Note: It's my pleasure to introduce you to one of my favorite authors, Julie Lessman, as my first guest blogger on The Artist Librarian. Enjoy this peek into the book cover design process of her "Daughters of Boston" and "The Heart of San Francisco" series and don't forget to check out the giveaway for any of Julie's books at the end of this post! I recently reviewed her latest, Surprised by Love.
Horse feathers! As much as I respectfully disagree with Mr. Diddley, I just have to say the man knows “diddley” squat about publishing! Not only can you judge a book by its cover, but according to a statistic quoted in Publisher’s Weekly, 12% of people who buy books do so because of the cover. Now 12% may not sound like a lot, but when you figure that 3.13 billion books are sold every year, that’s a LOT of pulp, people!!
First impressions are important, whether valid or not, and the first glimpse of a cover is a first impression to a potential reader. Which is why my covers are so very important to me and why my prayer partners and I have prayed about every single one well in advance.
So while I was cleaning out my files a few weeks ago, I came across the portfolio shot of the model who posed for Collin McGuire on the cover of A Passion Most Pure, and I thought it might be fun for you to hear some of the background on each of my covers because as high maintenance as I can be, each book cover has been a real trip.
Because A Passion Most Pure was my debut book, I had no idea what to expect with the cover process NOR any common sense to know that I was a newbie who needed to keep her mouth shut. Fortunately for me, the artist I work with at my publishing company is one of the sweetest human beings on the planet, and she was kind enough (and patient enough) to work with me to get a cover I was happy with. As an author, initially I send my publisher my character descriptions and personality traits, along with pics of movie stars or models I think they resemble. My publisher actually did two different shoots—the first of the female model, then later another shoot with the male model, which they strip into the first pics for the final cover. So unfortunately for the model who played Faith O’Connor, she never got to meet the male model who played Collin McGuire, which in my opinion is a real shame. Especially when you check out the portfolio shot of the model who played Collin. Hubba hubba!
Initially, the artist sent me pix of Faith with her hair long and a pretty, lacy top that was a bit off-shoulder and showed a lot of her back and neck. “Oh, no,” I said to my artist, “Faith’s hair looks like a prairie romance, and this is 1916 Boston we’re talking about here, so can we put her hair up?” Yes, we could and did, much to my relief. “Can you make the hair a little redder and the eyes a little greener?” I asked. No problem. Then they gave Faith a high-neck dress, which I thought worked a lot better—more chaste and proper for a modest young Bostonian. And FYI, in the pics with Faith, keep in mind they used some guy on the set to stand in for Collin for placement purposes only. So far, so good, right?
And then the tears began. The artist sent me a pic of the Collin model with a namby-pamby, almost weak smile and I started to cry, telling my husband he looked like a wimp. “Do you have any other shots from the shoot?” I asked the artist. “Only one other,” she said, “but Collin looks mad in it, and nobody thought it would work.” “Can I see it?” I asked, hope springing in my chest. And the rest is history. I took one look at the smoldering, moody face of Collin McGuire, the man who was angry because he couldn’t have the woman he wanted, and I knew we’d struck pay dirt.
On book 2, A Passion Redeemed, it was a real wild ride. Check out the model pic of the guy chosen for Mitch Dennehy, then imagine my shock when the first cover showed him with slicked-down hair like an English dandy. More waterworks, of course, and I begged my artist to “play” with the cover for me, giving stubborn hero more of an iron jaw and an angrier look in the eyes (all my heroes tend to be angry for some reason … maybe because they have to deal with me!). “The hair has got to go,” I said, so I searched on the Internet for 30 minutes for just the right head of hair—blond rumpled curls instead of slicked down, and my artist agreed the changes worked. Did I mention before what a saint my artist is??? Here is a before and after to show you what we did.
Suddenly I zeroed in on Charity and noticed that the very buxom, drop-dead gorgeous vixen named Charity O’Connor was not as buxom as I’d hoped and even less than her sister, Faith, who was supposedly unendowed. So, as a final change to the cover, my artist graciously endowed Charity with a bit more charm as you can clearly see in the before and after.
By book 3, I’d given my poor artist so much grief on the first two books, I made up my mind to accept the cover for A Passion Denied any way they gave it to me, no complaints. And so, despite my utter shock at the model, who looked NOTHING like the Lizzie in my mind, I kept my mouth shut and prayed. And guess what? Right before the cover was finalized, my publisher intervened on her own and said this first model didn’t fit the character image, so she ordered a second shoot and VOILA — Lizzie was born, and I never had to say a word!
For my second series, Winds of Change and the my third series, the Heart of San Francisco, my publisher decided to steer away from having the hero on the cover. They felt it was just too difficult to match a reader’s expectation with a cover picture, so they opted to do without.
Since the Heart of San Francisco series was intended to be lighter and funnier than the O’Connor saga, I suggested some fun options for covers that had a humorous tone.
For book 1, Love at Any Cost, I envisioned the blonde heroine—Texas cowgirl Cassie McClare—in a full-length, off-the-shoulder evening gown with her hair piled high in the Gibson style of the day, looking over her shoulder at the reader with a Mona Lisa smile. Very sweet and elegant, but with a lasso—which is an important part of the story—in her hands behind her back that trails to the floor.
For book 2, Dare to Love Again, originally the ebony-haired heroine Alli McClare wanted to take up boxing because she wanted to learn to defend herself after being attacked one night in the Barbary Coast where she volunteers at a school for the poor. I saw Alli in the same kind of flowing dress as book 1, in full-view stance with head cocked as she looks at the reader with a coy smile, a pair of boxing gloves dangling over her shoulder. In the final book, however, Alli learns jiu-jitsu rather than boxing, a self-defense technique popularized by Teddy Roosevelt who was the U.S. President at the time.
Book 3 [Surprised by Love] is an ugly-duckling-to-swan story about the auburn-haired heroine Megan McClare who wore Coke bottle glasses as a child before she is transformed in Paris while attending school for a year. I thought it would be cute to have Meg holding eyeglasses behind her back or against her lips as she gives the reader an innocent look, once again in full evening dress or even a Gibson style skirt and blouse.
However, my publisher was leaning towards more sophisticated covers that had more of an artistic flare in the posh style of Laura Frantz’s Love’s Reckoning, but I couldn’t get that particular jpg to print, so I’m showing a split cover they did, which they also considered in order to show more of San Francisco.
[Jen: Laura Frantz's book covers are gorgeous! On the left is the book cover Julie's referring to. The split cover is interesting, but I do like the final cover style better!]
But midstream, they decided to take go back to my idea of a lighter approach with sassy smiles and big hats, which became the gorgeous covers you see below.
JULIE’S BIO:
Award-winning author of “The Daughters of Boston” and “Winds of Change” series, Julie Lessman was American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and voted #1 Romance Author of the year in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards. She has also garnered 17 RWA and other awards and made Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction. Her indie book A Light in the Window is an International Digital Awards winner, a 2013 Readers' Crown Award winner, and a 2013 Book Buyers Best Award winner.
Julie loves to hear from reader friends, so if they like, they can contact her and read excerpts from her books at www.julielessman.com, or through Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, or Pinterest or by signing up for her newsletter. Julie also has a blog “Journal Jots,” which is a very laid-back journal to her reader friends, or readers can check out Julie’s favorite romantic and spiritual scenes from each of her books on the “Excerpts” tab of her website. In addition, Julie can be found daily at The Seekers, a group blog of 13 published authors that inspires, encourages, teaches, and informs aspiring writers on the road to publication and beyond. Although Seekerville has been listed on Writers Digest 2013 and 2014 “Best 101 Websites for Writers,” it is also a blog devoted to readers as well.
Finally, Julie has the following freebie/sales/low-cost novellas currently going on:
* FREE DOWNLOAD on her debut novel A Passion Most Pure, American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Book of the Year with over 591 five-star reviews.
* FREE DOWNLOAD ON KINDLE UNLIMITED of Julie’s Irish Christmas love story, A Light in the Window—winner of three awards, and here’s the video to give you a peek—ALITW Video. OR ON SALE FOR $3.99 on regular Amazon.
* Only $2.99 each for two brand new Christmas novella collections from the Seekers called Hope for the Holidays. The historical collection features novellas from Julie Lessman, Mary Connealy, Myra Johnson, and Ruth Logan Herne, while the contemporary collection features novellas from Marcy Connealy, Mary Connealy, Audra Harders, Sandra Leesmith, Ruth Logan Herne, Tina Radcliffe, and Missy Tippens.
* Calling All Writers!! Julie’s writer’s workbook entitled Romance-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension for the Sweet and Inspirational Markets is on sale for $2.99.
"You can’t judge a book by its cover."
— Bo Diddley—
Horse feathers! As much as I respectfully disagree with Mr. Diddley, I just have to say the man knows “diddley” squat about publishing! Not only can you judge a book by its cover, but according to a statistic quoted in Publisher’s Weekly, 12% of people who buy books do so because of the cover. Now 12% may not sound like a lot, but when you figure that 3.13 billion books are sold every year, that’s a LOT of pulp, people!!
First impressions are important, whether valid or not, and the first glimpse of a cover is a first impression to a potential reader. Which is why my covers are so very important to me and why my prayer partners and I have prayed about every single one well in advance.
So while I was cleaning out my files a few weeks ago, I came across the portfolio shot of the model who posed for Collin McGuire on the cover of A Passion Most Pure, and I thought it might be fun for you to hear some of the background on each of my covers because as high maintenance as I can be, each book cover has been a real trip.
Initially, the artist sent me pix of Faith with her hair long and a pretty, lacy top that was a bit off-shoulder and showed a lot of her back and neck. “Oh, no,” I said to my artist, “Faith’s hair looks like a prairie romance, and this is 1916 Boston we’re talking about here, so can we put her hair up?” Yes, we could and did, much to my relief. “Can you make the hair a little redder and the eyes a little greener?” I asked. No problem. Then they gave Faith a high-neck dress, which I thought worked a lot better—more chaste and proper for a modest young Bostonian. And FYI, in the pics with Faith, keep in mind they used some guy on the set to stand in for Collin for placement purposes only. So far, so good, right?
By book 3, I’d given my poor artist so much grief on the first two books, I made up my mind to accept the cover for A Passion Denied any way they gave it to me, no complaints. And so, despite my utter shock at the model, who looked NOTHING like the Lizzie in my mind, I kept my mouth shut and prayed. And guess what? Right before the cover was finalized, my publisher intervened on her own and said this first model didn’t fit the character image, so she ordered a second shoot and VOILA — Lizzie was born, and I never had to say a word!
Since the Heart of San Francisco series was intended to be lighter and funnier than the O’Connor saga, I suggested some fun options for covers that had a humorous tone.
For book 1, Love at Any Cost, I envisioned the blonde heroine—Texas cowgirl Cassie McClare—in a full-length, off-the-shoulder evening gown with her hair piled high in the Gibson style of the day, looking over her shoulder at the reader with a Mona Lisa smile. Very sweet and elegant, but with a lasso—which is an important part of the story—in her hands behind her back that trails to the floor.
For book 2, Dare to Love Again, originally the ebony-haired heroine Alli McClare wanted to take up boxing because she wanted to learn to defend herself after being attacked one night in the Barbary Coast where she volunteers at a school for the poor. I saw Alli in the same kind of flowing dress as book 1, in full-view stance with head cocked as she looks at the reader with a coy smile, a pair of boxing gloves dangling over her shoulder. In the final book, however, Alli learns jiu-jitsu rather than boxing, a self-defense technique popularized by Teddy Roosevelt who was the U.S. President at the time.
Book 3 [Surprised by Love] is an ugly-duckling-to-swan story about the auburn-haired heroine Megan McClare who wore Coke bottle glasses as a child before she is transformed in Paris while attending school for a year. I thought it would be cute to have Meg holding eyeglasses behind her back or against her lips as she gives the reader an innocent look, once again in full evening dress or even a Gibson style skirt and blouse.
[Jen: Laura Frantz's book covers are gorgeous! On the left is the book cover Julie's referring to. The split cover is interesting, but I do like the final cover style better!]
But midstream, they decided to take go back to my idea of a lighter approach with sassy smiles and big hats, which became the gorgeous covers you see below.
Thanks so much for giving us a peek of your experience with the book cover process, Julie! As a reader, there have been several times when a book cover depicts a character in a different way than I pictured in my head, so I can only imagine how that would feel for the author herself! How awesome that the artists were willing to work with you to bring your vision to life. =)
What are some of your favorite book covers and why? Is there anything that surprised you about Julie's experience with the book cover design process? Any questions you'd like to ask her?
GIVEAWAY! Julie Lessman has graciously offered a chance to win any of her books (U.S. paperback or e-book available; international: e-book only). The drawing will be held December 1st, 2014 and the winner will have 72 hours to respond to the email. Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. If you have trouble, contact me and I will enter you manually.
Award-winning author of “The Daughters of Boston” and “Winds of Change” series, Julie Lessman was American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and voted #1 Romance Author of the year in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards. She has also garnered 17 RWA and other awards and made Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction. Her indie book A Light in the Window is an International Digital Awards winner, a 2013 Readers' Crown Award winner, and a 2013 Book Buyers Best Award winner.
Julie loves to hear from reader friends, so if they like, they can contact her and read excerpts from her books at www.julielessman.com, or through Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, or Pinterest or by signing up for her newsletter. Julie also has a blog “Journal Jots,” which is a very laid-back journal to her reader friends, or readers can check out Julie’s favorite romantic and spiritual scenes from each of her books on the “Excerpts” tab of her website. In addition, Julie can be found daily at The Seekers, a group blog of 13 published authors that inspires, encourages, teaches, and informs aspiring writers on the road to publication and beyond. Although Seekerville has been listed on Writers Digest 2013 and 2014 “Best 101 Websites for Writers,” it is also a blog devoted to readers as well.
Finally, Julie has the following freebie/sales/low-cost novellas currently going on:* FREE DOWNLOAD on her debut novel A Passion Most Pure, American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Book of the Year with over 591 five-star reviews.
* FREE DOWNLOAD ON KINDLE UNLIMITED of Julie’s Irish Christmas love story, A Light in the Window—winner of three awards, and here’s the video to give you a peek—ALITW Video. OR ON SALE FOR $3.99 on regular Amazon.
* Calling All Writers!! Julie’s writer’s workbook entitled Romance-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension for the Sweet and Inspirational Markets is on sale for $2.99.
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