Cover Talk with Alex Lidell

I love talking to authors. Our experiences are so similar, yet so very different, that every one of us has a new story to share. Everyone says that the moment you get your cover it really hits you - you're an author. The cover is your story - and you - packaged for the world. So the process of the cover reveal can be slightly panic inducing. Does it fit your story? Is it what you hoped? Will it sell? With this in mind I put together the CRAP (Cover Reveal Anxiety Phase) Interview. Today’s guest is Alex Lidell, author of THE CADET OF TILDOR which will be available January 10, 2013 from Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin).

Did you have any pre-conceived notions about what you wanted your cover to look like?

Orange. And with a sword. The word TILDOR just feels orange.

I also had expected to see at least one of my characters on the cover.  Upon reflection, this wish had more to do with me wanting to see my character’s picture than with a genuine belief that the characters belonged on the jacket.  See, that’s why writers don’t design covers!

How far in advance from your pub date did you start talking covers with your house?

When I first met my editor, shortly after she acquired CADET, she handed me a copy of GRACELING (Cashore is also a Dial author) saying that she thought I'd like the novel. The editor also pointed to the cover, saying that she imagined something similar for my book. "And glitter," she said.  "We like glitter."

And then that editor left publishing.

My new editor and I talked about the cover once the major edits were done. Glitter has not come up in conversation.

Did you have any input on your cover?

On a scale of 1 (you'll see it when we're done) to 10 (draw your own), I'd put me at about a 5:  Enough to feel involved and considered, but not so much that I could mess things up.

How was your cover revealed to you?

Anticlimactically. An email showed up out of the blue one day saying, "ok, cover time. Here is what we have in mind."

I was excited to learn that the designed had specifically asked to work on CADET and read the whole novel, which does not usually happen.

Was there an official "cover reveal" date for your art?

Yes! We had a Cover Team of about 50 bloggers – including this one here – that all revealed together on June 11, 2012. It was a lot of fun and I’d love to do something like that again. Maybe with the trailer reveal in a few months?

How far in advance of the reveal date were you aware of what your cover would look like?

I had the general notion for months, but got the final art less than a week before the reveal.  Penguin knew and approved my reveal date - we based it around Penguin’s internal schedule.

Was it hard to keep it to yourself before the official release?

Impossible. I showed CADET’S cover to my mom and dad. I didn’t email it though - just to make sure one of us did not accidentally forward it along. Also, my agent was CCed on the cover, which was important because I had someone to legally talk about it with.

What surprised you most about the process?

The number of people involved. There is the editor. And the designer. And the artist-who is not the same person as the designer. And the marketing folk. And me. And my agent. And the people at the press who need to adjust stuff to get the colors just right.  I'm sure there are others too…

Any advice to other debut authors about how to handle cover art anxiety?

Write down all your thoughts, wishes, ideas. See a cover you like? Take a picture. Make sure you know what you like and can describe / show it to the editor if she asks. For example, at one point in my cover we were discussing color tinge. I applied a photoshop color filter to the mock-up to explain what I was talking about.

Another suggestion: Find out which audience your publisher believes will buy your book. For example, Penguin thinks THE CADET OF TILDOR would appeal to Tamora Pierce and George R. R. Martin fans, so I spent some time looking at those authors’ posters/covers and phrasing my comments to the editor in those terms.

On Submission with Bethany Crandell

If there's one thing that many aspiring writers have few clues about, it's the submission process. There are good reasons for that; authors aren't exactly encouraged to talk in detail about our own submission experiences, and - just like agent hunting - everyone's story is different. I managed to cobble together a few non-specific questions that some debut authors have agreed to answer (bless them). And so I bring you the submission interview series - Submission Hell - It's True. Yes, it's the SHIT.

Today's SHIT guest is a special friend of mine. Bethany Crandell slogged through the query trenches right alongside me, celebrated with me when I crawled on out, and then kept on slogging. We all know slogging makes one weary, but this slogger slogged it out. Bethany emerged with an agent and a deal for her debut SUMMER ON THE SHORT BUS, which will be available from Running Press in 2014.

How much did you know about the submission process before you were out on subs yourself?

Thanks to one of my best pals allowing me fly-on-the-wall access to her sub process, I knew a fair amount. However, it’s a lot like the first few weeks of sleep deprivation after you bring your newborn baby home from the hospital. People warned you you’d be tired, but until you’ve experienced it first hand—no warning does it justice.

Did anything about the process surprise you?

I was surprised by how incredibly kind the editors were. We received a handful of rejections, but they were all lovely and encouraging. One actually made me cry! It turns out editors are not dream crushing trolls after all.

Did you research the editors you knew had your ms? Do you recommend doing that?

Hello. My name is Bethany and I’m an internet stalker.

You bet I did. I am a control freak. Since I was on the sidelines waiting while Rachael communicated with the editors, Googling, Twitter-stalking and PM browsing were about the only things I could do that allowed me to feel like I was still a part of the experience. I’m not sure that it got me anywhere, but it did give me a sense of purpose. I wouldn’t not recommend doing it. I think you need to do whatever works for you to get through the process. (For the record, I never Google Earthed anyone. I had to draw the line somewhere).

What was the average amount of time it took to hear back from editors?

It varied. Some were as little as three weeks, others had it several months and never replied even after we got the offer from Running Press. I’m sure there are a ton of things that factor into their response time. Current lists, how full their in-box is, how many people in-house have to read…basically, too many to count. I tried not to fixate on the spurts of radio silence, but when you’re a big communicator, like I am, that wasn’t easy.

What do you think is the best way for an author out on submission to deal with the anxiety?

Write, if you can focus long enough to do so, and talk to people. I wouldn’t have survived submissions without my author pals there to cheer me on, boost me up, and let me vent. Other writers are your greatest resource—utilize them!

If you had any rejections, how did you deal with that emotionally? How did this kind of rejection compare to query rejections? 

Whether you’re agent hunting or searching for a publishing home, rejections suck--period. The difference this time around is that I wasn’t taking the hits by myself. Rachael, my agent, was fielding the blows, too. Knowing I had someone who believed in my book as much as I did made the passes a lot less painful.

If you got feedback on a rejection, how did you process it? How do you compare processing an editor’s feedback as compared to a beta reader’s?

I had a little spreadsheet where I tracked the date our query went out, when the material was requested, as well as any feedback they provided. Again, it made me feel like I had a little bit of control in the situation. (The stupid things we writers tell ourselves.) Thankfully, the worst feedback we received was completely subjective. (Subjective. That word gives me the shivers.) I think I’d have fallen on the floor and assumed the fetal position had there been something negative.

As far as the differences between betas & editors; it was hard, but I tried to remind myself that editors are looking for more than just a well-crafted book. They need something that’s going to sell. As much as market trends can hurt authors, that’s just the way it works. Editors gotta eat, too.

When you got your YES! how did that feel? How did you find out – email, telephone, smoke signal? 

Here’s the scenario: Ten minutes after I hung up the phone with my agent the phone rang again. I glanced at the display and saw it was her number. My initial thought was, “OH CRAP! Something really bad is happening. Why is she calling me again?” After a deep breath I picked up the phone…

ME: “Hello?”
AGENT: “Are you sitting down?”
ME: “Uh…”
AGENT: “They’re going to make an offer today.”
ME: Absolute silence immediately followed by hysterical, bordering on scary, laughter. “Shut up! Are you serious? Don’t lie to me ‘cause you know I can’t handle that today.”

The rest is a lovely blur. It took several days for the reality of what was happening to sink in. In fact…it’s still sinking in. Sometimes I’ll be doing something totally brainless like sitting at a stoplight or packing the girls’ lunches and it will hit me, MY BOOK IS GOING TO BE ON A SHELF—IN A BOOK STORE! And then I break into the giggles again.

Did you have to wait a period of time before sharing your big news, because of details
being ironed out? Was that difficult?

Thankfully, my editor contacted me within two or three days to let me know it was safe to let the cat out of the bag. The cat is now perched on a very tall mountain with a megaphone mewing like a lunatic!