The Safe Lands Book Cover Development: A Brief Interview with Jill Williamson
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| (c.) Zondervan |
Thanks for visiting us here at the Artist Librarian! Can you briefly describe what the book cover process was like for the Safe Lands dystopian trilogy?
Jill Williamson (JW): The publisher asked me for ideas of
things that I might think were good for the cover and descriptions of
characters. So I wrote up a document with all that information and sent it in.
I'm not sure if they share that with the cover artist or not. But that is all
the say I had in the cover for book one.
The same process happened for the cover for book two, but when they sent it to me, it was the green cover that ended up being used for Rebels. I told them that while the cover was beautiful, it didn't work for the plot. None of my characters left the Safe Lands in book two. So they ended up designing a new book cover for Outcasts, and used the green cover for Rebels.
Outcasts ended up being my favorite cover of the Safe Lands trilogy, so it's interesting to hear it originally was to have Rebel's cover! I'm glad Zondervan developed the purple one instead. Was working with Zondervan, a larger
publisher, a similar process with your previous Blood of Kings trilogy with
Marcher Lord Press?
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| (c.) Zondervan |
The same process happened for the cover for book two, but when they sent it to me, it was the green cover that ended up being used for Rebels. I told them that while the cover was beautiful, it didn't work for the plot. None of my characters left the Safe Lands in book two. So they ended up designing a new book cover for Outcasts, and used the green cover for Rebels.
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| (c.) Zondervan |
JW: Some things were similar, some things were different. Zondervan works a little farther ahead than Marcher Lord Press. So I usually got my edits six to nine months before the book release, while with Marcher Lord Press, I sometimes got my edits a few weeks before the book release. Zondervan also has marketing and sales people, so there were many other people who emailed me, while with Marcher Lord Press, I only spoke to Jeff. Zondervan also sent me on a couple book tours, which was very fun. So they have a much larger budget for promoting their books than Marcher Lord Press does.
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| (c.) Zondervan |
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| (c.) Marcher Lord Press |
Jill
Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms and
the award-winning author of several speculative fiction novels including
By Darkness Hid, Replication, The New Recruit, and Captives.
She got into writing one day when someone was complaining about teen
books and she thought, “I could do that! How hard could it be?” Very,
she soon learned. But she worked hard, and four years later, her first
book, By Darkness Hid, was published and won several awards.
Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant, who was raised in Alaska. She loves teaching about writing, which she does weekly at www.GoTeenWriters.com. She lives in Oregon with her husband, two children, and a whole lot of deer.
- See more at: http://www.jillwilliamson.com/bio-bibliography/#sthash.QwWsEase.dpuf
Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant, who was raised in Alaska. She loves teaching about writing, which she does weekly at www.GoTeenWriters.com. She lives in Oregon with her husband, two children, and a whole lot of deer.
- See more at: http://www.jillwilliamson.com/bio-bibliography/#sthash.QwWsEase.dpuf
Jill
Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms and
the award-winning author of several speculative fiction novels including
By Darkness Hid, Replication, The New Recruit, and Captives.
She got into writing one day when someone was complaining about teen
books and she thought, “I could do that! How hard could it be?” Very,
she soon learned. But she worked hard, and four years later, her first
book, By Darkness Hid, was published and won several awards.
Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant, who was raised in Alaska. She loves teaching about writing, which she does weekly at www.GoTeenWriters.com. She lives in Oregon with her husband, two children, and a whole lot of deer.
- See more at: http://www.jillwilliamson.com/bio-bibliography/#sthash.QwWsEase.dpuf
Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant, who was raised in Alaska. She loves teaching about writing, which she does weekly at www.GoTeenWriters.com. She lives in Oregon with her husband, two children, and a whole lot of deer.
- See more at: http://www.jillwilliamson.com/bio-bibliography/#sthash.QwWsEase.dpuf
Jill Williamson is a novelist, dreamer, and believer. Growing up in Alaska led to love books, and in 2010 her first novel, By Darkness Hid, won the Christy Award. She loves working with teenagers and gives writing workshops at libraries, schools, camps, and churches. Jill lives in Oregon with her husband and two children. Visit Jill online at www.jillwilliamson.comWhich Safe Lands cover is your favorite? Does it throw you off if a book trilogy or series suddenly has a different book cover style? Read my review of The Safe Lands #3: Rebels!
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2 comments
Agree with you -- the covers are fantastic. Sometimes the covers are too soft or artistic. I likeds these -- Favorite cover: Outcasts, but favorite book: Rebels.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the interview!
Carol G
Outcasts is my favorite book cover also (purple is one of my favorite colors)! I don't know if I could choose my favorite book from the trilogy though. =) I love learning about the book cover art process, so I'm glad others enjoyed it as well!
DeleteThank you for taking the time to share your thoughts! Comments are always welcomed and appreciated.