James Preller's Blog

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I am asked about book covers from time to time. People are generally curious about the author’s “say” in a cover. 

The answer varies from author to author, publisher to publisher. 

But first, this:

Making a cover is an art. An imprecise creative act. And in talking about these experiences honestly, I don’t mean to disparage anyone’s work. Everybody goes into it wanting to make a great cover. Or, if not great, at least a cover that fits the book. A cover that works.

If you are a big name author — someone who generates significant sales — you’ll will have clout in all regards. You’ll have, at the very least, serious input and veto power over any cover. The publisher wants you to be happy. They want to keep you in the fold.

However, if the author does not occupy that rare air (read: most of us), the publisher will have final word on the cover, which they take very seriously. They hold meetings. Explore options. Discuss covers with sales. Analyze marketing histories and receive input from booksellers. Some publishers even test covers and titles with focus groups. It’s a dificult, challenging, artistic in-house process. And usually after all that happens, after decisions have discussed and agonized over and finally made, that’s when the author will be brought into the process. Often that simply means: “This is the cover, hope you like it.”

After all, this is their business, their investment, their expertise. They want to sell the book (almost) as much as you do. 

I once read someone’s take on this — sorry, I forget who — which I’ve pretty much adopted: The cover is the publisher’s domain. Everything between the covers is the author’s. 

Since I’ve been directly involved in children’s publishing for 40 years, I’ve found it disappointing to be kept out of that creative process. I’ve seen some of my books get beautiful, effective covers. And others that I instantly knew had badly missed the mark. Covers that made little sense or were, in a word, unappealing. It’s a sinking feeling when I look at a cover that I know doesn’t work, because it typically spells doom for sales.

It happens. 

On a more subtle level, I believe that a cover signals to booksellers and reviewers (not just consumers) how a publisher views that particular title. Or where a book fits in the pecking order. There are budgets to consider, projected profit-and-loss statements to balance. A cover also, obviously, provides clues about what kind of story awaits inside. Sometimes for marketing purposes these clues are vague and even intentionally misleading. Sometimes we look at a cover and can’t wait to start reading. 

As a freelancer, I have another rule: Try not to be too very much of a pain in the neck. Nobody wants to hire the difficult writer. Life is full enough of headaches without actually paying for them. Moreover, my default is to genuinely honor and respect the different people involved, who are all doing their best. It’s a team effort and sometimes you’ve just got to step away and let those folks do their jobs. 

Which is to say: 

I love the new paperback cover to Shaken. It won’t be out until 2026, so you’ll need to wait, but for me this is a cover that I truly like. And that’s not always the case.

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