I've really loved sitting in on meetings this week, just seeing how everyone works through ideas.
Despite my best efforts, I have accepted that my presence in budget meetings is mostly pointless, likely because the only thing I understand about financial quarters is that there are four of them...or at least I think there are. I don't even smile and nod anymore, no one expects me to. Cover design meetings however, are more fun to watch and I've actually learned a lot about the process. For example, I had assumed that I would be hearing a lot more 'marketing and demographics' speak, from the editorial team when in fact people seemed totally comfortable responding to visuals instinctively. Interestingly my own instincts were usually wrong! I picked the least popular image nearly every time.
Thankfully for the authors then, I wasn't asked to contribute. Faber have an in-house team of talented designers who are tasked with the constant production of art for the entire catalogue. The artists will be presented a brief by the editorial team and return to the boardroom a few hours later with a series of options (usually about five or six) to be picked apart by the editorial team. Its pretty strange when you think about it. A designer is expected to encapsulate the significant elements of an entire novel in a single image, and they usually haven't even read it. Though its rare that an author is not consulted about the cover design, the final decision on cover art is ultimately in the hands of the publisher. This is pretty much the case right across the board, though some publishers are more conciliatory to the writers views than others. I've been told that clashing of personalities and ideas means that cover design, particularly for debut authors, can become the most stressful part of the entire process of publishing, as creatively it can put everyone at loggerheads.
On this point, I can see both the editor and authors sides. As an author, your book is so personal, so much your vision. As a publisher however, its your basic job to sell the book, and you're (hopefully) drawing upon a wealth of experience of what works and what doesn't, to achieve this. Its so important that whats on the outside of a book effectively represents whats on the inside, but it does make you wonder who is more qualified to judge whats best for the book. The author can be too close to see the whole picture, the editor too far removed. Its definitely something to bear thinking about.
Despite my best efforts, I have accepted that my presence in budget meetings is mostly pointless, likely because the only thing I understand about financial quarters is that there are four of them...or at least I think there are. I don't even smile and nod anymore, no one expects me to. Cover design meetings however, are more fun to watch and I've actually learned a lot about the process. For example, I had assumed that I would be hearing a lot more 'marketing and demographics' speak, from the editorial team when in fact people seemed totally comfortable responding to visuals instinctively. Interestingly my own instincts were usually wrong! I picked the least popular image nearly every time.
Thankfully for the authors then, I wasn't asked to contribute. Faber have an in-house team of talented designers who are tasked with the constant production of art for the entire catalogue. The artists will be presented a brief by the editorial team and return to the boardroom a few hours later with a series of options (usually about five or six) to be picked apart by the editorial team. Its pretty strange when you think about it. A designer is expected to encapsulate the significant elements of an entire novel in a single image, and they usually haven't even read it. Though its rare that an author is not consulted about the cover design, the final decision on cover art is ultimately in the hands of the publisher. This is pretty much the case right across the board, though some publishers are more conciliatory to the writers views than others. I've been told that clashing of personalities and ideas means that cover design, particularly for debut authors, can become the most stressful part of the entire process of publishing, as creatively it can put everyone at loggerheads.
On this point, I can see both the editor and authors sides. As an author, your book is so personal, so much your vision. As a publisher however, its your basic job to sell the book, and you're (hopefully) drawing upon a wealth of experience of what works and what doesn't, to achieve this. Its so important that whats on the outside of a book effectively represents whats on the inside, but it does make you wonder who is more qualified to judge whats best for the book. The author can be too close to see the whole picture, the editor too far removed. Its definitely something to bear thinking about.