Marci Johnson, of WordFarm Press, sent me fiction and poetry books to review. The covers are stunning and use stock photography from Istockphoto and Getty Images. Those two stock photo companies have allowed smaller companies and presses to use impressive images on their books and in their marketing materials. No longer must someone hire a photographer or use terrible clip art. Beauty can be had by all. Ah, I love the internet and its distribution ability!
Naturally when I saw these lovely covers, I thought of my own book. The 2009 publication date is still a long way off, yet I have not come to a conclusion regarding the cover. I know that WordTech will do a lovely job if I don’t come up with an idea that grabs me. At the same time, it’s important to me to have some input and WordTech is open to that.
Since the book is entitled Midnight Voices, we searched for photos related to dark, midnight, clocks, women and so on. We found lovely photos, yet none of them seemed quite right.
If you are a poet with a published book, what was your involvement with the cover? What led you to decide on a certain idea for a cover? How involved were you in the process?
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You may want to look through the archive of Kate Greenstreet’s first book interviews: http://www.kickingwind.com/interviews.html
Usually the second or third question is about the author’s involvement with cover art. Best of luck to you and your book!
Hi Deb,
I knew I wanted to artwork and preferably, by a local artist. I went through the portofolio of a local artist and knew exactly when I found the image I wanted–it reminded me of knots and I loved the shape of it– it’s the cover of Small Knots. And the best part is that I was able to purchase the painting from her, so I have that framed on my wall.
Good question. I’m interested in hearing from others.
My first book was part of an established series, so the cover was predesigned. I shoot photographs, with an eye toward using one as cover art in the future.
My sister did the cover drawing for my first book. Finishing Line agreed to it because Janet is a professional artist. She also did the linocuts for my second book, published by Little Poem Press.
Pudding House had their own ideas for the book I published with them. They did a lovely job, and the image fit with the theme perfectly.
I still haven’t seen the cover of my novel. The publisher wants to unveil it at the book launch. So I wait…
Congratulations on your book! I guess we’ll be press-mates of sorts—-my book came out this year from WordTech, too. They were wonderful to work with regarding the cover. They let me have a lot of say, and I wanted to use one of my wife’s photographs, which ended up being the final cover. You can visit my website to take a look at it if you want, and feel free to backchannel me. Congrats again—2009 will be here before you know it!