Covers

Posted by Lynne Griffin

If you're a regular reader of our blog, then you know Amy and I are thrilled with the cover art for our novels. We are deeply grateful to Whitney Cookson (Random House) and Michael Storrings (St Martin's Press) for persevering until "the right" images graced our covers.

How do you know the image is right? Well to be perfectly honest, you don't. What you do know is that the cover should represent the genre of the novel, connect to the title of the book, captivate and encourage readers to pick the book up off the crowded bookshelf, and most important, evoke a reaction--all kinds of reactions will do.

That said, many people are involved in signing off on your cover design--your editor, sales staff, publisher, booksellers-- but the true test is the over time reaction from readers. Keep in mind, covers that work don't have to be pretty, though pretty sometimes works very well. So far so good for Tethered and Life Without Summer!

In keeping with Hannah's Fun and Games post yesterday, would you like to test your skills at judging a book by its cover? Click on over to the new website that tests your ability to rate covers and then find out how many stars they've received on Amazon. I admit it's not scientific, but it is a lot of fun to play.

Other great blog posts about book jackets include:
Jackets Required
Best Book Jackets of 2007
Hardback Paperback Covers

Feel free to post your questions in the comment section. I'll do my best to answer or direct you to the resources that might inform.

Advance Review Copies

Posted by Lynne Griffin


I knew they were coming, still the feelings were intense when I opened the package. Cotton candy kind of feelings that leave you not knowing what to do. Should I read it. Should I go show it to someone. I was over the moon, yet nothing about my life changed when I opened my mail at ten in the morning on a Monday.

So I wrote a note, thanking my editor for all she did to secure great quotes and lobby for my marvelous cover. And I parked it on my desk so I could admire it.

Then it hit me. It was two years from the time the first word landed on the page to the date of its sale to St. Martin's. A full eighteen months in production, six more months until it sits on book store shelves. I needed to get back to work. I have a manuscript that needs revision.

Making a Literary Life: Cool

As the dog days of summer turn cool (at least in these parts), we'd like to reflect on what's cool about the writing life. We've kvetched about the heartache when the words won't come, the angst of getting an agent (or not), selling a manuscript (or not), but let's talk the good stuff. What's your favorite aspect of this journey?

Lisa Marnell
Lisa is away, but will catch up next week.

Amy MacKinnon
Last night, I sat in my family room surrounded by boxes and boxes of Tethered. Why, you ask. Well, rock star Random House sales rep Sherry Vritz asked if I'd be willing to sign copies for bookstores that requested them. So they were shipped to me first, I spent several hours gratefully signing them all, and will then ship to them to fabulous IndieBound book shops. Many thanks to The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, AZ, and Murder By the Book in Houston, TX. Very cool.

Hannah Roveto
What's cool for me is that writing was a life I used to live completely in my head. Not only the writing part, but the life part. I'd doodle, I'd lurch, and I would always let "real" life push it aside. Writing is a life I live now, and yes, there are still the job and the kids and the house and... yet... every day, I write, and now there are goals, milestones, and accomplishments.

Lynne Griffin
Lynne is still away, but we'd like to hear her thoughts on this topic when she's back.