Most publishing houses try to involve the author in the selection of a cover in some way or other. This is not to say that they give the author what she wants in terms of a cover, but that they at least try to make the cover a representation of the book.

A lot of authors go into this production stage (which, by the way, usually happens shortly after a proposal is accepted and before the book is finished) with some idea of what they want. Marketing also knows what it wants, and the art department and editor are stuck in the middle.

So how does a cover come about? About a week before a cover conference is scheduled for one of my books, my editor sends me an email requesting the information below ASAP. She will take it into the conference and present it while everyone brainstorms cover ideas. I’m not entirely certain, but I think the conference involves the editorial staff, the marketing and publicity staff, and the art department. My editor wants

1) a brief description of the book (about 150 words)
I usually write this like a back cover blurb, and I now take great care with it because it will show up later. Have you seen the February RT ad for Pride and Petticoats? That copy is straight from the info I provided fo my cover conference. Often the copywriter uses this section to write some of the back cover blurb and the entire marketing staff uses it to sell the book, unless they have time to read it.

2) a description of hero and heroine, including hair color and length, color and style of clothing
I choose scenes from the book to illustrate this. I wish I could find a copy of what I sent in for Pride and Petticoats, but I can’t. Instead, here’s the description of the hero from my September 2006 release, No Man’s Bride.

Quint Childers, Earl of Valentine
Looks like Johnny Depp
Six foot one
Longish brown hair
Brown eyes

“It was difficult to look at him and not be absorbed. His face with its high smooth cheekbones and the contrasts between the hard planes of his chin and forehead and the softness of mouth and lips intrigued her. And then there was his hair, which she had called too long, but which she now decided was perfect. The straight, brown edges scraped his collar and flowed back from his forehead like a bird’s wing.
Like his, her hair was brown, a dark brown her sister compared to mud. But Valentine’s hair was the brown of topaz, the golden-brown of rich, aged whiskey, the brown of virgin earth when it’s freshly plowed and gleaming in the early morning dew.”

For both characters, the clothing style is Regency. The book is set in 1811.

If possible, I also send pictures either in print or in JPEG form. I hear the art depeartment is a big fan of my collages (which I make for almost all my books and send in when the cover conference is underway).

3) possible background settings for couple on cover
Usually here I either give my vision of what I want, or, if I don’t have one, then I will excerpt a scene. For When Dashing Met Danger, I excerpted 3 scenes, and two were outside on a balcony in a garden and that cover ended up being in a garden.

4) Title suggestions
Here’s where you get to list your titles. Pride and Petticoats was originally titled Engaging the Enemy (check that RT ad and you’ll see it used in the copy!), and I wanted No Man’s Bride to be called Veiled. Those didn’t go over well, and I did what most of us do at Avon. I had to ask the other authors to brainstorm for me.

Kerrelyn Sparks named Pride and Petticoats. We were still haggling over the title when the idea for the cover was decided upon and I was told the cover showed her petticoats, so marketing wanted a title with the word petticoat in it. Then after Pride and Petticoats was chosen, I actually had to rework parts of the book to reflect the Pride and Prejudice theme and to make more mentions of petticoats (I didn’t use the word once in the original manuscript). I have the titles for 4 of my next books already approved because they’re a series, and that has made my life so much easier. I don’t relish changing a story for the title again. It’s far easier to work the title into a story as you write.

And that’s the cover conference.

Back cover blurbs are a bit different. Avon hires copywriters to do their back cover blurbs, but they will let the author have a lot of input if the book is a mass market. Authors whose books come out in trade or hardcover have less input usually (I think I got one sentecne for my July realease, Reality TV Bites, changed, but that was it!). Here’s what I got originally from the copywriter for Pride and Petticoats.

Desperate to repair her family’s dignity and future, Charlotte Burton crossed treacherous seas to seek help from her father’s old friend–only to have the reunion interrupted by Baron Freddie Dewhurst, an insufferable dandy and British spy, who accuses her of consorting with an enemy of the crown. Held captive by the dashing scoundrel, Charlotte must now assist Dewhurst in a perilous subterfuge, since the brazen, unsettlingly handsome hero holds her life in his hands.

Freddie’s mission is essential to England’s security, yet he’s becoming more and more distracted by the fiery, independent lady he’s dragged into the dangerous game. Though Charlotte has agreed to pose as his wife, the rogue seems to think it entitles him to all of marriage’s benefits! And worse still, her own disloyal body is suddenly responding to his seductive words and sensuous touch!

Neither my editor nor I were impressed (especially by all the !), and editorial decided to go with a letter. They asked me to write it, and I did. That’s what became the back cover copy, but if you look at it, you’ll see I used elements form this original copy. I just left out purple prose like “treacherous seas” and “unsettlingly handsome.” I mean, we want people to buy the book after reading the back cover, not laugh.

Check out the back cover copy, cover, and excerpts from Pride and Petticoats at www.shanebolks.com/historical.html