I was tempted to call this ramble: Don’t Judge a Book By It’s Cover. As you can see, I did not. One, I couldn’t remember which of the little words needed to be capitalised and two, I’m pretty sure there’s a thousand articles roaming around the ‘net with that title. So, we have a boring title: Cover Art.
Last week I submitted the cover art form for my upcoming book, Less Than Perfect, and I’m nervous. I have all sorts of horrid (and lurid) images in my mind and I’m halfway convinced they are all going to end up on my cover. Mickey’s t-shirt will be ripped to expose her (non-existent) cleavage and Reg won’t have a shirt at all. They’ll be gazing into one another’s eyes while the world explodes behind them and something will be floating over their heads. Maybe an alien–which, as my aliens look like humans, will mean it will look as if a head is floating over their heads. Another person, unrelated to anyone. People will keep flipping back to the cover to squint at the floating head. They’ll ask: Who is that?
On the form, I had the opportunity to outline what I would not like to see (floating heads, cleavage) and what I would like to see (Reg, shirtless–couldn’t be all bad). I was also able to provide examples of covers in a similar genre that I really liked. Skimming through GoodReads and Entangled’s site, I noted that the covers which really stood out for me had two elements: Great colour and strong, but simple typography. The image depicted was almost secondary. I attempted to communicate this idea when describing what I want. I also included a link to the amazing artwork Kay Steele did for me to serve as inspiration!
While I wait to be horrified or delighted (possibly both at the same time), enjoy this collection covers as interpreted by buzzfeed: 13 Fantasy Novels That Are Good Despite Their Covers.
I have actually read most of these books and they’re great! I liked the cover art on a lot of them, too.
Kelly Jensen 