Sunday, August 16, 2009

Covers

I know, I know. I shouldn't worry about the issue of covers until I am fortunate enough to have something published. I just read on Nathan Bransford's blog about various cover issues, and it made me think about just how much it bugs me that publishers don't want to allow most authors any input on their covers.

I have very strong opinions on what I want for a cover on my fantasy novel. Strong enough that I would rather it not be published than have the wrong cover on it. I've been considering trying to commission the artwork myself and self-publishing, but I really don't want to self-publish if I can help it.

My issue with most fantasy covers is that they are far too colorful and splashy. I like them gritty or realistic, and certainly not splashy. The fantasy books that I purchased solely because of the fantastic cover art were the Iron Tower trilogy and Silver Call duology by Dennis McKiernan. Alan Lee did the art for the trilogy, and the artist who did the duology was told to mimic Lee's style. I love those covers, and I sure wish I could get Lee to do mine. He is far too famous for that these days, though.

If there are any good artists out there who can mimic Lee's style, let me know and if I can afford it I would love to have a cover painting done for my novel. I am thinking of checking out some of the local artists here in Baku and see if I can't find one who can do a reasonably priced piece of art for me.

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