So one of the coolest, gee-whizziest, pinch-me-I can’t-believe-this-is-real moments on the path to being a published author is getting your cover. NO, I don’t have my cover yet for THE MOCKINGBIRDS! And NO, we haven’t started working on it yet. BUT my editor Nancy told me last week that she talked to a Little, Brown art director about my book and he’s “super-psyched” to work on my cover! Hee hee. I’m SUPER-PSYCHED to see it!
In the meantime, I’ve been thinking about covers I like. And I’ve compiled a list. Now, this doesn’t mean these covers would fit my book thematically or otherwise. I just like their look.
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
The Mark by Jen Nadol
What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
Evermore by Alyson Noël
Far From You by Lisa Schroeder
Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma
So there you go! What are some of your favorite book covers? I want to hear your ideas!
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They are great covers, I especially like What I saw. Some of my favourites are: Rampant, Scrambled Eggs at Midnight (great title too), The forest of hands and teeth, Looking for Alaska and all Sarah Dessen’s UK covers.
Can’t wait to see what your cover looks like.
Hey Daisy, I’m in the same spot as you (with the same editor too! Isn’t Nancy fabulous?) – so strange to have your little book utterly out of your control for a bit…. Anyway, I love the Dani Noir cover. Also, my favorite cover of all time is Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie. Good luck with the waiting….I’m sure it will be awesome.
Not in any particular order….
1. http://www.amazon.com/Shes-Come-Undone-Wally-Lamb/dp/0671003755
2. http://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Rye-J-D-Salinger/dp/B000BR53YU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255701189&sr=1-2
3. http://www.amazon.com/Kite-Runner-Illustrated-Khaled-Hosseini/dp/1594489602/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255701252&sr=1-1
4.http://www.amazon.com/Mermaid-Chair-Sue-Monk-Kidd/dp/0143036696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255701324&sr=1-1
5. http://www.amazon.com/Black-Swan-Impact-Highly-Improbable/dp/1400063515/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255701464&sr=1-1
6. http://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/1400064287/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255701508&sr=1-2
7. http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-ebook/dp/B002RI9QJE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1255701737&sr=8-3-fkmr1
I totally judge a book by the cover. I am a cover whore, for sure. I am more attracted to covers with photos (DUH!) like The Mark, Hush Hush, Fallen. Yeah. Great pics tho!
Great choices.
I just adore the cover of DANI NOIR!!
Covers fascinate me. I think publishing depts. spend a LOT of time on them. They can make or break a book. They’ve actually decided to redesign the cover for the paperback release of FAR FROM YOU. Wait until you see it (can’t reveal until Dec.) It’s beautiful, but very different.
Of Bees and Mist, Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, Fallen, Shiver, All Unquiet Things, and Ash are a few of my favorite
I think Hush, Hush and Dani Noir are probably my two favorite covers. They are totally fresh and different and I would buy them without even having to read the back.
And your page looks AWESOME!
It’s likely not the style you’re going for, but I really like the old Ian Flemming James Bond pulp covers. Also, the current edition Sarah Vowell covers (I can’t remember the artist) are some of my favorites.
I think that you can judge a book by it’s cover as far as genre goes. YA lit like your forthcoming work usually has images that appeal to the YA audience like the ones above. Tween girls glowering about something or other or looking ethereally preoccupied. Depends on the tone of the story, I suppose.
Great post. I do judge a book by its cover, not going to lie. And it’s not in a bad way but rather in a “do you catch my eye way?” Walking down the aisles of the bookstore, you’re hit with so many titles.
Dani Noir is one of my favorites. I really love the hardback cover for The Disreputable History with its insignia and wax seal. Ash, definitely. The Shifter (Healing Wars Book 1) has an amazing cover. Ice’s cover is so beautiful. I loved the hardback of Living Dead Girl but the paperback version is meh. Eyes Like Stars is gorgeous.. I could go on. Anything where it’s just a guy standing around, I pass on.
I have so many good covers to look up now!
Sorry for double comment. I must however comment on a terrible cover. http://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/192680.Flowers_in_the_Attic
This one. Now, when I read Flowers in the Attic against my mother’s wishes in 6th grade (stealing my grandmother’s copy!), it had the traditional black cover.
Now this one sits in the teen section and it smacks of
“Crazy love-filled summer at my grandmother’s house!” not “Held in a dingy active with my brother.”
Do we judge a book by its cover? that’s like asking if we judge a guy by the car he drives. So my faves in YA are Wake, Gone and Fade by Lisa McMann. Very stylish, very memorable, make you stop in your tracks and that my friend is good marketing!
http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Lisa-McMann/dp/1416979182/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255712809&sr=8-8
I agree with Suzanne — I love the Hush ,Hush cover. But I like the obscure. I also like simple, one-color covers with simple, straightforward text. It almost makes me want to pick up the book and read it just to figure out what the novel is about. I also looove texture on covers, especially the shiny kind. =)
Fantastic choices! Dani Noir is definitely one of my all time favourite covers. Have you seen Danette Haworth’s Summer of Moonlight Secrets? It’s right at the top for me as well. It’s GORGEOUS! And eee, Daisy I cannot WAIT to see the face of The Mockingbirds when that happens–I just know it is going to be fantastic.
Oooh, you make me want to come up with my own “favorite covers” post! Out of those that you picked, I like Dani Noir’s cover the best, although have you seen the cover for the next book in Alyson Noel’s series? Totally hot! I’m not sure if I can put a name to the overarching theme of your favorite covers, but it was definitely interesting to learn! Perhaps I will do one of these posts in the future…
I have a marketing background, so I’m almost as excited to see my cover as I am to find the perfect agent and get my book sold! You are so lucky to have this wonderful experience to look forward to in the near future. I can’t wait to see what your cover looks like!!!!
I like so many book covers, so I’ll just pick one: I like Chelsea Handler’s “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea.” Of course, Chelsea could have a plain brown wrapper around her books and I’d buy them.
The model on the cover of “What I Saw and How I Lied” by Judy Blundell went to my high school.
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