In which cranky author has questions

[rolanni]

To put the questions in context...Back when Agent of Change was first published -- by which I mean 1988 -- publishers actively discouraged writers and their cover artists from speaking to each other.  It was felt, by the publishers, that writers weren't artists, had no idea what image would sell a book; and would just confuse the artist if they started talking about what the characters looked like, or what the setting was, or what the most interesting scene in the book was.

The publisher had a marketing department and an art department to address these matters.  The Art Director gave instruction to the artist, who pretty often hadn't read the book, but who worked off of either a synopsis of the scene the Art Director wanted, or who were provided with a portion of the book to give them a feel for the story and/or characters.  I think we've discussed the fact that Mr. Hickman was given exactly half of Agent of Change to work from -- and he was one of the lucky ones.  As we were, when we got recognizable characters standing in a street we had described on the cover of our novel.

This was not, I repeat, the norm.

The prevailing thought at that point in publishing history was that what was on the cover of the book and what was inside the book really didn't have that much to do with each other.  It was the art's job to tell potential readers what kind of story was lurking between the covers.  By the late 1980s, covers were getting a little more representative of content, though still tilted toward SF's perceived market -- 14 year old boys.

Let me say here that we've been very fortunate in our covers over the years.  Starting with Mr. Hickman's portrayal of a Big! Freaking! Turtle! and a woman in fighting leathers that were actually functional, pulling a gun that she seems to know how to use, with a scarf tied around her arm exactly as we had described it!  The male lead is possibly even golden-skinned, as described -- it's hard to tell in the underlighting.

There are a few of our covers that I'm not in love with, but, for the most part, characters we've described as brown -- Meripen Vanglelauf, Jela, Shan, Nelirikk -- or golden-skinned -- Val Con (who also became Asian for a run of covers, that being the result of the authors talking to an artist who had been in Vietnam, and knew exactly what golden-skinned people looked like), Aelliana, Daav, Er Thom -- or pale -- Theo, Miri -- have been painted as described.

Do the characters look exactly as I see them in my head?  No, of course not, though some renditions have come closer than others.

Do I expect the covers of our books to accurately reflect the characters as described?  Well, yes, within a range; after all, I wrote those descriptions for a reason.

When a cover falls outside that "range" is it a horrible cover?

Well, no...not necessarily.

Case in point:  The covers for the Carousel books.  I adore these covers, despite that I have no idea who the humans depicted are meant to be.  They're great covers -- dynamic and intriguing, and true in a way that mere accuracy can't convey.  They're covers that really ought to sell me some books.

So, with all that being said, here are my questions:

1.  Do you, as a reader, expect that cover art will accurately reflect the accompanying novel?

2.  Do you become upset when/if it turns out that the cover does not accurately represent:

2a. The main character

2b. The setting

2c.  The kind of story inside the covers

3.  In 2, above -- which misrepresentation bothers you the most?  Why?

4.  If you are upset about inaccurate covers, how do you think change can be effected?

4a.  By writing to the author

4b. By writing to the publisher

4c. By boycotting authors and publishers who publish inaccurate covers

4d. Nothing will change, so why try?

5.  Other thoughts on the topic?  Tell me!

Comments

[wystii.livejournal.com]

1. Do you, as a reader, expect that cover art will accurately reflect the accompanying novel?
To a certain extent, yes. I expect it to help me differentiate between genres, at the very least. I know beautifully drawn people generally reflect a romance novel while space ships and planets are sci-fi with axes and swords hint at fantasy elements. Cowboys are pretty obvious... etc.

2. Do you become upset when/if it turns out that the cover does not accurately represent:

2a. The main character
No... Except for romance novels, I don't tend to pay much attention to people depicted on covers. I prefer to have peopleless covers and even with romance books I expect the person shown to be some model rather than anyone actually in the book. A goodlooking model on a romance cover will get me to read the back more often than not, though.

2b. The setting
Yes, a little. If the cover and back blurb lead me to expect a purely sword and sorcery novel, then characters pull out guns and steampunk stuff... I get very upset. But usually it has to be very, very wrong before it even hits my bothersome radar.


2c. The kind of story inside the covers
Same as above.

3. In 2, above -- which misrepresentation bothers you the most? Why?
The genre misrepresentation bothers me most because that is one of the few expectations I have for covers. If a romance novel depicts a regency scene, I expect a regency novel not a fancy dress scene in a modern novel. When that expectation is betrayed, then I get bothered. When I have no expectation of accuracy, I don't care if they get it wrong.

4. If you are upset about inaccurate covers, how do you think change can be effected?
Not, really. But for the longest time, when given a choice between a british publisher with a scenic cover that gives me a good feel for the genre and an american publisher with a character cover of dubious accuracy for the same novel, I would buy the british edition. I believe to some extent where I spend my money counts a little at least.

4a. By writing to the author
Why bother when an artist's depiction of a scene is based on the artist's perceptions and not the author's fault.

4b. By writing to the publisher
I believe that letters of complaint to publishers get filed in the round filing cabinet called a garbage or recycling bin.

4c. By boycotting authors and publishers who publish inaccurate covers
I don't boycot authors and if I have a choice of publisher I will buy from the one with the covers I prefer. If I have no choice, I make sure the book is not visible on my bookshelf when I finish reading it.

4d. Nothing will change, so why try?
Too true.

5. Other thoughts on the topic? Tell me!
Covers have become less relevant to me since I stopped browsing for books in a bookstore. Tags will usually give me the genre information I want and as someone else has commented, I never need to see the cover again once it is no longer a thumbnail on my ereader's homepage. While I think that sci-fi covers have improved a lot, people on covers still turn me off if I pause to look too long. It's a matter of taste and I tend not to like the style of people drawing in a lot of American covers. Regardless of accuracy or realism, I just find them ugly. (sorry) My tastes tend toward pretty manga/anime styles. I know this so I don't look too long when I shop online. I read the blurb and go straight to the sample chapters. Love your plain Green on Black Liaden bundle covers btw.