cover Team of about 50 bloggers – including this one here – that all revealed together on June 11, 2012. It was a lot of fun and I’d love to do something like that again. Maybe with the trailer reveal in a few months?

How far in advance of the reveal date were you aware of what your cover would look like?

I had the general notion for months, but got the final art less than a week before the reveal.  Penguin knew and approved my reveal date - we based it around Penguin’s internal schedule.

Was it hard to keep it to yourself before the official release?

Impossible. I showed CADET’S cover to my mom and dad. I didn’t email it though - just to make sure one of us did not accidentally forward it along. Also, my agent was CCed on the cover, which was important because I had someone to legally talk about it with.

What surprised you most about the process?

The number of people involved. There is the editor. And the designer. And the artist-who is not the same person as the designer. And the marketing folk. And me. And my agent. And the people at the press who need to adjust stuff to get the colors just right.  I'm sure there are others too…

Any advice to other debut authors about how to handle cover art anxiety?

Write down all your thoughts, wishes, ideas. See a cover you like? Take a picture. Make sure you know what you like and can describe / show it to the editor if she asks. For example, at one point in my cover we were discussing color tinge. I applied a photoshop color filter to the mock-up to explain what I was talking about.

Another suggestion: Find out which audience your publisher believes will buy your book. For example, Penguin thinks THE CADET OF TILDOR would appeal to Tamora Pierce and George R. R. Martin fans, so I spent some time looking at those authors’ posters/covers and phrasing my comments to the editor in those terms.