All About the Cover
There are many things about self-publishing that are very difficult. You're kind of making your own way, you don't have the advantages of a full company behind you, or an agent, or anything. However, there are some really good things about self-publishing, and one of them is creative control. One aspect I really enjoyed was designing the cover.
I've heard that, more often than not, authors don't usually get a big say in their cover design. I was glad I did. I knew what I wanted. I wanted a hand drawn illustration. I didn't want photos, or Photoshop. All the covers I'd always liked most, especially for middle grade and YA fiction, had been illustrated. That didn't mean I had all the answers though. I was lucky. I have a very talented brother. So, while I didn't have an agent, or a publishing company behind me, I did, in fact, have an illustrator.
I told him I wanted fireflies (trust me, they're a big presence in We Are Savages) but otherwise let him go. Better to trust someone who had more experience with visual story telling experience. And the cover came out better than I could have imagined. It was great to have a say in the cover, but it was also great to have talented people to work with. Actually working together, instead of sort of working at each other was definitely a plus to self-publishing.
Stalk the Author:
Jessie Atkin lives in Upstate, NY, and attended Washington University in St. Louis. She received a B.A. in English Literature. Besides reading, she was also involved in theater during college, working as an assistant stage manager and even trying her hand at acting in a single show.
Jessie learned to read later than most, but her sudden ability coincided with the release of the first Harry Potter book in 1998, and an obsession was born. Aside from Harry Potter, she also learned to love comic books, with a particular affinity for superheroes. Other than young adult fiction, Jessie also writes plays in her free time. We Are Savages is her debut novel.
That's a really cool story. It's smart to utilize the talents you have around you. :) Plus the cover is very simplistic and gorgeous. I can't wait to see what the book is like!
ReplyDeleteRebecca @ Vicariously!