This week’s Deb Ball topic is book titles and covers! Like many authors, getting my cover for BECOMING BONNIE was a moment I eagerly awaited. But, unlike a lot of authors, I didn’t have a strong visual of what I wanted. This is weird for me; I’m a really visual person. But, nope, my imagination kept coming up empty. I think, in part, my blank slate of expectations was because the…
I’m a huge fan of cover art. I love a gorgeous book cover, and I’ve always known it takes enormous skill to create an image that speaks to the content and vibe of a novel without being too literal or too abstract. I was beyond thrilled when I got my book deal with Emily Bestler Books and especially excited to see what the brilliant Simon and Schuster art designers would…
I’ve heard the horror stories. I’ve been in Facebook groups where writers have bemoaned how much they hate their covers. Titles have been mangled. Everyone is unhappy. In my contract, I was given “consultation” rights, which I was told means basically nothing. The publishing house can consult me and say, “Okay, now we’re going to do what we want.” I was prepared. I would employ my family motto—”Suck it up”—and…
I had a dream for KILMOON’s cover. I wanted it to look like a “big book.” By this I mean that I wanted my name to be as prominent as the title. In the realm of mystery/suspense/thriller, the bigger the name on the cover, the bigger the author. It’s a branding thing. If your name is above the title — whoa, definite big time! I thought a lot about branding. I thought…
My first introduction to Deb Kelly came through the Debutante Ball, and my first introduction to Kelly’s book came from its lovely cover. Let’s take a moment and savor that image, shall we? Kelly’s cover–and her book–highlight one of my favorite aspects of reading fiction: the beauty of art and words that work together to tell a story. Not all books deliver on the promises their covers make. Many…
Please join us in welcoming author Caroline Leavitt to the Ball this weekend! Caroline is the New York Times bestselling author of PICTURES OF YOU, which was one of the best Books of 2011 from the San Francisco Chronicle, The Providence Journal, Bookmarks and Kirkus. Her new novel IS THIS TOMORROW is a May Indie Next Pick, that Vanity Fair has called “riveting.” You can find more about her at carolineleavitt.com….
One of the aspects of cover art I find most fascinating is how one book can have multiple covers, depending on where the book is being sold. For example, here are four different covers for GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. From left to right, you have covers from the US, UK, Germany, and Italy: Same book. Same author. Four…
I couldn’t imagine my book cover. My publisher asked for cover ideas and I could only blather about beaches and lighthouses, only don’t make it look TOO beachy. Helpful, no? One’s name on a book cover is a treasured dream of any aspiring author and I was about to see it come true, only, I couldn’t come up with any meaningful image. My book is about family, facades we put…
