Cover Stories: Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee

Lisa Yee's latest novel, Absolutely Maybe, came out in February. It's full of friendship and family and pink hair. In short, I loved it. Lisa shared her Cover Story on my blog, and now I'm sharing it with readergirlz! Here's Lisa:

"It's weird, but I didn't have anything in mind at all for the cover. I used to be a Creative Director and my job was coming up with concepts and working with the art and copy departments to see them through. I think that once I became an author it was nice to be able to let go of that. Plus, I have total faith in my editors, Arthur Levine and Cheryl Klein, and Elizabeth Parasi, my art director.

"I knew the cover would be a photograph, but beyond that I didn't know what to expect. I was asked about what the main characters looked like:
'Does she look like Kelli Osbourne?'
'Well, the goth-y part of Maybe does, but Maybe's more petite and her hair is pink . . . and blue . . . and green.'
'Does Hollywood [the romantic interest] look like Napoleon Dynamite?'
'He's the same height, but better looking in a geek-chic way.'
That sort of thing.

MW Note: Here are some of the covers they tried out. (Alea, notice that the last one is a Lookalike for Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell!) You can see these, and read more about the book, on Lisa's site!



"Here's the first cover, that was later nixed. The name also changed because of the movie 'Definitely Maybe.' I loved the kids here, and thought it was cool that Ted, Maybe's best friend, is with her. It was adorable, only it looked more like a middle grade book cover. Because I also write MG, it was important that it be clear this book is YA. So it went back to get redesigned. However, the iconic feel of the final cover ultimately trumps this one.

"The Hollywood star in the background was a stock photo. Several models were considered and I saw some of their head shots. The model selected really captured the look I was going for. She was brought into the studio and her hair was dyed pink. For the shoot she was wearing a black Led Zeppelin t-shirt and the logo was photoshopped out. Here's the cover in comp phase before the final photoshopping and tweaking.

"Once the final design was approved, the model was brought back in for a second photo shoot. I thought that was so cool. That they really wanted to get it right and went to that much work and expense for the cover.

"In the end, I just love it so much. And if you get a chance to see it in person, it's even better. The lettering is raised and so is the question mark in the middle of the star. Perfection!"

I think it's really eye-catching too, and I thought about the cover while on my trip to LA last week! Maybe deserves a star on the Walk of Fame. What do you guys think of this cover vs. the others? I say they chose the best one (though I like seeing Ted!).