Cover Talk with Cristin Terrill

Today's guest for the CRAP (Cover Reveal Anxiety Phase) is Cristin Terrill, fellow Class of 2k13 member and author of ALL OUR YESTERDAYS.

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

None! I did for novels I wrote before All Our Yesterdays, but for some reason I would always draw a blank with this story whenever anyone asked me. Ultimately I think that was for the best, though. 

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

My editor told me about some ideas she had for the cover very early on, just a month or two after the book was acquired. But the serious discussions and comp process didn’t start for another six months or so. 

Did you have any input on your cover?

We went through lots and lots of concepts and cover comps. We probably went through a dozen ideas before we landed on the cover that appears on the ARC of the book, and then that cover was rejected by Barnes and Noble, so we went back to the drawing board. 

All in all, I probably saw at least thirty different concepts over a span of seven or eight months, and Hyperion was great about asking for my opinion along the way and incorporating lots of the changes I asked for at different points in the process. I still really love some of those covers we ultimately didn’t go with.

How was your cover revealed to you?

After many, many months and a zillion different comps, I got an email from my editor saying that they had a completely new cover based on a totally different concept than anything they’d tried before and that the team at Disney was convinced this was finally the one. I thought they were working on something totally different, but the clock cover had snuck in and surprised everyone. Supposedly when they revealed it at the sales meeting, everyone gasped.

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

It had been decided that Hyperion would reveal my cover during a panel at BEA, and we were scrambling right up until the last minute to get it finished in time. 

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

Not very! I saw the final cover for the first time about fourteen hours before it was revealed at BEA.

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

Haha, no. Especially because I was asleep for most of those fourteen hours. 

What surprised you most about the process?

How difficult it was. I obviously had a particularly troubled cover journey, and I never could have imagined it would take so long or be so stressful and emotionally draining. But I’m so grateful that Hyperion continued to push for a something they thought would be really great instead of giving up and settling for something just okay when the process got tough.

You’ve got international editions coming out. Tell us about your foreign covers.

Seeing the foreign covers starting to come in has been so much fun for me, because they’re all wildly different and seem to want to emphasize different aspects of the story. Here are the have covers for the UK, Dutch (I Am Not Me), and Bulgarian editions. And the German cover, which I adore and can’t wait to see in person, was just released last week. This is Time Splitter:

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

Just try to let go! It really is completely out of your control, so do your best not to stress over it. Indulge freely in your vice of choice if necessary.

Cover Talk with Vivi Barnes

Today's guest for the CRAP (Cover Reveal Anxiety Phase) is Vivi Barnes, author of OLIVIA TWISTED (Entangled Teen), a contemporary re-imagining of Oliver Twist, debuting November 5.

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

Yes. I’m not exactly a graphic designer, though, so what I had in my head would probably make designers roll their eyes. My friend Jen suggested the binary code in the background, since the Monroe Street kids are hackers, and that kind of stuck with me (and ended up on the cover). I originally thought I wanted just to have the image of the girl on the front, maybe with the house on Monroe Street in the background or something. Maybe with a backpack next to her. And a set of school lockers. And a laptop. And a locket. And…

Okay, see? I don’t have the eye for this. At least I didn’t wish for Comic Sans font, so maybe there’s some hope for me.

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

As soon as I signed, I received a lovely welcome packet from the publisher, and part of that was a form for cover art. It was rather lengthy, asking not only what I envisioned, but other covers I admired, books I’d compare my book to, things I definitely didn’t want (I think I pretty much asked for no naked people). I was surprised at how lengthy the form was.

Did you have any input on your cover?

Definitely! One of the wonderful things about Entangled is that they ask for author input on the cover design. Besides the extensive cover art form I filled out, they sent me the draft of the cover from the designer. That was my opportunity to request changes or approve. And I loved it! It had the look and feel of Olivia Twisted. There was a change to the guy model on the cover (and believe me, the guy we landed on is totally Z), but Kelley York (multi-talented designer) completely exceeded my expectations.

How was your cover revealed to you?

Via e-mail. I was so nervous, and I had just finished lunch with a friend when I got the cover. I spent the next minutes on the phone with my agent discussing it. Then my agent gave mine and her feedback to the publisher. It was a pretty amazing, surreal experience.

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

Oh, yes! We had so many wonderful bloggers sign up to do the big reveal in March, and we did iTunes gift card giveaways, too.

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

I received my cover “draft” about a month before my reveal date. They went through tweaks and such, then set up the cover reveal with bloggers, so it took about a month. But they had it to me about nine months before the book debut, so I thought that was really fast.

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

Um…yes. A printout of my cover might’ve accidentally landed on my desk at work. You know, so I could stare at it all the time (which is kind of what I did). And my husband and closest friends had to endure me showing them over and over and over.

I hate keeping my own secrets!

What surprised you most about the process?

That they actually listened to what I wanted. I had heard horror stories about authors and their covers, but Entangled really works with their authors to give them covers that make them proud.

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

Sometimes you have in your head exactly what your cover is going to look like (whether you realize it or not), and when you first see the cover, your first thought might be to criticize (“This isn’t the guy in my book!” “The colors are too bright!” “I wanted red font instead of gray!”).

The best way to handle it is to look at it, then step back, wait a little while, open it up and look again, rinse and repeat. Let it soak in. Give yourself a day or two, then gather your thoughts and provide them to your agent/editor/cover designer. And trust that the publisher knows what kinds of covers sell.

Cover Talk with Brandy Colbert

Today's guest for the CRAP (Cover Reveal Anxiety Phase) is fellow Friday the Thirteener Brandy Colbert. Brandy has worked worked at a big-box hardware retailer, as a magazine editor for various consumer and trade magazines, and as a business editor for a boutique investment banking firm. She tap dances and is an avid fan of Degrassi, the Flintstones, Louis C.K., and Hello Kitty. Brandy is represented by Tina Wexler at ICM Partners. Her debut title, POINTE, will be available from Penguin, April 10th, 2014.

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

I did! A long time before the cover was conceptualized, my editor and I were casually discussing what we wanted it to look like. She mentioned bloody pointe shoes (“Can you imagine? A pair of pointe shoes, just sitting in a pool of blood!”), and that image sort of stuck in my mind all the months I was revising. 

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

I was never part of any official discussions, but about eight months after my book sold, my editor told me they’d started to talk about the cover in-house, and she asked for any photos I might have to give an idea of what I was thinking. I sent over a couple of ballet pictures I’d seen on Tumblr, as well as a photo of the gorgeous Misty Copeland in a tulle skirt on a fire escape, which I still very much think captures the tone of my book.

Did you have any input on your cover?

Besides the conversation and email I just mentioned, none. Once it was in the process of being designed, my editor asked if I wanted to see cover comps or if I preferred to wait until the cover had been approved by sales and marketing. I don’t like to get my hopes up and I trusted they knew what they were doing (have you seen Putnam’s covers? I knew I was in very, very good hands), so I told her I wanted to wait to see the approved version.

How was your cover revealed to you?

My editor—the amazing Ari Lewin—called one morning just before I was headed out to run some errands. I thought she was calling to tell me revision notes would be landing in my inbox, and it took me a minute to realize it was about the cover. I made a weird noise and babbled incoherently as I waited for my computer to boot up, then I opened the file and gasped. I squeaked out how much I loved it and we both got a little teary and I’m pretty sure I ceased to do anything else productive for the rest of the week. It was such a great moment in an otherwise totally normal day, and I’m so glad it was a surprise.

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

Yes! I revealed the cover, synopsis, and release date on YA Highway around the end of June, so just a little over a month ago.

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

I saw the cover at the end of April and revealed it two months later, so not too far in advance.

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

Well, I may have shared it with a few close friends and my immediate family, which made it a little easier to not splash the image all over the Internet. But it was hard. Total love at first sight and I wanted to share with anyone and everyone. 

What surprised you most about the process?

Honestly, I think I was most surprised at how chill I remained. I knew that as a debut author, I wouldn’t have much input, but I had friends who’d contributed ideas or suggestions through the evolution of their covers, and I started to wonder if I should have tried to get more involved. But ultimately, I 100% trusted my editor because she has great taste, and I knew she cared too much about my book to let it end up with a cover that was whitewashed or didn’t fit the story.

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

Try to relax and trust that your publisher will get it right. If you have experience in art or design, I’d definitely suggest letting your editor know. Otherwise, for me it was best to sit back and let them do their thing. And luckily, I ended up with a cover I adore that truly could not be any more perfect for my book. It’s even better than bloody pointe shoes!