BLogging away in the UK

I have my first blog interview as an author. Check it out. Ask questions.

http://readingawaythedays.blogspot.com/2013/02/interview-elizabeth-langston-2013-debut.html

And for the eagle-eyed among you, you have already noticed that I have a new cover. It's similar to the previous one, with the same gorgeous models. With this one, though, we've tweaked the colors and the proportions.  Woo hoo! I love this cover.

The cover saga

Whisper Falls will be getting a new cover soon. There are a lot of reasons for the change.

First, we want the cover to appeal to readers ages twelve to one hundred.  That is quite a challenge. The old cover featured two models: boy and girl.  They will appear in the new cover as well. But we've changed the boy's clothes to blend better into the woods surrounding him.  Plus the new outfit is more "modest" (and I'm not saying anything else about that. :)

Secondly, the old cover had too much of a Photo-shopped feel to it. It will look more like a straight photograph now (which I really love.)

Lastly, we want to ensure that the cover appeals to a global market. Covers that work well in the US might not work as well overseas, but with a few tweaks, we can give our cover a more universal feel.

When I signed with Spencer Hill Press, I was told that I would get solid input into the cover design.  That sounded really great at the time. Since a publishing house owns the right to design whatever cover they want, the author rarely has a say. I have other author friends whose sales have been burned by bad covers.

But having a say can also be a case of be careful what you wish for.  Many people on the Whisper Falls team voiced opinions about this cover, such as editors, the cover designer, other authors, my agents, family, and friends.  Sometimes, the opinions aligned. Sometimes they didn't.  And always, people came back to me. "What do you like?"

You know what I like? I like words. I love the book and the characters. I think about whether readers will adore this story as much as I do.  I'm not a marketing person or a book-seller.  I don't know the business end of publishing.

That is why I'm so happy to be part of a talented team.  We can all be good and wise at the things we do best.   And I can go back to writing the next book... 

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...

I can reveal the cover for my book on Friday. We'll also include the jacket copy.

I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do!



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First Glimpse

I had my first glimpse at the book cover for Whisper Falls tonight.  My senior editor sent a mockup of the cover art.  I have two things to say.

1. The mockup gives me chills. The cover art is going to be amazing. (Holy Moly. I have a photo concept for the cover of my book!)
2. The editor really wants my feedback.  That is a rare thing in the publishing industry.  Most authors get the cover with a 'there it is.'  If the author doesn't like it, tough.  SpencerHill not only cares about my opinion, they are actively seeking it.  I love this publishing house.

Well, okay, maybe I have four things to say.

3) I did show it to my husband, and he got chills too. My younger daughter didn't like it (which was predictable. She's 17. 'Nuff said.)

4) I would love to send it to everyone and I can't.  Not yet.

But soon.  I promise.

Oh, how I love a small press - part 1

Writers are a strange bunch of people.

Even though we admit to hearing voices in our heads, we are not committed to institutions.  Indeed, we are paid good money¹ to talk to and about imaginary people as if they were real.

I am friends with many writers.  It helps to keep me sane.  We cheer each other, help each other, and commiserate with each other.

We also complain.  A lot.

For many published authors, publishers bear the brunt of the complaints.  Publishing houses don't give authors a large enough percentage of the book's list price. They want authors to revise books too much.  They don't consult authors enough about cover art.  They expect authors to do too much promotion.

That's why I love Spencer Hill Press (SHP).  They haven't done anything for me to complain about.  At least, not so far :)

The day after I accepted their book offer, SHP's senior editor called me and asked what I wanted for cover art.  Yes, she did.  Tuesday, the cover designer/photographer (Coe) called me to discuss my thoughts about the cover, what the main characters looked like, and what clothes I envisioned them (the models!) wearing.  Coe knows many Revolutionary War re-enactors, so she doesn't anticipate any problems with finding a costume for my heroine.

We then spent time discussing the two protagonists' interactions with each other over the course of the book--to make sure the cover captures the essence of their relationship. (Sigh!)   Coe is going to generate some sketches of her ideas and send them to me.

I can't wait to see what she does.

Today, I received email from the PR specialist.  The book won't release for another sixteen months, and we are already talking about promotion opportunities.

I love this job.  So far :)



¹ Contrary to public belief, the vast majority of writers cannot quit their day jobs.  We talk about royalties in terms of figures: four-figures ($0-$9999), five figures ($10k -< $100k), etc. It is rare for authors to get 6- or 7- figure sales for their books.  Trust me, the reading public has heard about every one of the 7-figure authors (all five of them :).