What Happens at a Cover Meeting

Last week, I attended my first cover meeting. Going into my first cover meeting I thought the obvious—it would be a meeting where the editors and art department would decide on what type of cover fit the book. I figured that a cover meeting meant simply choosing from a selection of preconceived covers and then going from there. Little did I know, the covers are not simply picked out from a stack–the editors and authors give ideas about how they think the covers should look based on what they know about the characters!

At a cover meeting, the editors meet with the art director, production, copy department, and marketing to discuss how the covers will be laid out and printed for each book. At the beginning of the meeting, the editor passes around a title sheet that contains all the information for the novel being discussed. The editor will usually start with a short description of the story or the protagonist(s) and what he and/or she should look like. Something that I noticed right away was that hair color, dress color, and pose were the key points of focus. I always knew that color was an essential factor when thinking about a book cover (or anything of importance that one is trying to sell) but I didn’t realize that so many different shades of the same color could be just as important. I also noticed that it was very important for the editor to be able to give exact descriptions of the main characters so that they could be accurately represented on the cover.

The composition of the picture was also something to be considered. Arranging the figures on the cover in a way that seemed more pleasing to the eye was just as important as having the colors be the right shades. I also found that choosing a title that fits the storyline as well as grabs the reader’s attention without being overly complex is a bit of a challenge. It seems it’s important to have a title that is not only engaging, but also clear enough that it’s catchy and not a mouthful. Finally, the last things the art department needs to know is the time period when the book is set.

After the meeting I still had a few questions. I wasn’t sure what the timeline for a cover was, or who exactly was a part of the meeting. Afterwards, I found out that generally for mass market paperbacks, these cover meetings happen approximately a year before the novel gets published, and for hardcover and trade paperbacks the time period is generally 9 months before. Why do mass market paperbacks take longer? Well, given the volume relative to the size of the departments involved, the more time, the better. Generally after cover meetings, like the one I went to today, it will take a while for the final cover to be made. Usually the editors will see a sketch, and then make a decision as to whether they like the characters and poses. If so, then an artist will either hand or digitally paint the cover. A pretty interesting process! It was really fun to understand how it all comes together: many people work out the little bits and pieces to give the books an impressive presentation which helps catch our eye and convince us to pick up the novel.