Can a writer have a say over the cover art of her book?

bulldoggerel

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They love, love, LOVE pretty dresses and muscled men on the cover.


Ha! not always. I was at an ABA show years ago, and a publisher had a Fabio kissing booth set up. As a show attendee you could go into this booth and have your photo taken in a mock swoon with the baby oiled and bare chested Fabio!!! As I was walking by wondering if Fabio had a cold or typhoid, a lady attendee mumbled " I refuse to be kissed by a man whose breasts are bigger than mine."
 

Kayley

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I have to admit to not having the typical experience of cover art. I get a form (Cover Art Request) and fill it out thoroughly, send photos in and the like, and then I get the cover and generally, I am happy with it.

So far I've had three designs done, waiting on my fourth right now. The artists have taken much of input into consideration, shocking given how nitpicky I can be.

I think part of this is that I am not just a writer, I am also an artist and have three years of schooling in graphic design, my bachelor's in Fine Art and a whole lot of marketing classes under my belt. It can be difficult when you straddle both fields because there instances of: Oh my god I would never do that. That won't sell!

Luckily that has not happened to me, but the covers of other books at my house do tend towards not so professional.

I have similar experience to you, except inverted. I will be receiving a B.A. in Marketing next June, but I've been doing graphic design for 7+ years on my own. I've even been paid to do it (my last cover design yielded $400.)

I really hope I get a cover design I like, because if I don't like it, it will be because I don't think it can sell. I won't worry about it now, though. At this point, I don't even have an agent. Perfect example of "cart before the horse." :D

Relevance to this thread: I agree that the author has little say in the cover design in most cases. He or she may have input, but the final say is reserved for the publisher or editor.
 

river.rising

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I have a book coming out in September and I was surprised at how amazingly receptive my publisher was. When it came time to discuss the cover, we talked on the phone about several different ideas, I sent them a short description that could be sent to the cover designer, and then waited :). After we got the first proof, we batted it back and forth a bit (there were about five or six of us in on the discussion) until we finalized it to our liking.

I feel that I had a lot of input, but that might not be the norm with most publishers.
 

JKRowley

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I am working with a small press, and I feel like I had a lot of say over the cover art. I made suggestions that were taken into consideration and tweaked the original design.

The press gave me a form to fill out about cover art, noting what I wanted and whether or not I wanted people in it. (I had heard people on covers were less desirable and asked not to have any). I had a conversation with the cover artist during the process and she asked for my final approval on the design after two or three revisions.
 

Old Hack

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I'm not aware that having people on a front cover is a bad thing: in fact, I can see that it's often a good thing. If you doubt me go into a bookshop and look around you. If it were so bad why would so many publishers keep on featuring pictures of people on their own covers?
 

lauralam

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It's big to have faces on covers in YA especially.
 

Filigree

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My publisher not only gave me some very detailed character reference worksheets to fill, but did a couple of critical image revisions. I got the impression they gave me a lot more input than usual. I'm very grateful for it. They did fine with the final product.
 

GiantRampagingPencil

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I know marketing people know what sells, and what sells is what readers want. So I shouldn't complain, but I will anyway. The genre of my WIP often has atrocious covers. I have no problem with what they show (it identifies/brands the novel for readers), it's how they execute it: poorly composed pictures and extreme over-kill are far too common.
 

Shoestring

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So glad I found this...

I haven't even started writing my first book yet and this thing about cover design has kept me up at night. (well...a couple extra hours, maybe. :))

I'm glad to see that it doesn't appear to be as much of a horror show as I've been worried about. (Having a tendency to Google 'Bad Book Covers' probably doesn't help either.)

All in all, I find myself much more relaxed about it, and so long as the publisher is choosing the cover to best increase the chances of sales, I'm all for it! Considering I can't even think up possible titles for my stories yet, I think the covers may be too far down the road to let myself be so concerned over them.
 

talkwrite

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Even as the series aquisitions editor for an academic press, I had to fight to give my input on the covers in my series. James is right.
Covers are about marketing. Leave it up to those who are professional marketers. Writers write, which means controlling what's between the covers. It works best when a writer does his job, and allows the marketing department to do its job.
 

ARoyce

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At my editor's request, I submitted my cover ideas a few days ago. The genre is historical romance, and he asked for my ideas about what the hero and heroine look like, how they are dressed, and how they are posed.

I don't expect the cover to incorporate all of my idea, but I did indicate my most basic "cover wish list"--as in, if any of these ideas doesn't work, here's the one thing I hope the cover includes.

I'm not an artist so I defer to the house on cover art. (I just hope my "one thing" gets included and, if there are people depicted on the cover, they have the right hair/eye color. :) )

I'm sure each house has its own policies about author input on cover art, but I sort of expect that a publisher's art department is one of the benefits for someone like me of seeking a publisher rather than self-publishing. :)
 

KDDante

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This thread makes me want to self-publish even more. I took one year of art school (couldn't finish due to lack of funds) in Pittsburgh and I know art. So I'm no dumby when it comes to art. The covers of my main work will only be mine. The only way a publisher would get to do the art is to do some serious butt kissing. LOL :p

Seriously, if a publisher was to work with art that I come up with, fine. Otherwise, this is a major turn off from trade publishing.
 

Old Hack

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Dante, you might be a talented artist, but what do you know about the psychology of cover design? Or the history of it, or what sells in which genres, how colour and shape affect sales, how font choice dictates perceived genre, and so on and so forth?

I trained as an illustrator and did really rather well at art school. But I would not expect to design the covers of the books I write. I don't have the necessary experience or the expertise, and I'd rather leave it to people who do.

If you're determined to design your own book covers then I suggest you don't even consider trade publishing as an option for you. You're very unlikely to find a publisher willing to let you design your own cover and it would be silly to waste everyone's time if you're dead set on this.
 

shadowwalker

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Dante, you might be a talented artist, but what do you know about the psychology of cover design? Or the history of it, or what sells in which genres, how colour and shape affect sales, how font choice dictates perceived genre, and so on and so forth?

This is something I think so many people, trade or self-publish, don't understand. It's not just a matter of art - it's a marketing thing. A lot of artists can produce a good picture - but how many can produce a picture that will entice interest, and enough interest that the purchaser will pick up the book and think about buying it? For me, the cover tells me (right or wrong) if the whole book is well done or if it's one of those throw-aways you only buy if you're in a rush to catch a plane.
 

Corinne Duyvis

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I completed art school and have appeared on national TV with my artwork and I wouldn't want to design my own covers. It's a whole different ballgame.

It does mean I have a good eye for art and design, though, but I've heard wildly different things about how much input authors get (as evidenced in this thread) so once I get my cover I'll probably have to bite my tongue to keep from complaining about the author font or whatever. Best to save those battles for the actually important stuff (eg: why is my MC white and blue-eyed?).
 

Cyia

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Having just completed this process - twice - I can say that while you don't really get "input" into what goes on the cover in most cases, they do listen if there's something wrong with the cover the publisher wants to use.

The first cover I loved as is, but the second had some very specific issues which (via my agent) I brought up to my editor. She took a look, passed those concerns on to the design dept, and they altered the cover.

Don't assume that a lack of "control" means you get a bad cover.
 

Filigree

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Dante, I'm a professional artist with 25 years of experience and 4 years of college, and I already know not to design my covers. I'm too emotionally close to the work, and I need to turn it over to some savvy marketing people. My publisher worked with me to get a good compromise that seems to do well as a thumbnail. When I had some reservations about a cover element, they changed it.

Please, please take this as a well-meant critique from someone who has been in the trenches: do not make cover art your only yardstick for accepting a publisher offer. The numbers of artists/writers who can actually design an *effective* cover are very few, as opposed to the ones who think they can.

By broadcasting this philosophy - especially to publishers or agents through your query letters, you are giving them one more reason to say 'no'. They don't know how good you are, or how much experience you have in art marketing. But they will possibly get the idea that you might be 'difficult' to work with, and go with someone who might be easier.

I could show you a self-made cover here on AW that went on to be used by a professional publisher, because (I suspect) the art department manager didn't want to fight with the artist-writer. The cover was so unprofessional it almost turned me off that publisher. I won't, because my heart aches for the author, who doesn't need any more problems.

I can also point to the work of a fantasy writer/artist named Janny Wurts, whose artwork is technically as good as nearly anything out there - and it still doesn't help her books.
 

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I can also point to the work of a fantasy writer/artist named Janny Wurts, whose artwork is technically as good as nearly anything out there - and it still doesn't help her books.

I don't understand this part. Her sales seem okay - not great, but okay. Are you saying that the cover art isn't hers? Or that the covers don't help sell the books? Or...?
 

Filigree

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Janny's covers are her own art and design. In fairness I don't know if she does her own text layout, or if someone at Harper is doing that. While of reasonable art quality, the covers are dated. Even the 2010 cover looks like styles popular 20 years before. I've read her work, and it's not bad for epic fantasy. But her presentation isn't helping her as much as it could.

And she's one of the professionals, showing art at sf&f conventions for years. I give her serious kudos for actually knowing how to paint, which many modern Photoshop-collage cover artists apparently don't.

I'm saying that being an artist is not the same as being an effective graphic arts designer. Publishers adore using an author's own artwork to help promote the work, if the art is good enough to help rather than hinder. But there are real reasons why they pay art departments. A cover is not just about telegraphing a story - it's about fitting the book within a recognized market, in a way that is instantly and visually enticing to potential buyers.

Given the large numbers of writers approaching agents and editors these days, writers need to pay attention to any variable that seems likely to make a gatekeeper say 'no'.
 

KDDante

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Thanks guys. Guess for my main work I'll be self pubbing it. My stand alone work I can do the trade route they can do the covers for them. But my main work's covers have to give hints to future editions within the art and from what you guys have said, trade houses won't for with me. So no trade publishing for me. No offence to anyone who loves trade publishing.
 

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You're so determined to provide your own cover art that you're not even going to consider how much of a benefit the help and expertise you'd get from a trade publisher might be? Really?
 

ARoyce

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Thanks guys. Guess for my main work I'll be self pubbing it. My stand alone work I can do the trade route they can do the covers for them. But my main work's covers have to give hints to future editions within the art and from what you guys have said, trade houses won't for with me. So no trade publishing for me. No offence to anyone who loves trade publishing.

KDDante--I'm not really sure how you got this impression from this thread. In the most recent two pages of posts, approximately 10 writers have said they had input in their covers, including suggestions for revision if the covers were wildly far from what the authors wanted.

And, as OldHack suggests, cover art is only one element of the benefits trade publishers can provide. It's, of course, entirely up to you to make decisions you think are best for your career, but those should be fully informed decisions that consider the big picture (distribution, advertising and marketing, etc.--self-pub authors have to do all that on their own and without the established contacts the trade pubs have).

Just one last thing--it's not that I "love" trade publishing. I happily support self-pubbers too. But, yes, I respect and appreciate trade pubs and what I think they can do for my career that I don't have the expertise or the time and energy to do for myself.

Best of luck to you with whatever you decide!
 

lauralam

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I just had my final cover revealed yesterday. I had quite a lot of say in it. They asked me what sorts of things I wanted/didn't want after I signed. The only thing I didn't want was a pretty girl in a frock looking out at the ocean or something, as it wouldn't have worked for my book. I didn't have input into the art brief, but when the cover came through I asked for some small changes--changing the figure's face a little and the hair colour. The dragonfly was a lion before, and they added stars and moons to the mask.

They also did initial letting roughs and I asked for some changes again, and I think the final product is just wonderful.

If I'd done the cover myself, it wouldn't have looked near as professional. I don't really know what works in YA covers. I don't know all that much about typography. I would have been too cheap to commission such an awesome artist as Tom Bagshaw. But they were very happy to ask for my opinion and were not offended if I wanted some tweaks and changes.

(For the curious, my cover can be seen on my blog in my signature)