Book Form Questions

[McMurphy]

Up one set of escalutors. Turn left. Second aisle of shelves. First stand. Bottom shelf.

That is where I eyed my future copy of The Hidden Stars at San Francisco's Borders bookstore just off of Union Square last week. I know when the copy will be mine. August 25th, 2005. Why? The date is when my next paycheck will be direct deposited into my bank account.

When I was looking at the paperback version of the novel, I noticed that it was a bit taller in scale than the typical paperback novel. Some of my favorite series have also come in similiar forms (particularly Neil Gaiman's Stardust or King's Dark Tower series). I was wondering two things: How much of a choice does an author get when a book form is chosen, and why was the larger paperback version chosen for The Hidden Stars release?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Sorry to take so long in answering your questions, but I have been trying to be virtuous and avoid the blandishments of this place until I've met certain obligations elsewhere.

But a new obligation arose, in the form of some books a very kind lady sent to me, and in stopping by to send her a thank you via PM -- I fell to temptation. (Though only so far as to check out this one little forum. Not a horrible fall from grace.)

McMurphy, the larger format paperbacks are called trade paperbacks, presumably because they are distributed in the same way as hardcovers (aka trade). This, apparently, has some advantages. Also, reviewers are more likely to take notice of them, and there is always the possibility of a mass market release in a smaller size later. (Note that I said possibility, since it often doesn't happen.)

But as to your specific questions: Authors don't get to decide anything (unless they are self-published). Cover art, cover copy, book design, format -- all of that -- the miserable wretch of an author has no part in the decision making process and usually no input. When it comes to something like format, that would be never any input at all.

Which is why I can't tell you what factors go into making the decisions of which books to publish first in what size. They keep us in the dark about those things.

Hope you enjoy the book when you do buy it!

 

[Mark Robson]

But as to your specific questions: Authors don't get to decide anything (unless they are self-published). Cover art, cover copy, book design, format -- all of that -- the miserable wretch of an author has no part in the decision making process and usually no input. When it comes to something like format, that would be never any input at all.

Which is why I can't tell you what factors go into making the decisions of which books to publish first in what size. They keep us in the dark about those things.

Hope you enjoy the book when you do buy it!

I beg to differ here, Kelpie. I made a point of involving myself in the cover design for my first book for Simon & Schuster. I take the point that many authors do not do so, and I accept that perhaps not all publishers are the same, but I managed to get my choice of artist and overall concept of design for the cover of Imperial Spy. I also put forward proposals for Imperial Assassin, and the Art Director has displayed an interest in my ideas for the design of this as well.

As for decisions on the list and the size/format of the book, I concur totally. As the author, I doubt that any but the most influential authors have any say in this at all.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Well, you've been exceptionally lucky that they were so willing to receive your input.

I have some interesting anecdotes to tell about authors and cover art, but for reasons you can probably guess I'm not at liberty to divulge them at this time.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I've been told that they want to bring out an ebook edition of The Hidden Stars to go with the trade paperback and mass market. I have no idea what this says about sales on the other editions, so no idea whether this is a good thing or a very bad one.

I see that Mark and I were talking about cover art in this thread before, but I couldn't say much because the whole pseudonymous cloak-of-secrecy thing was still in play. If anyone is interested in the trials-and-tribulations (and the occasional pleasant surprises) I have endured over the course of ten books and ten book covers (besides the foreign editions), I could expand on what I said in the previous message.

 

[j d worthington]

I, for one, would be interested. One thing I've found over the years is that, as a writer, literally everything is grist for the mill, and one never knows when such information will come in handy, or even when it may spark an idea for a story, essay, etc.

 

[Lunatic]

I, for one, would be interested. One thing I've found over the years is that, as a writer, literally everything is grist for the mill, and one never knows when such information will come in handy, or even when it may spark an idea for a story, essay, etc.

^^ - I'm with him.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Very well, then. But keep in mind that this is going to be a bit of an epic saga. I'll begin with:

COVER ART NIGHTMARE #1 -- the American editions of The Green Lion Trilogy

I should begin with a disclaimer: Although I was unhappy with some (most) of the cover art when I was published by Ace, they did choose some very well-established artists for the first books, and considering the thought and care that went into everything else they did in regard to my books I'm utterly convinced that they felt they were doing the very best that they could for me. It was just that my books and their list (as it was at the time) were not a very good match, and if we had all realized that sooner it would have been the better for everyone.

For the Green Lion books, they commissioned Dean Morrissey to do the art for all three. He had done the covers for a number of popular books, and in fact when I heard he would do the art for mine I was very pleased. Little did I know.

For one thing, he was going through a Victorian Gothic phase in his original artwork at the time, and for some bizarre reason thought that would also be appropriate for my medieval fantasy. The cover for CHILD OF SATURN was actually quite attractive, but besides being completely inappropriate to the period and tone of the book, there were some ... rather strange details.

The Princess Diaspad (they tell me the female figure is supposed to represent Diaspad, in spite of the fact that her hair has mysteriously changed color from vivid auburn to a very dark brunette) appears in what looks like a slinky silk (or polyester) nightgown. Meanwhile, my hero, Ceilyn looks like an escapee from a romance novel, in a puffy white shirt and flowing golden locks (in the book, his hair is brown). A particularly exotic touch is the face that he has been given cat's eyes, presumably somebody's idea of the correct physiognomy for a werewolf in his human phase. (Note to artists and art departments: wolves do not have slit pupils. One reason, perhaps, for the widespread belief in werewolves is that the eyes of wolves, unlike those of most animals, look rather eerily human.) Another odd touch is that the dwarf is stirring a boiling cauldron, set right in the middle of what looks like a very expensive oriental rug.

I can't complain about the cover for THE MOON IN HIDING. It's actually rather good, and one can't blame the artist for the fact that the scene selected by the art department does not, in fact, appear in that particular book. It comes straight out of the previous volume. At least it does show a scene from the trilogy, rather than the manufactured vignette described up above.

With THE WORK OF THE SUN, the artist far-surpassed what he did for (to) CHILD OF SATURN. I'm told that the art department sent this one back five times between the preliminary sketch and the finished product, and finally had to give up in disgust and go with what they had because there was no more time. Unlike CoS, this one is ugly as well as strange. Skipping right over the fact that my shy, self-effacing heroine Teleri looks like a Hollywood glamor girl and is dressed like a princess, we come to the tipsy-looking Queen, the maniacally grinning King, and my personal favorite, the bust of George Washington with a bird perched on top of his head.

COVER ART NIGHTMARE #2 -- FRANK KELLY FREAS WANTED TO DO THE ARTWORK FOR MY BOOKS AND THEY SAID NO

Those of you who are a) American and b) have been reading SF and Fantasy approximately since the Ice Age will probably know without being told that having Kelly Freas agree to do your cover art was roughly equal to having Harrison Ford agree to star in your movie. When I first began writing seriously one of my favorite daydreams was that someday an artist like Kelly Freas or George Barr would produce the cover art for one of my books.

How did it happen that this very famous cover artist was not only willing but eager to do my cover art? After the death of his first wife (and frequent model) Freas lost his will to paint and didn't produce anything for a decade or so. Eventually, he married again, and his second wife, Laura Brodian, was a very energetic and outgoing woman determined to help her husband get his career back into high gear. She also happened to be an acquaintance of mine. Looking for suitable projects, she gave him the Green Lion books to read, he really liked them, and said he would love to do the cover art for the sequel trilogy.

I, of course, was thrilled when they approached me with this idea. But when I spoke to my editor, she vetoed the suggestion, saying that a Kelly Freas cover would look too dated. (Never mind that Mercedes Lackey was selling a zillion books and establishing a great career for herself partly because of the beautiful covers Jody Lee was producing very much in the classic Kelly Freas or George Barr style.) They had something very different in mind.

As a result, the trilogy came out with covers by three different artists with wildly divergent styles. The first one looked like a cartoon, the second was fairly attractive and more or less appropriate, and the third was ... well, it looked like the cover of a somewhat steamy romance novel, and the scene they had chosen to depict had no relationship at all to anything in the book.

Meanwhile, Kelly Freas went on to sell award-winning artwork elsewhere.

 

[j d worthington]

Having run into several horror stories from various writers on this sort of theme, I'm not terribly surprised at most of this, just saddened that, after all this time, so few writers have any input worth the name on these aspects.

That said, I'm finding this quite fascinating, and look forward to anything further you wish to post on it.

 

[Carolyn Hill]

Teresa, was it you who told me that cover artists (often?) get paid as much or more as the author does for a book? Or have I a muddled memory?

Oh, and to return to Murphy's original post: I was in Barnes and Noble today and saw The Hidden Stars in mass market paperback, cover facing out and looking very fine indeed.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I doubt it was me that said that, but I think that I have heard the same thing ... somewhere. Of course it depends on which artist and which author. I'm sure there isn't a cover artist on earth that gets paid anywhere close to what Stephen King does. But I do know that the artist retains the rights to the artwork (I've seen cover art reproduced elsewhere) as well as the original painting. If the artist sells the rights again, and sells the painting as well (a large acrylic by a well-known artist will go for thousands of dollars), and adds all that to the original fee for the commission, it probably comes out to a tidy sum.