{"id":1788,"date":"2010-08-05T06:00:35","date_gmt":"2010-08-05T10:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=1788"},"modified":"2010-08-05T06:00:35","modified_gmt":"2010-08-05T10:00:35","slug":"nancy-werlin-the-anatomy-of-a-book-cover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=1788","title":{"rendered":"Nancy Werlin: The Anatomy of a Book Cover"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we ran a post in ShelfTalker recently about young-adult book covers\u2014The Season of Windblown Hair \u2014 Or, the Zeitgeist of Book Covers<\/a>\u2014author Nancy Werlin wrote us a note. She said, “Elizabeth’s recent cover post sparked me to write something about covers from an author’s POV. ” Attached to her note was the article that follows this introduction; it’s a revealing, behind-the-scenes look at the kind of conversations established authors have with their editors (and agents, and others) during the cover design process. We are delighted to add her voice to the conversation about how book jackets are designed and changed and edited until they are approved and ready for the bookshelves.
\n[Note: Not all authors are invited into the cover design process; perhaps even the majority are not. Publishing houses have varying policies about author participation in book cover and art discussions, and newer authors generally have less input than well-known authors with more experience in the industry, like Nancy.]
\nAnd now, without further ado, here is:
\n Anatomy of a Cover: Extraordinary<\/em> by Nancy Werlin<\/strong>
\nPart 1. Thrifty R Us<\/strong>
\nSo, I was having breakfast with my editor, Lauri Hornik at Dial\/Penguin, at the ALA convention in June, and suddenly Lauri lowers her voice and says, \u201cDid you see that story in Publishers Weekly<\/em><\/a> about the YA cover shoot?!\u201d
\n\u201cYou bet I did,\u201d I say. \u201cAck!\u201d
\n\u201cThey spent over $20,000!\u201d
\n\u201c$28,000!\u201d [Note: It was actually $26,000. I have a tendency to exaggerate for the sake of the story.]
\n\u201cIn fairness, it was for four covers. But still! Can you imagine?\u201d
\n\u201cNo!\u201d
\nThis explains why, in talking about the cover of Extraordinary<\/em>, I will be discussing stock art, PhotoShop, and the genius of in-house cover designers \u2013 in this case, Natalie Sousa at Penguin. I also have to mention interior designer Jasmin Rubero, because Extraordinary<\/em> has a lovely page design too.
\nPart 2. Cover Design Mission<\/strong>
\nThere was a mission: To match the cover of Extraordinary<\/em> to the cover of the paperback Impossible<\/em>, \"\"<\/a>which was commercially successful. Consider the outdoor natural setting, the single girl in motion with her hair blowing, and the cursive font used for the title; both covers have these in common.
\nConceptually, though, the \u201csame but different\u201d mission was tricky for the designer. You couldn\u2019t have the cover of Extraordinary suggest to readers that they\u2019d be getting the continuing adventures of Lucy Scarborough from Impossible, only that they are likely to get a similar reading experience.
\nThen there\u2019s the mission of any cover: to represent the book\u2019s contents authentically enough while appealing to the tastes of those most likely to want to buy it and read it.
\n\u201cAuthentically enough.\u201d What do I mean by this? Well, I\u2019m a veteran of YA book covers (just take a look at my website\u2019s Cover Gallery<\/a>, in which you\u2019ll find my sometimes trenchant comments on the covers of my books over time). I used to want covers that represented the book\u2019s contents very closely, and were also pretty. Many folks automatically believe that this is what makes a good cover.
\nBut I\u2019ve changed my mind about this. While the cover should not lie (by implication or outright), its job is simply to say: \u201cPick me up!\u201d to someone who might like the book. That is all. And you have more moving parts than the art: you also have the title and author\u2019s name.
\nPart 3. The Right Stock Photo<\/strong>
\nI can only guess how long it took Natalie to find the right stock photo. I imagine she typed \u201cyoung girl\u201d (and maybe some other keywords) into many different stock photo sites and scanned and scanned and scanned through the results. In the end, she found it at Agenja Free\/Alamy.
\nIf you click on the stock photo website link<\/a>, you can perform the search. Enter \u201cyoung woman forest\u201d (don\u2019t use the quotes). You\u2019ll see a selection of photos that includes the green forest glade from the Extraordinary<\/em> cover. (Or you can just look at the picture of the search results.)
\nOn the second page, you\u2019ll find the photo that Natalie used, and you\u2019ll see a few others of that same blonde girl in a red dress frolicking in the forest. There\u2019s one of the girl running toward (rather than away from) the camera; one of her holding her dress out; a few of her sitting in the grass; one of her dancing in sort of a demented way. Maybe Natalie considered some of those as well.
\nIn any event, she created a mock-up (one of many, no doubt) which was the one that Lauri first sent to me.
\nPart 4. Actual E-Mail: Cover Mock-Up #1 \u2026 and #2 \u2026 and #3 \u2026 and the Final Decision<\/strong>
\nHere\u2019s the actual email dialogue that followed.
\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mock-Up #1 for Extraordinary jacket <\/p><\/div>
\nLAURI (to Nancy): Here\u2019s a jacket-in-progress (#1).
\nI\u2019m not liking the hot pink color of the dress and shoes, and I\u2019m thinking that we\u2019ll want some shimmer effect for punch and to hint at the otherworldly setting. What do you think? Could this girl fairly represent Mallory? And do you like the general look of this? We are, of course, trying very specifically to give the novel a companion look to the IMPOSSIBLE paperback.
\nNANCY: Hm. Interesting! Yes to giving it a companion look to IMPOSSIBLE. And I think this “pops.” But it’s also a little too running-girl-Gothic for me. (Remember those old ’70s romance paperbacks? They always showed a girl in peril, running in a dress.)
\nI like the green landscape and the high heels. I agree with you about not liking the hot pink color in the dress.
\nYes, that could be Mallory, who’s described as having straw-colored hair. But is there a way to make the cover indicate *two* girls? I don’t actually like having Mallory only on the cover; she\u2019s not the main character. If only one girl is shown, it should be Phoebe.
\nGINGER KNOWLTON (agent): My favorite part is the title font. I immediately thought that I would want a handwriting expert to interpret it.
\n15-YEAR OLD TEEN: It doesn’t fit the description of Phoebe. And… the girl looks obnoxious… as do the colors. Buuuuuut that’s just me. I would rather see an image of a girl standing in the garden with Phoebe’s description – short with wild red-brown hair or even Mallory with a pair of wings… but yeah… that’s just my snobby opinion. \ud83d\ude1b
\nNANCY: The most salient detail, to me, is that our teen expects to see Phoebe, not Mallory. And she’d rather see a garden than a forest.
\nLAURI: Thanks, Nancy. This is helpful. We’re limited, in terms of setting and girls, by what we can find as a stock image. But I do think Natalie can work some magic with PhotoShop. Stay tuned.
\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mock-Up #2 for Extraordinary jacket<\/p><\/div>
\nLAURI (to Nancy): Here’s the other jacket comp that we’ve been thinking about recently. Would love to hear your thoughts.
\nNANCY: [Answer lost in the bowels of email, but it was something on the order of, \u201cDear God, no.\u201d]
\n

\"\"<\/a>

Potential jacket #3 for Extraordinary<\/p><\/div>
\nLAURI: Here’s a third cover option — one that I love. What do you think?
\nNANCY: I like everything about it except the girl. The forest atmosphere is terrific. Would it be possible to swap in a different girl or change her clothes?
\nLAURI: I know — it’s nothing that Phoebe would wear. I’ll ask Natalie if there’s any way to change the outfit. But can we get away from having Phoebe in all black? Any other options? [Note: In the novel, Phoebe wears nothing but black. But it turns out that this is not the best visual choice if you want your cover girl to be striking.]
\nLAURI (presenting final cover, showing original girl who now has reddish hair and is wearing black): After much discussion, we’ve decided that the attached comp is the strongest:
\n

\"\"<\/a>

Potential Extraordinary jacket #4 (the winner!)<\/p><\/div>
\nWe did look at inserting other girls into the photo that had the grand trees and the pinks in the sky, but it looked awkward, and Sales found that photo too introspective\/quiet to have shelf impact. This one was forcefully preferred by the group, and with the outfit a different color and her hair more Phoebe-ish, I feel very good about this one. Some questions: Do YOU feel good about this one? Does this girl look enough like Phoebe? And how do you feel about the new title type? The previous version, as gorgeous as it is, was too difficult to read.
\nNANCY: Well, “forcefully preferred by the group” is a strong argument for me. This #1 had been growing on me since I first saw it, and I suspect it will grow on me even more over time, as did the IMPOSSIBLE cover. Yes, I do think this could be Phoebe now — and that’s quite important. And I love how this cover matches with the IMPOSSIBLE cover.
\n(And I adore the shoes. This cover asks the important and perhaps irresistible question: Why is she running through a glade in THOSE SHOES????)
\nThe original title font was so lovely, I mourn it, but I can live with this. It gives the same feel, almost, and it IS easy to read.
\nIn short: I am on board, too.
\nLAURI: The color of the outfit makes a BIG difference in the tone of the whole. I feel it gives the book the solidity, the gravitas that it deserves, and that it doesn’t any longer look like popcorn. The group at the meeting this week all agreed, and they seemed whole-hearted.
\nNANCY: One question: can we have a line or two about the plot on the back cover? I just read an article that explained that many kids don’t know to read the flap copy. They look on the back and then put the book back on the shelf if it doesn’t contain some hint of what the book is about.
\nLAURI: Absolutely!
\nPart 5. Cover as Magic<\/strong>
\nI now look over the above exchange with bemusement. Why didn\u2019t I immediately see that the first cover composite was on the right track? That it was going to be gorgeous, and fitting?
\nMaybe I was scared. Writers put a lot of weight on their book covers. I couldn\u2019t see clearly through the haze of my emotional investment in Extraordinary. Did this cover express everything that I felt about my book? About Phoebe Rothschild, her friend Mallory, and everything that happens between them?
\nWell, how could it? Extraordinary<\/em> is an original fairy tale, a contemporary story. But like a traditional fairy tale, it heads quickly into frightening, bloody territory. I am afraid for my book, as it goes out alone into the world, just as I was frightened for Phoebe as I wrote and rewrote her story.
\nNo matter how beautiful and loved a cover may be, the jury on it remains uncommitted until the book has been in the world for a while. Perhaps bookstore buyers will be indifferent. Perhaps it will be lost on store shelves. Perhaps there\u2019s another book or two out there using the same or a similar photo. Perhaps its concept or color scheme is part of a trend that\u2019s suddenly over. Perhaps ShelfTalker at Publishers Weekly or the anonymous designer at \u201cJacket Whys\u201d or other bloggers will rip it to shreds for a reason never imagined during the design process.
\nAnd then there is the inside of the book.
\nA book cover says \u201copen me.\u201d The opening of a particular book will be magic for some readers; but for others, it will not. And about these others the author must learn to say, \u201cMy book, my beautiful book, was not written for them. They will find their magic elsewhere, and that\u2019s just as it should be.\u201d
\nIt\u2019s ever so slightly hard, however, to get to this place of acceptance. And so the author hopes that the cover will itself be magical, attracting all the right readers, and as few as possible of the wrong ones, to what really matters: what\u2019s inside the cover.
\n***<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we ran a post in ShelfTalker recently about young-adult book covers—The Season of Windblown Hair — Or, the Zeitgeist of Book Covers—author Nancy Werlin wrote us a note. She said, “Elizabeth’s recent cover post sparked me to write something about covers from an author’s POV. ” Attached to her note was the article that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}