Recently I
wrote about my experience working alongside my publisher and designer in
selecting the right cover for a novel.
When Atticus Books hired Jamie Keenan to
design the cover for Tracks: A Novel in
Stories, I came eye-to-eye with the fact that, despite the adage, people
can and do judge books by their covers. A good cover can draw a reader to or
away from a book on display. A good cover that conveys the feel of the book is
important.
When Merge
Publishing hired Leslie Taylor of Buffalo Creative Group to design the cover
for Womb: a novel in utero, I was pleased with the results. That said, not all
of the results fit. Together, with input from me and my publisher, Leslie
designed the perfect cover.
Here’s an
early cover concept that, although very creative, just didn’t seem to capture
the mood of the book. We were afraid it may look just a little too much like a What to Expect When You’re Expecting
sort of book.
Here’s an
early version of the cover, closer to the one we ended up with.
Finally, here
is the cover that we went with. We all felt that it conveyed just the right
look and feel for Womb: a novel in utero. Soft, slightly rounded lettering, a warm, fluid, womb-like feel without going
clinical or to literal, and just the right spark of awareness to it.
Yes, you can
judge a book by its cover.
Learn more
about Leslie Taylor, Creative Buffalo Group, and some of their covers at http://buffalocreativegroup.com/
Labels: #AtticusBooks, #BookCover, #BuffaloCreativeGroup, #cover, #fiction, #JamieKeenan, #LeslieTaylor, #MergePublishing, #NovelinUtero, #womb, #wombliving
