Cover Talk with Michelle Falkoff

I love talking to debut 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 Michelle Falkoff, author of PLAYLIST FOR THE DEAD, available January 27th from HarperTeen.

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

I actually didn’t—I had some vague ideas about what I might not want (I tend to like abstract covers better than realistic ones, for example), but I’m not super visually oriented, so I hadn’t really imagined what it could be.

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

My editor sent me the first iteration of the cover in February of 2014, so the first conversations happened nearly a year before the book’s scheduled publication date.

Did you have any input on your cover?

I did, though I didn’t need very much—I was thrilled with it from the first time I saw it.  I definitely got the sense that if I had concerns the house would address them, but it didn’t come up, which was great.

How was your cover revealed to you?

My editor emailed a picture around to everyone involved in the book up to that point.

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

There was no official date, but I did a “cover reveal” post for YA Highway, which was posted on the site on September 9th.  It was a really fun way to get the cover out there.

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

I got the final version of the cover on March 24—it went through some tweaks before it became official, though the ARC has the earlier version of the cover art.

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

That presumes that I was able to keep it to myself, which I wasn’t! I showed pictures of it to pretty much everyone I knew, but I didn’t arrange for an official reveal until I realized that pictures of it were popping up on places like Amazon and Goodreads.

What surprised you most about the process?

There were a couple of things, some more surprising than others. I wasn’t exactly surprised by the level of thoughtfulness that went into it at HarperCollins, since they’d been fabulous about everything else, but I was pleasantly surprised that they decided to use an outside artist who does posters for some of the bands featured in the book. It was a wonderfully creative decision, and the cover has a really appropriate feel to it as a result. The more surprising thing was the fact that Barnes and Noble was part of the process—someone over there had opinions about some aspects of the cover that the artist took into account in revision. I’m pleased that B&N was interested in how the book would be presented there, but I hadn’t realized that was something that happens on what seems like a fairly routine basis.

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

I suspect it very much depends on the author’s relationship with the publishing house. If your relationship is good, then I’d be inclined to be trusting—your editor knows the book well and knows the market much better than we do, and everyone has the goal of making the book as striking and beautiful as possible. That said, I do think it’s appropriate to speak up early if you’re not happy with the direction things are going. You’re going to spend a lot of time with the physical object of the book itself, and you want looking at the cover to make you happy and to remind you of everything good about the process, which sometimes involves work on our part.

One more thing I know some people have been concerned about is what happens when the publisher reveals the cover unofficially before they’ve had a chance to do a formal reveal. I know this is a big deal for some people, but I’d suggest not getting too worried about it—doing the reveal on YA Highway was a great experience even though the cover was already around, and I suspect no one pays as much attention to these kinds of details as we do.

Skila Brown & Her Cover Designer Weigh In On CAMINAR

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 Skila Brown. Skila holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She grew up in Kentucky and Tennessee, lived for a bit in Guatemala, and now resides with her family in Indiana. CAMINAR, her first novel, was published March 25th by Candlewick. 

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

Nope. I tried really hard not to picture anything at all. Mostly this is because when I did try to picture something, I always thought What in the world could you put on a cover? And that kind of freaked me out. (Will they decide at the last minute they can’t publish the book after all because no one can think of what the cover should look like?) Clearly I am not a visual person.

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

10 months before my release date.

How was your cover revealed to you?

My editor sent a copy of two different cover drafts that they were considering, both very different. She asked for my input. She kept me abreast of the conversations that were going on in-house. First they were leaning towards one cover, then it looked like they were going to go with the other, then at the end it was back to the first cover.

Did you have any input on your cover?

Yes! I think anyone who is lucky enough to publish a book with Candlewick knows that means having a voice in all aspects of the process.

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

Not that I know of. My editor mentioned trying to keep it off grid until about three months before release, but I saw it out there in internet-land before then. Though, I don’t think there was a “big reveal.”

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

Well, I cheated and sent it to people who matter a lot to me but not a lot to the internet book community (i.e. my dad, my sister, and my brother.) Also I might have cheated even more and sent it to my critique group. But they can keep a secret so I’ve decided they don’t count either.

What surprised you most about the process?

The design itself was a huge surprise. Not only because I had no idea what it would look like, but also because it is so incredibly, deliciously, gorgeous that my eyes still can’t get enough of it. My friend (also a writer) said it best: “I want to wallpaper my house with that!” I had always hoped I would like my cover. I never expected to love it as much as I do. It has probably ruined all future book covers for me, because there’s no way my next book cover could ever be this stunning.

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

I think it’s important to remember that we are writers. Most of us aren’t visual artists, and we’re not in the business of attracting readers to a book. Which translates to: the people who do this know what they’re doing. I think it’s great to weigh in with an opinion, and absolutely we should speak up if something about the cover is inaccurate, but otherwise I think the best advice I can give is to try not to think about it. Try not to have something you’re picturing in your head. Wait for the surprise. If you hate it for good reason, speak up. But otherwise, go with it. (Easy for me to say, right? I loved my cover!)

As a special treat the cover designer, Matt Roeser, weighed in for the interview. What were the challenges of designing the cover for Caminar?

Since the book is in verse, I wanted to capture some of the beauty of Skila's poetry, but at the same time, hint at the horrific event that takes place. As I began thinking about designs, I kept coming back to a visual that stuck with me as I read the book; that of Carlos watching from the jungle as his village is burned. I tend not to like covers that have photographs of the protagonist on them, but instead try to create designs that are more graphic and abstract in nature. The pattern of the leaf shape seemed perfect for achieving this. Playing with bold pops of color such as orange and red mixed in with the greens of the jungle worked as symbolizing both flowers and embers of fire. Then, I slightly altered the leaf shape for his eyes so it still feels like part of the pattern. Probably the hardest part of designing the cover were those eyes, as I went through several iterations to get the right expression that hit between shock and sadness. Altogether, I think it achieves a good balance of being visually interesting and hinting at the darker elements of the story.

Cover Talk with Jasmine Warga

I love talking to debut 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 Jasmine Warga, whose debut MY HEART & OTHER BLACK HOLES will be coming from Balzer & Bray on February 10, 2015.

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

I had no set idea of what I wanted it to look like exactly. I actually felt stressed out for the cover designer because I thought it might be a challenge to graphically capture and represent the story since its dark, but hopefully not unrelentingly so since it has bursts of humor and romance. I was interested (and admittedly nervous!) to see how they’d capture that tension between intense subject matter and irreverent narrative voice.

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

I saw the first possible comp cover design back in February. That design ended up getting pulled though. 

Did you have any input on your cover?

Yes, but I actually loved everything they showed me so my feedback mostly consisted of lots of exclamation points and squeals. Truly, I couldn’t be more impressed and thankful to the design team at B+B/Harper.

How was your cover revealed to you?

My lovely editor Alessandra Balzer emailed it to me.

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

Yes! My friend Kristan Hoffman and the WE HEART YA blog hosted the cover reveal on June 19th. The art director shared a bit of the process behind designing the cover and we shared the jacket flap summary, an excerpt, Nova Ren Suma’s blurb, and gave away an ARC.

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

Only about a week or so because my cover had gone through many changes and we were working to have a version ready for the catalog.

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

Not really since I didn’t have to wait more than two weeks, which didn’t seem too bad. But the more I think about it, I guess the truthful answer is yes since I was so excited to share it with everyone!

What surprised you most about the process?

How much time and care goes into designing every cover and how many people are involved in the process. I think the publisher really wants you to be happy and to give you the best possible cover they can for your book. It was totally evident that the people working on my cover had read the book and I think they did an amazing job graphically representing the tone and feel of the story. It was also interesting to me how much they zeroed in on finding a way to showcase the title and based a large part of the design around that.

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

This is related to what I said above—trust that your publisher and design team want you to be happy with your cover. I was lucky enough that I really liked everything they showed me, but I trust that if I hadn’t, we would’ve worked together to come up with something everyone felt good about. It’s definitely a team effort. If I could do it over again, I would spend less time worrying and stressing about it, and more time enjoying how exciting it is to be seeing a cover.