Tag: Finch
The Trouble with Covers: Getting to Final with Finch
by jvandermeer on Nov.10, 2009, under David Anthony Durham, Jeff VanderMeer, Paul G. Tremblay
Finch Gun (3)
Finch Old City (2)
One of the great privileges of my life as a writer has been getting a say in cover design. As someone with a strong visual sense who originally published in indie press and also ran an indie press, I’ve always dealt with artists and graphic designers. So when it came time to pick covers for my own books, I was able to contribute in a constructive way. This isn’t the norm, and shouldn’t be expected by writers, but for me it’s allowed my long-term brand to have a certain consistency, and it’s resulted in some beautiful covers.
Now, the process to get there isn’t always perfect. Sometimes you get lots of iterations, and you also don’t know at times if the final cover you’ve chosen is (1) the ideal match for the project and (2) going to draw readers in. In the case of Finch, we had to have the cover perform two functions: to convey that this is a fantasy novel and also that it is a noir mystery novel. You’ll see the final solution that me, my publisher, and the designer, John Coulthart, came up with. But below you’ll also see the prior iterations, which range from trying to copy the Bantam edition of City of Saints to something grungy to something more like a traditional thriller.
Finch Thriller (1)
Finally, it’s great to be guest blogging here the next two weeks, and I hope readers will chime in with their own thoughts about the cover and cover process, for this opening entry. I’m in the middle of a five-week book tour and will be checking in from the road all this week and next to participate in the discussion.
