Writing, Illustrating & Publishing > Illustrating

How are book covers designed?

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olmue:
Just curious here. :) I know that pb covers are going to be the illustrator's creation, a part of the book from the beginning. But what about novels? I used to think that whether drawn or photographed, the cover was unique to the book (and I remember reading Melissa's comment on how the model for Wicked Lovely was totally Ash). But now I'm seeing covers with the same stock photo, used in different ways. Is there a rhyme or reason to this? (front list or midlist, for example) I'm thinking also about the thread where someone found a book with no title or author on the spine under the dust jacket, and my own irritation with books with no flap copy whatsoever. Is this the illustrator's decision? A house policy?

Just curious.

m_stiefvater:
It varies. I really recommend the highly entertaining Jacket Whys blog -- she compares and talks about YA covers. http://jacketwhys.wordpress.com/

All of my covers were designed in house at my two publishers, but for one of them an outside artist was used. Often, even for lead titles (like 13 Reasons Why) stock photography is used, though, and tweaked -- it's far, far cheaper than setting up a photo shoot, if the designer can find something they like. My German cover for LAMENT was actually a stock photograph tastefully done:

Anne Marie:
You might also enjoy Chad Beckerman's blog:

http://cwdesigner.blogspot.com

He has worked for Scholastic, Greenwillow, Abrams, etc.  Great blog!

Lyon:
Like with everything else in business, it all comes down to budget.

I design book covers from time to time. For one really tiny printer, they wouldn't even pay for stock photos. I had to use free images to do the cover. The back copy and a photo was provided by the author, as well as his head shot. With a talented designer, even free photos can be developed into something unique and special, if the designer has and can take the time to do so. With the above mentioned cover, I used 5 different photos, edited and manipulated them to create a cover that the author was so pleased with he hunted me down to thank me!

Just slapping a generic stock photo on a cover shows there was a lack of time and/or budget for anything more imaginative. It rarely has anything to do with the author or the designer but with how much the publisher is able to invest in the book. (time and/or money)

Mandy Hubbard:
Also:

If you're lucky, the designer read your book, can do a photoshoot or get an illustrator, etc.


If you're not, the designer probably got a 3 paragraph blurb/cover copy and has to troll for stock photos that fits it.

Some covers NAIL IT, even on  a small budget, and some big budget covers look cheap. So sprinkle some fairy dust before you open the attachment from your editor. :-)

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