On Covers....episode VI

I began my morning playing the rigorous game of "Email Catch-Up"--which, as many of you no doubt know, is an exercise in futility because it never ends--and after some replies and such, I dove into work. I'm a cover artist for book publishers and authors, and as I was reviewing the request forms, two things hit me: 1)Publisher's are still asking authors to describe a scene from their book as the basis for their cover, and 2)Republic of Tea's Vanilla Almond tea is delicious!

Point #1: True, not all publisher ask for scenes, but most of the ones I work with do. Here's a direct quote from one of the forms, for example:

"Please describe, and assume the cover artist has not read your book. If you would like a specific scene you will need to describe it here." (Italics are mine, for em-FA-sis.)

There a couple of main problems with this, and while I understand that mine is mostly a critical opinion, I'll just note my covers which tend to get the most attention do not usually illustrate a specific scene.

The first problem is that covers which attempt to illustrate a specific scene are not especially meaningful for potential readers who haven't already read the book. In other words, most people don't really know--or care--about what's going on in the illustration, because they don't really know--or care--about the story and characters yet. So unless the scene is something incredibly awesome and jaw-droppingly interesting, showing a scene with two guys, I dunno, putting on each other's socks isn't going to be the best way to hook someone into buying the book. (Even Michelangelo himself would have problems hooking someone with that idea, no matter how amazing his art.)

The other problem is that this approach to covers is incredibly old-fashioned, with its Rockwell-era formulas and 80s-Harlequinn execution. Even if a certain illustrated scene is open enough to stand on its own without viewers needing the context of the story, it still feels kinda uninteresting, visually.

So, while publishers might still invite authors to think of their covers in terms of "scenes", the whole point of my rambling is that I hope to get more people thinking outside the box. I'm always thrilled when authors give me free reign to have fun on their covers, and that usually leads to covers that are more eye-catching and interesting! (This inevitably leads in to a Support Your Local Gunslinger Cover Artist discussion, but that's for a different blog post.

Point #2: Republic of Tea tends to make pretty good teas. If you live at your local Panera during finals week and regular deadline crunches, you become pretty familiar with some of RoT's basic offerings like Earl Greyer and Ginger Peach, which both taste great with milk and sugar/honey. But the Vanilla Almond tea is incredible. INCREDIBLE even! Flavorful, without smacking you in the face with almondness, it's bold enough to warrant milk and sugar without getting lost in the mix. I highly recommend it, especially if you're like me and think coffee is as overrated as a Wes Anderson movie. Da-dum-dumm! *cymbal crash*

Now, time to get back to work...!