14 Responses to “Day 2: (Cover) Guidelines & Expectations”

1. Lorelie Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 2:23 am

   1 Yeah but what we really want to know about is the author who expects Brad Pitt on her cover and what happens next. lol

2. BevL(QB) Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 6:18 am

   2 You are all showing me amazing covers that do exactly what they are supposed to do– catch my eye and compel me to find out more about the books. But, is the collaboration you enjoy (or not) between cover artist, editor, author, publisher, etc. unusual? The reason I ask is that we see so many ODD choices (I’m being nice) for covers, or covers that portray characters that conflict with the physical descriptions the author wrote, etc. I would expect that a collaboration that includes the author would be unusual for NY (according to most authors, they have NO say-so), but how unusual is it for epubs? And Bam, I’m luvin’ this whole idea. Can we keep all of them? Maybe they could occasionally drop by for more Show and Tell after this week is up?

3. April Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 8:20 am

   3 But, is the collaboration you enjoy (or not) between cover artist, editor, author, publisher, etc. unusual? The reason I ask is that we see so many ODD choices (I’m being nice) for covers, or covers that portray characters that conflict with the physical descriptions the author wrote, etc. In the e-publishing industry, those with direct influence on the cover are usually the cover artist, the author, and the one managing all the artwork. In NY, I believe the editor takes the place of the author, and beyond that there are many more chefs in the kitchen; if book buyers for a big bookstore chain don’t like a cover, for instance, the art department will usually change it. As for the odd choices for covers, in my case, they usually belong to the authors themselves, as I try to give the authors what they want, based on what they wrote on the cover request. Every now and then I might misunderstand what was on a cover request and unintentionally put in something the author never considered. Even more rarely, f I’m bound by limitations or struck by inspiration, or if I don’t think the author’s cover concepts will work, I might throw in something completely different. As for the conflicts with the physical descriptions, it’s either because the original description itself never made it on to the cover request (how can we artists know the girl is supposed to be blond if no one tells us?), because I somehow missed it or misunderstood it on the cover request, or because they asked for the impossible … like the aforementioned Brad Pitt’s likeness, which we should never use without the expectation of having a lawyer send us a cease and desist or a subpoena.

4. bam Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 8:24 am

   4 Author Comment And Bam, I’m luvin’ this whole idea. Can we keep all of them? Maybe they could occasionally drop by for more Show and Tell after this week is up? Bev, that’s a GREAT idea! April, Anne, Frauke, the absent Christine? If you guys have a NEW cover you’re particularly proud of, you can stop by and talk about the process behind creating the cover and stuff… Do a little show and tell. It’d be a great promo for you AND the author AND the publisher. This goes for other cover artists out there too! Spread the word!

5. Carrie Lofty Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 8:25 am

   5 Damn, I have cover envy. And I don’t even have a cover yet. But I know it won’t be so lovely as these. GORGEOUS use of color. Great job.

6. shuzluva Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 8:47 am

   6 In NY, I believe the editor takes the place of the author, and beyond that there are many more chefs in the kitchen; if book buyers for a big bookstore chain don’t like a cover, for instance, the art department will usually change it. Does that mean cover artists are more constrained? Or given different parameters? Or simply told what to put on the cover? How does feedback work in both the ePub and NY worlds? I know cover snark abounds across the web, but do you receive direct feedback regarding covers? Who does it come from? How does it influence (or not) your artwork on future covers? I know I’m asking quite a few questions, but the whole author/publisher/artist dynamic is very interesting and I’m curious to see how it leads to the fantastic (and not-so-fantastic) covers that are out there.

7. Croco Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 9:20 am

   7 But, is the collaboration you enjoy (or not) between cover artist, editor, author, publisher, etc. unusual? The reason I ask is that we see so many ODD choices (I’m being nice) for covers, or covers that portray characters that conflict with the physical descriptions the author wrote, etc. Like I wrote, I’m a stubborn person. I won’t design what I don’t like personally. I have my limits. So I deceide not to design a cover, if there are requests in the cover art form I do not like. In this case someone else will do the cover, but it isn’t me. I got one of these cover requests where a baby should be on the cover. It was a romance cover (not an erotic one), but I don’t like ‘baby covers’. I think they don’t belong on a cover. Period. I also don’t put ‘nipple clamps’ or ‘dildos’ on an erotic cover - no matter how much the author begs me to do just that. I think a cover can be tasteful and erotic without being this obvious. As for the conflict with the physical description: I confess I’m guilty. Do you remember the SNOW ANGEL cover that was posted yesterday. The cover model portrays one of the heroes, who has actually dark blond hear in the book instead of brown as in the cover. I tried a dark blond version (b/c adding blond highlights), but the color contrast with the background art wasn’t so striking in this case. Therefore, with permission of author and art department, we kept the brown hair. I would expect that a collaboration that includes the author would be unusual for NY (according to most authors, they have NO say-so), but how unusual is it for epubs? I’m working for three different e-publisher and with them all it’s different. 1) Cobblestone Press: The art director or the managing artists assigns me a cover - even based on style or if the author asked for me. So here can the author even choose the artist her/himself - as long as the artist is also available. I work then with the author and her/his approval counts. If the situation arises and I notice that the author and I will never agree, I take it to management and they solve it. 2) Loose Id: The art director chooses the artist. The artist is not allowed to talk with the author while designing the cover. All communication is handeled by the art director. Also, the art director may overrule requests by the author as they know better what sells and what not. 3) Cerridwen Press/Ellora’s Cave: The Graphic Services Manager sends out the cover art forms. These are your guidelines, goal is to comes as close to them as possible. No contact between author and artist allowed as well. Your cover passes first approval with the art director, and then approved, will be sent to the author. The cover art forms differ as well, but authors have the chance to say if they like original art, CGI (computer generated images) or photo manipulation for their cover, list favourite covers, how they see it and so on. If something’s unlclear, I ask b/c let someone else ask the author.

8. Croco Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 9:27 am

   8 In NY, I believe the editor takes the place of the author, and beyond that there are many more chefs in the kitchen; if book buyers for a big bookstore chain don’t like a cover, for instance, the art department will usually change it. Yes, that happened to Vivi Anna for example. It seemed the book stores didn’t like the original INFERNO cover much, and replaced it. I still can’t understand this decision, because the covers for HELL KAT and INFERNO looks now different. No one will notice now that they belong together, b/c INFERNO features the same hero&heroine as HELL KAT. Here’s the whole story, including 150 comments by readers: http://www.vivianna.net/blog/?p=97

9. Croco Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 9:53 am

   9 How does feedback work in both the ePub and NY worlds? I know cover snark abounds across the web, but do you receive direct feedback regarding covers? Who does it come from? How does it influence (or not) your artwork on future covers? Like I explained in an earlier comment, it’s different from epub to epub. At Cobblestone Press I always receive full feedback as I work with the author together. At Loose Id and EC/CP I’m not allowed to talk with the author. Cover artists have even been fired when the pub learned about such thing. So it’s a big NO-NO. I don’t see any response emails from the authors only get a report on what should be changed, otherwise I only hear ‘pack it up’, ‘thae author loves it’ or don’t get a response at all. No response then means all is good, no changes needed. Till the authors get their cover art package or the final book, they don’t even know who their cover artist is. I’ve learned to live with the unknown. But each time I here ‘the author loves it’, I can’t help this happy feeling that comes with it. I try to give with each cover 110%. The improvement of the covers depends a lot on the stock photos I can afford, on the software I work with as well as what I learn for new techniques in workshops, by tutorials or by try and error. Positive feedback helps me through some rough days, helping me believe that what I do, will make an author happy and in the best case helps selling the book like mad. Negative feedback makes me work harder, so that there isn’t even the tiniest reason to criticize me.

10. Karen Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 12:45 pm

    10 OMG that’s my cover! Seriously one of my favorite covers ever, Croco captured my heroine perfectly! Great interviews, I’m enjoying this.

11. L.E. Bryce Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 5:46 pm

    11 Wow, those are some gorgeous covers! It’s harder coming up with great covers when your books are m/m fantasy. There’s not a lot of useable stock photos out there.

12. Anne Cain Posted: Oct 10th, 2007 at 9:22 pm

    12 LE Bryce~ Fantasy can be tricky in and of itself, but when you factor in the m/m content it’s even more of a challenge. What makes matters even worse is that some photographers and models are seriously offended at the idea of being incorporated on the cover to a gay-themed book. (Being a huge fan of anything m/m, I can’t tell you how disappointed I was to learn this. ) If a cover is going to involve two men in an intimate way, I prefer to do hand-drawn art so this isn’t an issue.

13. Jules Jones Posted: Oct 11th, 2007 at 12:31 am

    13 But, is the collaboration you enjoy (or not) between cover artist, editor, author, publisher, etc. unusual? The reason I ask is that we see so many ODD choices (I’m being nice) for covers, or covers that portray characters that conflict with the physical descriptions the author wrote, etc. From the author’s side — at Loose Id, I can say if I don’t like it, and I can feed comments back via the art director, but ultimately it’s the art director’s decision on what they go with. I don’t have a problem with that, because the art I’ve had has always been good, and there’s been good communication with artists even though it’s filtered through the art director. I get a lot of input into the cover, even if the final decision isn’t mine. But at New York houses it’s normal for the author (and even the editing department) to have no say at all. I know people who *hate* their covers. Sometimes they hate them because the cover doesn’t feel right to them, but they’ll sit down and shut up (in public) because they know it’s a commercial decision based on Marketing’s experience of what sells books, and a dragon on the cover tells potential readers what style of book it is even if there isn’t a dragon in the story. Sometimes they hate them because the cover really does objectively suck galaxies through straws… It’s an interesting exercise to go into a large bookshop, and look at the book covers in a couple of different sections, analysing your immediate reactions to the cover art. You’ll find that you can tell instantly from the colour palette, the props, etc what sort of sub-genre Marketing want you to think a book belongs in.

14. catie Posted: Oct 13th, 2007 at 5:20 pm

    14 SPECTACULAR covers ladies! Just breathtaking.