Tag: book covers

As you work with a publishing house to get your book published — you’ve been through the contractual phase and the content editing phase — you will find that there are several steps and decisions where you will not give input (indeed, the publisher may not ask for it). That can be surprising to some authors, so let me explain a few of those decisions here.

Title

I know, you struggled to get just the right title (and you should indeed deliver your manuscript with a title), but chances are high that the publisher will want to change it. This comes down to several considerations.

• Marketability: Is this the best title to appeal to the target audience and to make sense to them?
• SEO: Search Engine Optimization. Are there particular words that should be in the title that will be more useful for online searches?
• Clarity: Maybe the title is too close to another similar title, so the change is needed to avoid confusion. Or maybe your clever title is deemed too vague or offbeat so that it would end up working against book sales.
• Design constraints: Maybe it’s too long (or the subtitle is too long) and it’s just not working for the cover design.

The publisher won’t change the title without discussing it with you, but be aware of their knowledge of the marketplace and their marketing expertise. Of course, if you feel strongly, explain your side. But don’t be a diva. Work with the publisher.

Consider that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s initial title suggestions for The Great Gatsby included Among the Ash-Heaps and Millionaires. Trimalchio in West Egg, On the Road to West Egg, Gold-hatted Gatsby, and The High-bouncing Lover. His editor, the amazing Maxwell Perkins, offered the final title.

Cover and interior design

Leave this to the designers. There is generally an entire department dedicated to the cover and interior designs of each book.

The interior design has to do with making sure the number of words in the manuscript corresponds with the target number of pages–which will affect the font size, leading (space between lines), kerning (space between letters), margins, chapter starts (always on a recto? or can be recto or verso? drop cap at the beginning?), etc. Every element is designed.

The designer then creates a template (often in InDesign) into which the typesetter will flow the copyedited Word document manuscript.

Then, of course, he prepares the all-important cover design—the front cover (with title, subtitle, author, and artwork), spine (with title, author, and publisher’s logo), and the back cover (with synopsis, endorsements, brief author bio, and bar code with ISBN). He needs to know trim size and page count (page count affects the size of the spine), whether or not there are photos (and if they are black and white or color), and the target audience and tone.

The designer will receive from the editorial department a document that gives him the specs as noted above, along with a general overview of the book itself to help in creating the cover. For fiction, he needs to know the genre (a fantasy cover will look different from historical fiction), information about the protagonist/antagonist (what do they look like?), time period (1700s? early 2000s? future?), and specific title, subtitle, author name. For nonfiction, he needs to know the general topic and angle of the book (grief? joy? wombats? artificial intelligence?).

Trust these people. They have their fingers on the pulse of what designs are selling in the marketplace. You may have the opportunity to weigh in (they may give you a design or two to choose from), but beyond that, be careful. Don’t start to nitpick the design, ask for other colors, etc. etc. Stay in your lane.

In my latest book, the first cover design rendering was something I really really didn’t like. It made me cringe. I went back to my contract and, sure enough, it did say that I had the right to respond to the cover design. So, I did . . . kindly, gently, humbly, with my suggestions for what I thought would better reflect the book and its contents, even sending a couple of “idea photos.” The publisher was willing to revise based on my idea, and I received a cover much closer to what I had envisioned.

The cover the publisher creates is your cover. Try to love it.

Timing of publication

No, you can’t ask if they can “rush it a bit.” And also, no, you can’t ask if they can “put it off a little bit.” These companies are businesses and several books are going through the process at various phases week by week. Way down at the end of their massive schedule is the BBD (bound book date) for when your books will arrive. That was decided way back when your book was first acquired; various folks put your book on their schedule; the printer has a date set aside to print your book. The marketing department is working with various outlets to set up advertising to drop, podcast interviews, etc., all lined up to coincide with your book’s release. The train is moving. Stay on board. Keep your own deadlines that are part of the process.

Your publisher is investing a lot of time and money in you and your book. They want to see it succeed as much as you do. Trust them and their expertise to help your book be the best it can be.