A Writer's Tale

In their quest for a good read, they have looked at a book’s title, cover illustration, descriptive passage, and blurb(s).

None of which the author has had the slightest amount of control over (unless he cheated and wrote his own blurb).

If still interested, most browsers will probably now turn to the back of the book. (Or inside the dust jacket. That which appears on the back of a paperback can usually be found on the inside flaps of a hardcover’s dust jacket.)

On the back cover, they’ll find a few sentences or paragraphs that tell what the book is about. This is almost never written by the author. It was probably written by an editor.

Maybe in collaboration with people in the sales and publicity departments. The author will usually first see this material after the cover has been printed.

In some cases, the information on the back cover is inaccurate or confusing. Sometimes, it is intentionally misleading. (If the book is a collection of short fiction, they often try to make it appear to be a novel.)

In some cases, the story description on the back cover gives away every major secret of the book’s plot.

Even if it doesn’t blow the entire story, it tells the reader enough to ruin plenty of the surprises that the author worked hard to create.

You never know how much will be given away until you’ve already read the description.

By then, the damage has been done. If I had my way, nobody would see the back cover of a paperback until after the book has been read.

What else can be found on a book cover? There might be a photo of the author, but only if he’s a celebrity a movie star or someone who has already written a number of bestsellers. In some cases, even the photos have elements of mendacity. Some were taken twenty years ago. Others depict someone who is not actually the person who wrote the book.

There’s an old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

Which is about as true as any old saying is likely to get.

In the United States, the author of a book usually has nothing whatsoever to do with just about any aspect of his own book’s cover.

But if the cover is lousy, the book will not sell.

And who gets blamed?

Not the publishing executives who chose the title, chose the cover concept, chose the artist, chose which quotes to use (if any), or wrote the descriptive material on the front and back covers… the only stuff generally seen by browsers before they decide to buy or not to buy a certain book.

Nope.

The browser probably made his decision before reading the first sentence of the author’s actual words.

But the blame for the book’s failure drops like a ton of crap on the head of the author.

Ironically, publishers seem to believe that their covers are responsible for the success of a book. I once heard a senior person from a major publishing firm claim that the choice of an orange color for a certain paperback made the book a bestseller and launched the stellar career of a certain author whose name we all know.

So they believe that their covers create bestsellers, but they don’t seem to accept the notion that their covers might also create flops.

Every flop is the fault of the author.

And the word gets around.

In the New York mainstream publishing establishment, everybody knows everybody. And they talk.

“Oh, his stuff just doesn’t sell. If I were you, I wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

All that I’ve just written is subject to debate.

And I’m sure that exceptions exist.

Bestselling authors, for instance, certainly have some control over :he packaging of their books. (Oddly enough, even the biggest authors rarely get the final word on such matters.) Also, practices do vary from publisher to publisher.

And nothing I’ve written here about author involvement with covers should be applied to the U.S. small presses.

What I wrote is based on my personal experiences with many of the major U.S. establishment publishers and to a lesser extent on my knowledge of what has happened to fellow authors who are friends of mine.

Like the publishers, we talk.

The situation I described above also has nothing to do with my experiences with Headline House in the United Kingdom.

With Headline, I am consulted about the packaging of my books.

We sometimes wrangle about the titles. Sometimes I win, sometimes I don’t.

Mike Bailey, who has been my editor for many years, usually asks me for suggestions about cover art. I may give him a couple of ideas. He later sends me some artist’s drawings and asks about my preferences.

Mike also writes the material for my covers. His descriptions of the novel’s contents are usually based on a synopsis provided by me. He sends all the cover writing to me for approval, and it’s almost always perfect. He is not only a good writer, but he is careful about what he tells.

A bit different from the U.S., huh?

Here, I’ve had absolutely no input about any aspect of any cover. With Headline, I participate in every aspect.