On book covers

Who knew that actually giving input on your book cover could be both FUN and ANXIETY ridden? Part of the reason that I want to go the self-publishing route is that I am a control enthusiast (or freak, if you will), and like having the final say on, well, everything - to include my book cover. How did I decide on my cover artist? Well, Betsy and I have been friends for a couple years now, and I love her art. I also knew that she'd be able to convey through her art what I wanted on the cover of my book. I'm not saying we're exactly like minded, but we've talked enough, and she knows me well enough by now, that I knew she'd be able to take my ramblings and create something beautiful out of them. So, I called her up out of the blue and asked if she'd do the cover for my book. She immediately said yes, and we went to work from there. Several texts, phone calls, heytells, and emails later - I think we had a solid understanding of what I wanted, and what style she was going to go for. Believe it or not, I wasn't actually that specific (at least I don't think so). My requirements were essentially: 1- No people. I don't like it when a book cover tells me what a character looks like. The reader's imagination & the author's words should do that. 2- The cover for all three books need to stylistically be similar/have a unifying theme. 3- Nothing in black/white/red super emo/angsty that seems to be all the rage & style on YA Lit covers these days (I'm not naming names, but you know what books I'm talking about). 4- Something that makes it clear that it's a fantasy novel/faerie tale. Beyond that, I left it up to Betsy. She's the artist after all. Yesterday I received 4 thumbnail sketches from her. I was so excited because a) HOLY COW THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING! and b) it was really cool to see a visual representation of things from my book. I loved all 4 concepts, but one of them really stood out to [...]

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