Ta-Da! My New Novel and Its Beautiful Cover
I never had a vote in my earlier book covers. I don’t remember a single one of my books as a food journalist or nonfiction author being emailed to me for comments or even a pre-pub vote. Agent and editors didn’t get me involved back then. To most publishing teams, cover and title choice is a marketing decision, with only the in-house staff and a select focus groups of readers voting.
All those books sold well; no complaints from me. But I did feel a little wistful when I saw the first printed copy. I did wonder what it would be like to have a hand in cover selection, to be involved in the design ideas.
When I switched to fiction in 2009, I had my first collaborative cover design experience with my debut novel, Qualities of Light. My editor asked me to submit images and the publisher’s designer, who was very good, put together the cover. I loved the high contrast, the almost mysterious quality of the lake at dusk, and how the classical Z form of the image invited the viewer in.
I decided to get more involved with my book covers, if I was lucky enough to publish again. Although publishing teams might disagree, I felt the author should know what the cover could most convey about the story.
Fortunately, I did publish—two more novels, including the forthcoming Last Bets. Each time, I learned a lot about cover design, and I also learned that my novels are complex, not simply about one event or dilemma, most carrying multiple storylines told by multiple narrators. That offers a wealth of images to choose from—which direction gives the truest view of the core story? Where are the main threads?
What are the main threads for your book’s images?
I wrote about my cover design journey for my second novel, A Woman’s Guide to Search & Rescue, here if you want to hear that story.
For Last Bets, my editor scheduled a cover design meeting and sent me a worksheet to fill out. She asked me to select five covers from recently published comps (comparable titles) and detail why I liked or disliked them. We discussed fonts (serif or sans), primary images, placement of the title and other text. All the details that the designer would need to know.
The core of the discussion, for me, was about themes. What was the novel’s primary focus? Was it scuba diving or island life, gambling or art, female friendships or running from past mistakes? Or was it the new-to-me landscape of paranormal abilities? The main character, a portrait artist, struggles with her talent of far-seeing: she sees the past when she paints a subject and the future when she plays a game for money (think Queen’s Gambit).
Jeenee Lee took all the options we presented and sent me five cover designs to choose from. Each represented one of the main threads of my novel’s key images.
Cover designs we worked with
Option #1, above, focused on the underwater aspect of the novel—the scuba diving. I loved the image, and I know many of the riskier moments take place underwater, during dives. As one of the main characters says, actions and decisions that would never have been considered on land are completely permissible underwater. So this cover hinted at the growing relationship between the portrait artist, Elly, and the man she’s come to the island to paint.
The next image, below, is more about the painting process itself. I liked it also, but it didn’t quite convey the totality of the novel. There’s also not as much tension in this image.
Also, gambling is a strong feature of the story—Elly sees the moves to the game and can cheat to win, so she faces the demons of both sides of that paranormal talent. Will she use it for selfish reasons or for a greater good?
This next idea combined the gambling and painting, with hints of the island in the shell and palm fronds. The right side of the backgammon board shows the paints Elly uses (pastel sticks). Although they are very familiar to me, they caused some confusion with the small group I asked to vote on the covers.
This last cover was the one we liked best, since it combined the heat of island life, the approaching storm for tension, and the game board superimposed on sand and sky.
Your Weekly Writing Exercise
Cover design is truly an intricate process. Especially with books which are complex and don’t offer just one primary image.
This week, play with your book cover ideas. Ask yourself these questions:
What’s the main event of the story and what images might come from this?
Where does the story take place? Does the setting evoke a certain image?
Who is your reader? What images might speak most to them?
What is your story’s theme? What’s its message? How might you translate that into an image?
Find 3-5 comparable titles online and examine the book covers. Note what you like and dislike about them (colors, layout, fonts). Assess your book cover tastes—do you prefer certain kinds of images? Graphics only? Certain colors?
Sometimes it helps to print out the covers you’ve chosen and cut them up, arrange them differently, take the parts you love and create something new.