Michelle Zink got a redesign! Her Prophecy of the Sisters has a new cover for its paperback incarnation, and Guradian of the Gate, its sequel, follows that design. So how does Michelle feel about the changes?
Read on:
"I'm always so focused on channeling the story that the cover doesn't occur to me until well after the book is complete. Prophecy of the Sisters was my first published book, and I was so focused on writing something worthy of publication that I never dared to DREAM about the possibility of a cover! With Guardian of the Gate, I originally envisioned another graveyard statue (because that's what was on the cover of the Prophecy hardcover, left). Once I heard that Little Brown would be rejacketing the series, I immediately imagined something very pretty that would stand out on the shelves and reflect the sensuality of the era and the books without being obviously historical.
"I've always felt strongly that everyone has a job to do in bringing a book to the shelves of a bookstore. I rarely second-guess my agent's advice (because I trust him implicitly and he's never steered me wrong), and I try not to question the advice and expertise of my editor, the Marketing department, my publicist, etc. It's not that I can't think for myself, it's that the skills necessary to write a great story are so different form the skills of an editor, a publicist, a cover designer. Maybe because of this, it never occurred to me that I might be included in the cover design, and when the talented Alison Impey designed the first Prophecy cover, I saw immediately why she'd created it! Once I was told the series was getting new covers, my editor sought my ideas and suggestions for the new look, and we had some really great back-and-forth about our ideas for the new look. We were totally on the same page, which was awesome!
"I had mixed feelings about the first cover, not because I didn't love it. I TOTALLY loved it. I knew how unique and striking it was and how different from anything else in the YA market. But I wasn't entirely positive it would be warm enough for the average teen reader. Bloggers are savvy when it comes to covers and adults tend to see covers very differently from teens, but the average teenage girl (I have a teenage daughter and am surrounded by teenagers so I see firsthand how they choose books) who just walks into a bookstore looking for something to read is often drawn to things they can identify with and/or things that are beautiful and sensual..."
Read Michelle's full Cover Story at melissacwalker.com, and see the redesigned covers there too (here's a peek at one!):
4 comments:
Eee, I love these cover related posts! And I couldn't even choose which version of the PotS cover I like better, they're both gorgeous, although I agree that the first one was very original!
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