Cover artists have a lot of decisions to make: Photo or illustration? Soft colors or bold? Which font to choose?! And with nonfiction books like Katharine Sise's Creative Girl, which is "The ultimate guide for turning talent and creativity into a real career," it's important to get both a "creative" feel and a "career" sense in there too.
Here's Katharine to tell the tale of how her cover came about:
"As I was writing Creative Girl, I imagined all kinds of covers. On every trip to the bookstore, I’d look at various covers and try to pinpoint what I liked about one cover over another. I knew that the cover was the publisher’s jurisdiction, but I still wanted to be ready in case they asked for my input. I was lucky enough that they did! My editor, Jennifer Kasius, asked for my ideas before the process began. I told her the one thing I felt strongly about was that I didn’t want a photograph of a real 'live girl' on the cover. I knew I wanted an illustration or a graphic. Color-wise, I wanted the background color to be something inviting (as long as it wasn’t pink!). Because the book is titled Creative Girl, I worried a pink cover might push us into saccharine territory. And for a book filled with career and business advice, I worried a pink cover might seem too frilly.
"The publisher then selected five possible illustrators. My editor and I poured over the choices, and we were lucky enough to get Kristine Lombardi, our top pick.
"When I first saw my finished cover, I actually got very choked up! There was something about seeing the cover that made the book feel very real and tangible. I could suddenly picture it on the shelf, instead of as a solitary project that I’d been working on for a year and a half from my living room couch next to my dog.
"My editor was extremely collaborative. Once we’d selected Kristine Lombardi as the illustrator, she showed me three possible cover ideas that Kristine created (see below!):
"When I saw them, I felt right away that the third illustration was the right one. Luckily, my editor and her team agreed. I also sent the three illustrations around to fellow creative women to see which one they’d most likely pull from the bookstore shelves. There were mixed opinions, but the majority selected the third illustration as well.
"The main change was a very last minute title switch, from The Creative Girl’s Guide to Having it All (which is used in the original illustrations) to Creative Girl. My editor and I worried the original title was too long, and my agent is the one who came up with the final title. He and I had called the project Creative Girl throughout the writing process. One day he said, 'Why don’t we just officially call this book Creative Girl?' I loved the idea and ran it by my editor who also loved it. So the final illustration accommodated that change.
"I’m thrilled with the way Creative Girl’s cover turned out. When I see the light, bright blue on the bookstore shelf, I feel as though it stands out among the business and career books. There’s something very warm about the 'Creative Girl' pictured on the front. I know she’s just an illustration, but I still think there’s something inviting about spending time with her and the pages of the book. She has an expression of openness and curiosity, as though her future is bright with possibilities."
Thanks, Katharine! I love seeing the original black-and-white sketches, so extra thanks for sharing those. I agree that the third one has a bit of ambitious whimsy about it, and it's my pick, too.
What do you guys think of the cover choice?
Melissa Walker is the author of four Young Adult novels, including the Violet trilogy and Lovestruck Summer. She is co-creator of the popular teen newsletter I Heart Daily and the new awkward-stage blog Before You Were Hot. Her author blog, where Cover Stories originated, is melissacwalker.com.
