Covered

by Stephanie Black

I got the cover for Methods of Madness today. Seeing a cover for the first time is one of those Big Moments on the path to the publication of new book. It’s thrilling, and a little scary. A lot of things in publishing involve the dual thrilling/scary thing—submitting a manuscript—“I did it! I finished and submitted my book! Maybe they’ll want to publish it!” alongside with “What if it isn’t good enough/marketable enough? What if they reject it?” Getting edits back—“The edits! Woohoo! We’re moving forward!” versus “Yikes! What will my editor say? What did I mess up?” And, of course, having a new book released—“I’m so excited!” goes hand in hand with “Will people like it? Will it sell well? What if it doesn’t? Aaarrgggghh!!!!”

I’m never any good at predicting what a cover will look like. The possibilities are too broad. I did fill out a form listing things like crucial scenes, any items that have particular significance in the story, and the appearance of main characters. But I never know what the designers will choose to represent the story, or even if it will spring from what I wrote on the form. Given the nature of my books, I probably would be safe in predicting that my covers will not include:

Pastel pink
Butterflies
Puppies
Balloons

Oh, wait. Actually balloons do play a role in Methods of Madness, but it’s not a cheery role.

Good covers are crucial. As authors, we work hard to write books that will hook readers, but we can’t hook them with our writing unless they’re willing to pick up the book in the first place—and the cover is the first thing they’re going to see when they walk into that bookstore. Interesting, isn’t it, that the first hook that we hope will snag a potential reader is one over which we as authors have little or no control? Publishers have professional designers who know how to create eye-catching covers, whereas an author might not be so savvy in that department. I know I’m not. I haven’t a clue how to design a good cover.

I’ve been pleased with the covers for my other books—in fact, reviewer Jennie Hansen called the cover of Fool Me Twice “one of the most compelling covers ever seen on an LDS novel.” Way to go, designers! I was confident I would like this cover too, but that didn't stop me from being a little nervous. What would it look like? When I got the e-mail containing the file of my new cover, I went and sat next to my fifteen-year-daughter and clutched her arm in an excited and nervous (and annoying) fashion. She appreciated this, I’m sure. Click. I opened the file. Here it comes . . .

And . . . I like it. I really like it. It’s intense. It’s creepy. It’s perfect for the story. I like the backliner as well—it’s very well done and a great hook for potential readers.

I’m not going to post the cover yet, because there are a couple of minor changes they’re going to make. This, my friends, is what is called a cliffhanger, of which I’ve been told Jeff Savage approves.