Book Cover Escapades

'Never judge a book by its cover...' (English idiom), I can't recall how many times I've heard this. Except... I do. There I said it, I absolutely judge a book by its cover, in particular when its my book! 

The next phase of my writing adventure started out well enough, I emailed the final draft of my manuscript off to the publishing team, attended the introductory meeting, and then thought (hoped?) I could sit back and wait for the finished product to arrive. Ha! How wrong I was, I came to realise that my hard work had only just started! The writing aspect, pffft that was a walk in the park compared to this next phase.

Strike one 

I have always maintained that sometimes it's better to not know what I am getting myself into, and rather just take whatever process I am in as it comes. This was a prime example of such a situation, and only served to reinforce my belief.

I started to appreciate the requirement for active involvement when I received a first draft of the cover from my publisher in July 2020. With high expectations and a lot of excitement, I opened the email and double clicked on the attachment. I'm not sure what I was expecting, and (perhaps naively) had thought that I would love the first version. 

I felt unsure as I looked at what was in front of me. I found myself liking the concept of a high heel and a training shoe, both images accurately portraying my work personae and my running addiction fairly well. That was more or less what my story was all about. Sadly, my gut was also not convinced. As I've grown older I've learnt more and more to listen to my (often irritating) gut, and yet this time I sternly told it to 'Shut up!'  

I was very conscious that the entire 'publishing a book process' was new to me, I needed to work with the team, not against them. If they thought this cover was great, who was I to argue? I went for a run to reflect on how best to respond, eventually concluding that perhaps with a few tweaks I'd like the cover more. I submitted my feedback as diplomatically as possible, and anxiously waited for the revised version. 

Strike two

I received the revision a couple of days later, opening the email with a lot less enthusiasm that second time around. In fact, I was more than a little apprehensive of what I'd find. I rubbed my eyes as I stared at the files. I didn't like any of the three versions that had been sent to me...

Now what?

I'd used up all of my diplomacy on the initial version, and so decided it was time to be me. This time I was shooting straight from the hip. I decisively picked up my phone and sent a text to Kate: 

Me: How honest can I be about the book covers?

Kate: You have got be honest and love it  -and.... Take a little of our advice too as to what works. But be honest. We can redo or use one of your photos. I know you loved the concept but not elements of it.

After a bit of back and forth, we ended up on a phone call to discuss the matter further. We exchanged pleasantries, with me trying to sound calm and collected. I'm still not sure why I was so emotional about the cover, did it really matter that much? Eventually, we got around to the matter of the book cover.

'I hate it', I blurted out, immediately feeling perfectly awful, I hadn't intended to be that direct. Kate, bless her heart, just took my blunt statement in her stride. 'Don't worry, I've been there!' She stated cheerfully, and continued with, 'It's not a problem, we'll just keep trying until you love it. You have to love it, but remember that it needs to pop'.

Over to me...

I mulled the matter over for bit, did she have any idea how full of nonsense I was? This process had the propensity to take forever! I knew myself well enough, that I appreciated I was my own biggest nightmare. 'I can take a few photos over the weekend if that will help?' I suggested, never for one second imagining that anything I could produce would be met with approval by the publishing team. We ended the call with me agreeing to send through some ideas for them to review.

Dr Google often comes to my rescue and this time was no different. I embarked on a self-study crash course in book cover photography, surprised to learn that this was actually a specialised, niche area. 'Oh crap! How do I get myself into these situations?' I lambasted myself. Yes, perhaps I knew how to use a camera, and I really loved photography, but I was certainly not an expert in this particular field.

Never one to back down from a challenge I spent most of that following weekend reading articles on what made a book cover 'pop'. I assimilated how to apply the colour wheel to ensure contrast and impact, and how best to position objects to allow for text to be included afterwards. I finally acknowledged to myself I'd perhaps bitten off more than I could chew. I had no idea what I was doing. 'It's ok, Kate just wants ideas, take a few pictures and send those through, you'll be fine. They won't use it anyway, its just for inspiration.' I encouraged my nervous self. 

A few shots of what though? I was fresh out of bright ideas, my creativity seemed to have turned tail and run away (traitor!). In all likelihood intimidated by all the technical details I'd immersed myself in over the last couple of days.

'Go for a run, perhaps that will help.' I decided. 

I have an idea!

I immediately felt calmer after I started to run. 'The road is a much easier taskmaster than this process.' I mused, and then it came to me: 'Hey, wait. THAT'S IT! Use what you know, use the road.' As soon as I realised I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I sprinted back home (it was a fairly short, yet rather fast run). I had to see whether my idea could work and the sun was setting, I had no time to waste. 

Back at home, still clad in my sweaty running gear, I quickly grabbed the props I'd thought of and unearthed my camera from its bag. 

'Where are you off to?' Gerhard asked, looking bemused by all my hasty activity. 'I'll be back now now.' I responded, already halfway out the front door, juggling my stash of props and my camera. 

I scanned the road for a spot that would be suitable for my photoshoot operation, grateful that the items I intended to use included contrasting colours - or that's what the colour wheel said anyway. I eventually settled on a quiet cul-de-sac a few meters away from home (it would be preferable not to be driven over by a car whilst I took my pictures). 

Good shots with unique angles almost always required me to get myself into bizarre positions. I was soon lying flat on my stomach in the middle of the road, searching for the perfect angle. 

Sometimes, one is just lucky, and a plan comes together. Even through my viewfinder, I knew I loved what I was creating, enough to ignore the sniggers and funny looks from the neighbours as they passed by on their evening stroll. A few dogs came to inspect the circus that I had created in the street, there was rather a lot of butt-sniffing that went on (from the doggies side, not mine). Focused and intent on what I was doing, I completely ignored them, much to their disgust.

When the sun set, my shoot concluded. I sat on my recently sniffed bum in the middle of the road, a big daft grin on my face. I knew I had created and captured at least one photograph that conveyed my perspective of how I saw my book cover. 

We have a winner

I sent my ideas off to the team the next morning and waited not so patiently to see whether any of what I had submitted would help the process. Imagine the happy surprise when my publisher sent back not one, but two options. Both versions using my favourite photograph from my random shoot in the street. I loved both (of course). I was unable to decide which option I preferred, eventually leaving the team to make the final decision. 

The next little challenge would be for us all to agree on the next milestone, being the book title. Sigh, I'm afraid that on that front I had to admit defeat, I was no closer to anything properly innovative, punchy or descriptive than I'd been at the start of the process. I had to hope that someone on the team would have an appropriately creative brain wave soon.  Somehow, I don't think 'Untitled' will be considered a viable option. Besides which, it won't work with the awesome cover we'd now created...

Here's what I took away from this process:

* I do know this, but my book cover experience was yet another reminder - always trust my instinct

* Don't be scared to have my own opinion, but be willing to put in the effort to follow it through 

* If I don't like having my butt sniffed by woofies, don't lie in the road!

'There is a voice that doesn't use words. Listen' 

Rumi

Published by Quickshift Publishing, Running in Heels is available on Amazon and will soon be in bookstores. For up to date information on when and where you can find your copy, please check out my website, sign up for my newsletter, or find me on Linkedin, Facebook, or Instagram.