Waiting on Wednesday: Pretty in Pink

This fun-tastic meme comes courtesy of Breaking the Spine. I haven't participated in awhile, but I thought I'd give a little WoW cover love to some gorgeous jackets in creamy and rosy hues.






 Info here



Bookanistas: Cover Lust

Back to Business Monday: Genres, Covers and Your Market

As I continue to work in the verse novel genre, I have noticed frequent references to "heavy" or "issue" books as a common currency of the verse form. With award-winning writers like Ellen Hopkins and Sonya Sones as strong faces of the YA genre, this is understandable.

However, I write verse that is not quite as intense. I like challenging situations and (of course) kissing but I also like the redemptive, hopeful aspect of YA literature. And, as the mother of teen boys, I know that their lives hip-hop from heavy to light in the wink of an eye (especially if that eye has mascara and is attached to a teen girl)! Still, it would be unwise of me not to acknowledge the "heavy" assumptions often made about verse novels as I work to readership for my new book and explain how it IS and IS NOT what they will expect.

On Tuesday 11/20, PW featured a great article in which "Industry Insiders Talk Adult Blockbusters." Little Brown's Megan Tingley insightfully commented on the importance of clarity in defining a YA novel's "niche" and synergy between the title and cover. All agreed that "[G]raphic cover images are a safer bet than photographic ones." Awhile back, I posted an observation about the art style of recent Printz award-winning book covers and I have to agree with Tingley, Justin Chanda, and the rest of the PW panel.

Do you feel your writing genre has attached stereotypes? How do you fit into or defy the mold? Do you consider these questions when marketing your work? Have any advice for me?

I'll finish with a  two recent cover/title favorites of mine...

Elana Johnson's new covers of awesome!

The unbelievably talented and absolutely dear Elana Johnson has got a new book coming out this June. It's called SURRENDER--the sequel to her awesome 2011 debut, POSSESSION. Know what's even cooler? To match up with her super-pretty new SURRENDER cover, S&S has redesigned the POSSESSION cover for the upcoming paperback edition.  Without further ado (and you know how I LOVE illustrated covers), here's the pretty! Don't we love the turquoise and periwinkle--and the freedom-trapped-flying-things motifs? (Once you've looked, pop on over to Elana's blog to say hello and discover super-spectacular writerly goodness.)

Sorry but this one looked blurry when I enlarged it!

Anybody notice something about the Newbery & other ALA award-winning covers?

Ooh, don't you love a quiz?  In no particular order, here are some winners and notables. And, in the immortal phraseology of Sesame Street, WHAT ABOUT THESE IS KIND OF THE SAME?

  

IF YOU GUESSED...None of these covers are photo-illustrated...YOU'RE RIGHT! (Don't you feel Sesame Street self-esteem just oozing from your pores?)

I'm no expert in book design but something in my gut tells me that if you want your novel to be taken as "award-consideration worth" or "of serious literary merit," steering away from photos-of-girls covers may be a very good idea.

IF you want to test my theory a bit further (I will add a caveat that there is the occasional photo image but the person is generally SMALL and contextualized in a LANDSCAPE, not mooning out at you while wearing a pretty red dress), take a virtual wander through this year's ALA winners or  ALA Medals books from years past  (hints: WHEN YOU REACH ME, THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX).  Or consider some other titles recently on the hype radar (hint: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and, er, THE HUNGER GAMES).

ANYBODY WANT TO WEIGH IN ON THIS?