It was such a joy to me to read this. I am a book cover illustrator, and it honestly leaves me spitting feathers when I see covers which poorly represent the books.
An author pours their heart and soul into a book. It may have taken years of musing and gathering ideas, writing notes and generally macerating, even before the measurable time of writing, which can be years in itself. A good book is like a personality, with a heart, soul and life breathed into it by its parent, the author. The cover is its face - the first thing people see, and the difference between picking it up and turning it over to read the back cover blurb - the book equivalent of striking up a conversation - or just moving on. I see it as the greatest honour (and a rather alarming responsibility), to be the one to give it that face, and the least a cover artist can do is communicate well, read extracts of the book, ask questions if you're unclear, and try to understand what's in the author's vision, then translate it into a form that is, well, visible to other people. I consider mind-reading to be one of the lesser known core skills of an illustrator.
That's the whole point of illustration - the clue's in the name of course, to enlighten or illuminate. I'm not a fan of commercial book cover obfuscations, they do a disservice to everyone concerned.
It's a bit like going on a blind date, but piling on makeup, completely changing your style and putting on a fake persona, to try to appear more conventionally attractive. Ultimately it will only impress people who are after that Kardashian type, and when the makeup comes off and they discover that you actually have a good-natured face full of freckles, and enjoy gardening and talking to your house plants, they will feel cheated and disappointed, and you will feel rejected and misjudged.
I also can't help feeling that if a publisher wants to misrepresent a book to the public in order to get more sales, it's an insult to the author, because they either don't understand the book, or don't have faith in it, and it's a clear message that quick revenue is more important to them than ethics or a meaningful legacy.
How many times have we picked up a book because of the cover? And then read the blurb… Covers are such a powerful draw, yet often that is misused or manipulated. And the artist disregarded or minimised. Thank you for alerting us!
A friend of mine has recently flatly rejected the cover illustration proposed by her publisher because it misrepresents what her book is about. She’s several books down the line with her publisher and can actually do that now
Good for her! I've actually had authors contact me directly to iron out their cover artwork - fortunately the publisher I usually work with has a good eye and an open mind, but it must take a lot of courage for an author to lock horns with their publisher if they are less amenable!
What an absolutely mind-blowing, embodied, soulful description of illustration! I have found myself looking more closely at illustrations to see what style I like, not just on covers but also inside the bowels of a book e.g. marking the start of a new chapter or, as I'm looking for, to have some poems in a poetry book illustrated.
After going against my intuition with the logo for my website and deferring to the credentials of the web designer, who more or less completely discarded my vision, which I had drawn and a friend had rendered digitally, I now look at the logo guiltily, with an increasing desire to change it. Except I spent a lot of money with the web designer - hence part of the guilt. The other part relates to abandonment of my intuition in deference to credentials. Sigh.
So now, with this poetry book I hope to publish, I have no idea where to start and I haven't asked any of the numerous gifted artists I know yet because it feels like a precious baby I want to protect and I don't want the same thing to happen again as with the logo. I'd rather have no illustrations than even one, which does not understand the poem or book of poems it is wedded to by sacred contract.
I'm so sorry to hear of your logo troubles. My advice, for what it's worth, is to go with your gut. Don't hang on to the old logo just because it cost a lot of money. It's a horrible feeling when you spend precious resources on something that is a disappointment, but keeping the logo won't put the money back in the bank, you'll just be doling out a sort of subscription in peace of mind and mental energy on top of what you've already paid. Those are more precious than the money itself, you don't need to be paying both. It sounds like you already have your own logo ready to go, so it won't cost any more to change it, aside from any reprints of physical things like business cards, and if you'd prefer not to waste the ones you have, you can always just use those up and use the new logo when you replace them. Also, don't feel guilty - we do far too much of that - think of it as having instead paid for a (hopefully) quite effective assertiveness class! ;)
I agree that no illustrations are better than the wrong ones (that sounded better in my head). Maybe you could collect images that speak to you, and which you feel match the mood of your book, as a sort of mood-board. Try just talking about the poems with your artist friends, to see if they resonate. If you like their style, and feel that they really understand your work, then you could show them the mood-board and maybe commission one picture as a trial run.
A word of warning, though! Working together on a project like that has the potential to end a friendship. The chances are that their art is as close to their hearts as your poetry is to you, and if you disagree over the work, it can leave a very uncomfortable atmosphere and end up with the two of you avoiding one another. It can be safer to choose an artist who isn't a close personal friend.
I don't know how you feel about the idea, but another possibility is to actually use several different artists - keep the illustrations monochrome or choose a limited palette, and possibly outline them in a similar style to keep things cohesive, but let the artists choose poems which they feel drawn to (no pun intended). That way, the illustrations are more likely to do justice to the writing, and the book will become an interesting showcase of different artists' work.
I cannot thank you enough for this brilliant advice 🙏 "A sort of subscription of peace of mind and mental energy on top of what you've already paid" - that's exactly what it is! Clearly you have a way with words as well as art!
I'm receiving many assertiveness classes these days - some paid for and some free ;)
I love the idea of a mood-board as opposed to a 'vision' board - mood and feeling I can understand better.
You have put words on the reason I have hung back from asking friends, though I had not fully realised that myself yet.
I hope some day, if and when I reach the stellar climes of success, or even when I have a decent income from writing, to engage you or someone who understands as well as you do, for illustration...
So much YES! Thank you for your point of view and your perspective (hah! See what I did there?) It was a pleasure to read, and learn a bit more about your work process.
I am so disappointed in JK Rowling’s decision to have other covers made for the Harry Potter series. Why does everything have to be new/improved/updated/changed if it worked so well? If it doesn’t serve the purpose or is misleading, then I can understand.
I must be honest, I see no problem with a book having subsequent editions with different covers, provided that each version is true to the source material. Different readers have different taste, and the audience for Harry Potter, like the Hobbit, has grown from just children to all ages, and many different cultures. Personally I love the artwork for the UK first editions of the Harry Potter books - for me, those are the 'real' covers. I was also given a boxed set of the American edition, which is strikingly different and a lot more stylised - less to my taste I must admit, but the overall effect is rich and artistic, and it doesn't actually misrepresent anything.
I absolutely love your book covers very apt ,colourful and stand out in my book shelf. The best thing as you say is it's what's on the inside that makes it for me a great read and when I re read I find something new. Thank you for taking so much care 💕
As someone who routinely used to buy albums on the basis of the the cover by bands or artists I'd never heard of, I agree wholeheartedly that cover art is important.
As someone who uses the library and charity shops for most of my reading I am very much drawn to book covers and this one is fabulous! I have Notebook which I got directly from you and your other gorgeous covers (and what's inside them 😊) will be on my Christmas and birthday lists as your books I definitely want to own!
I have to say I love your cover art. I felt the same way making my CDs, I wanted people to pick them up and get excited about listening to them. When I got my book published, I was lucky enough to know the publisher a little and get the same artist to do the book cover and it rocks! Good for you for sticking to your guns. And we do pick up books/CDs albums because of their covers!
I love the cover designs for your family of recent books - they're all so different and yet pictured there together you can see they are related. I was so lucky that my debut poetry book was illustrated by someone who worked closely with me on the design and translated my muddled ideas (I'm not so much a visual brain person) into something I can be proud of. Looking forward to the next novel. I finished 1983 on my honeymoon... just back at work today after 11 days off!
Unrelated to this post specifically, however: last night I dreamt that you did a speaking tour. I got a ticket for my local venue but missed the first half because the bus was late. I hope you're not too cross.
You certainly have very original covers to go with your very original writing. I'm not sure if I'd have picked them up if I hadn't already been familiar with your work, but I would probably have at least glanced through them, because I love quirky. That tree photo is great. It made me think of a branch-handed man too.
The covers on your books are attractive, to say the least. They catch your attention and draw you into picking up the book. I love all the covers on your books, and the contents will amaze the reader.
I very often choose a book by its cover, it’s the first thing that grabs you, then you turn it over and read the blurb, look at the price, and give it a quick flick through to see if a sentence or two grab you. The art work is incredibly important. I’ve turned my nose up at rubbish art work, can’t even put my hand onto the book. No sighing at the beauty of a book if the art work is cats.
Goodness golly. Now I regret that cheeky comment about the US cover. The first time I walked through a bookshop in London a few years ago, I felt indignant and betrayed because my favorite books had such beautiful covers compared to the US editions. I’m sorry it’s been a struggle.
It was such a joy to me to read this. I am a book cover illustrator, and it honestly leaves me spitting feathers when I see covers which poorly represent the books.
An author pours their heart and soul into a book. It may have taken years of musing and gathering ideas, writing notes and generally macerating, even before the measurable time of writing, which can be years in itself. A good book is like a personality, with a heart, soul and life breathed into it by its parent, the author. The cover is its face - the first thing people see, and the difference between picking it up and turning it over to read the back cover blurb - the book equivalent of striking up a conversation - or just moving on. I see it as the greatest honour (and a rather alarming responsibility), to be the one to give it that face, and the least a cover artist can do is communicate well, read extracts of the book, ask questions if you're unclear, and try to understand what's in the author's vision, then translate it into a form that is, well, visible to other people. I consider mind-reading to be one of the lesser known core skills of an illustrator.
That's the whole point of illustration - the clue's in the name of course, to enlighten or illuminate. I'm not a fan of commercial book cover obfuscations, they do a disservice to everyone concerned.
It's a bit like going on a blind date, but piling on makeup, completely changing your style and putting on a fake persona, to try to appear more conventionally attractive. Ultimately it will only impress people who are after that Kardashian type, and when the makeup comes off and they discover that you actually have a good-natured face full of freckles, and enjoy gardening and talking to your house plants, they will feel cheated and disappointed, and you will feel rejected and misjudged.
I also can't help feeling that if a publisher wants to misrepresent a book to the public in order to get more sales, it's an insult to the author, because they either don't understand the book, or don't have faith in it, and it's a clear message that quick revenue is more important to them than ethics or a meaningful legacy.
How many times have we picked up a book because of the cover? And then read the blurb… Covers are such a powerful draw, yet often that is misused or manipulated. And the artist disregarded or minimised. Thank you for alerting us!
A friend of mine has recently flatly rejected the cover illustration proposed by her publisher because it misrepresents what her book is about. She’s several books down the line with her publisher and can actually do that now
Good for her! I've actually had authors contact me directly to iron out their cover artwork - fortunately the publisher I usually work with has a good eye and an open mind, but it must take a lot of courage for an author to lock horns with their publisher if they are less amenable!
What an absolutely mind-blowing, embodied, soulful description of illustration! I have found myself looking more closely at illustrations to see what style I like, not just on covers but also inside the bowels of a book e.g. marking the start of a new chapter or, as I'm looking for, to have some poems in a poetry book illustrated.
After going against my intuition with the logo for my website and deferring to the credentials of the web designer, who more or less completely discarded my vision, which I had drawn and a friend had rendered digitally, I now look at the logo guiltily, with an increasing desire to change it. Except I spent a lot of money with the web designer - hence part of the guilt. The other part relates to abandonment of my intuition in deference to credentials. Sigh.
So now, with this poetry book I hope to publish, I have no idea where to start and I haven't asked any of the numerous gifted artists I know yet because it feels like a precious baby I want to protect and I don't want the same thing to happen again as with the logo. I'd rather have no illustrations than even one, which does not understand the poem or book of poems it is wedded to by sacred contract.
Thank you, and how beautifully put!
I'm so sorry to hear of your logo troubles. My advice, for what it's worth, is to go with your gut. Don't hang on to the old logo just because it cost a lot of money. It's a horrible feeling when you spend precious resources on something that is a disappointment, but keeping the logo won't put the money back in the bank, you'll just be doling out a sort of subscription in peace of mind and mental energy on top of what you've already paid. Those are more precious than the money itself, you don't need to be paying both. It sounds like you already have your own logo ready to go, so it won't cost any more to change it, aside from any reprints of physical things like business cards, and if you'd prefer not to waste the ones you have, you can always just use those up and use the new logo when you replace them. Also, don't feel guilty - we do far too much of that - think of it as having instead paid for a (hopefully) quite effective assertiveness class! ;)
I agree that no illustrations are better than the wrong ones (that sounded better in my head). Maybe you could collect images that speak to you, and which you feel match the mood of your book, as a sort of mood-board. Try just talking about the poems with your artist friends, to see if they resonate. If you like their style, and feel that they really understand your work, then you could show them the mood-board and maybe commission one picture as a trial run.
A word of warning, though! Working together on a project like that has the potential to end a friendship. The chances are that their art is as close to their hearts as your poetry is to you, and if you disagree over the work, it can leave a very uncomfortable atmosphere and end up with the two of you avoiding one another. It can be safer to choose an artist who isn't a close personal friend.
I don't know how you feel about the idea, but another possibility is to actually use several different artists - keep the illustrations monochrome or choose a limited palette, and possibly outline them in a similar style to keep things cohesive, but let the artists choose poems which they feel drawn to (no pun intended). That way, the illustrations are more likely to do justice to the writing, and the book will become an interesting showcase of different artists' work.
I cannot thank you enough for this brilliant advice 🙏 "A sort of subscription of peace of mind and mental energy on top of what you've already paid" - that's exactly what it is! Clearly you have a way with words as well as art!
I'm receiving many assertiveness classes these days - some paid for and some free ;)
I love the idea of a mood-board as opposed to a 'vision' board - mood and feeling I can understand better.
You have put words on the reason I have hung back from asking friends, though I had not fully realised that myself yet.
I hope some day, if and when I reach the stellar climes of success, or even when I have a decent income from writing, to engage you or someone who understands as well as you do, for illustration...
In the meantime, I am much obliged :)
So much YES! Thank you for your point of view and your perspective (hah! See what I did there?) It was a pleasure to read, and learn a bit more about your work process.
Thanks Peggy!
I am so disappointed in JK Rowling’s decision to have other covers made for the Harry Potter series. Why does everything have to be new/improved/updated/changed if it worked so well? If it doesn’t serve the purpose or is misleading, then I can understand.
I must be honest, I see no problem with a book having subsequent editions with different covers, provided that each version is true to the source material. Different readers have different taste, and the audience for Harry Potter, like the Hobbit, has grown from just children to all ages, and many different cultures. Personally I love the artwork for the UK first editions of the Harry Potter books - for me, those are the 'real' covers. I was also given a boxed set of the American edition, which is strikingly different and a lot more stylised - less to my taste I must admit, but the overall effect is rich and artistic, and it doesn't actually misrepresent anything.
I absolutely love your book covers very apt ,colourful and stand out in my book shelf. The best thing as you say is it's what's on the inside that makes it for me a great read and when I re read I find something new. Thank you for taking so much care 💕
Thanks Eileen!
As someone who routinely used to buy albums on the basis of the the cover by bands or artists I'd never heard of, I agree wholeheartedly that cover art is important.
That’s a really great cover, and I love the story of Help The Witch cover too - it’s a great photograph, brilliantly adapted
Thanks Mark! Really chuffed you like it!
I do like your covers very much, seeing them lined up next to each other like that.
Great to see the process behind your covers…wishing you the very best with sales across the pond.
Thanks Pip!
As someone who uses the library and charity shops for most of my reading I am very much drawn to book covers and this one is fabulous! I have Notebook which I got directly from you and your other gorgeous covers (and what's inside them 😊) will be on my Christmas and birthday lists as your books I definitely want to own!
Fantastic cover!
Thanks Wendy!
I have to say I love your cover art. I felt the same way making my CDs, I wanted people to pick them up and get excited about listening to them. When I got my book published, I was lucky enough to know the publisher a little and get the same artist to do the book cover and it rocks! Good for you for sticking to your guns. And we do pick up books/CDs albums because of their covers!
What an amazingly informative and fun read, not to mention a gorgeous and distinctive cover! Congratulations Tom (and Joe)!
I love the cover designs for your family of recent books - they're all so different and yet pictured there together you can see they are related. I was so lucky that my debut poetry book was illustrated by someone who worked closely with me on the design and translated my muddled ideas (I'm not so much a visual brain person) into something I can be proud of. Looking forward to the next novel. I finished 1983 on my honeymoon... just back at work today after 11 days off!
Unrelated to this post specifically, however: last night I dreamt that you did a speaking tour. I got a ticket for my local venue but missed the first half because the bus was late. I hope you're not too cross.
You certainly have very original covers to go with your very original writing. I'm not sure if I'd have picked them up if I hadn't already been familiar with your work, but I would probably have at least glanced through them, because I love quirky. That tree photo is great. It made me think of a branch-handed man too.
The covers on your books are attractive, to say the least. They catch your attention and draw you into picking up the book. I love all the covers on your books, and the contents will amaze the reader.
Thanks Patricia!
I very often choose a book by its cover, it’s the first thing that grabs you, then you turn it over and read the blurb, look at the price, and give it a quick flick through to see if a sentence or two grab you. The art work is incredibly important. I’ve turned my nose up at rubbish art work, can’t even put my hand onto the book. No sighing at the beauty of a book if the art work is cats.
Goodness golly. Now I regret that cheeky comment about the US cover. The first time I walked through a bookshop in London a few years ago, I felt indignant and betrayed because my favorite books had such beautiful covers compared to the US editions. I’m sorry it’s been a struggle.