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readergirlz is a literacy and social media project for teens, awarded the National Book Foundation's Innovations in Reading Prize. The rgz blog serves as a depot for news and YA reviews from industry professionals and teens. As volunteers return full force to their own YA writing, the organization continues to hold one initiative a year to impact teen literacy. All are welcome to "like" us on Facebook!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Cover Stories: Swear by Nina Malkin

Back in 2009, Nina Malkin talked to me about the gorgeous cover for Swoon, and now the sequel is here with another enticing cover image.

Here's Nina:

"Writing is intensely present for me. With SWEAR I was so in the moment of the action and emotion as it unfurled, no way was I thinking about the cover. I was lucky if I thought about lunch. Besides, it’s such a privilege to be able to publish, I trust the pros at Simon & Schuster to do what they think is best for a book, and that includes the cover. After all, once you deliver a novel it’s no longer this magical collaboration between your conscious and your subconscious—it’s a product.

"Of course, I didn’t always have such a laissez-faire attitude. My first novel, 6X: The Uncensored Confessions, was about a band. Unbeknownst to me the publisher did an expensive photo shoot—too bad the girl on the cover looked more like a cheap hooker than rock chick (right). I threw some major hissy but got nowhere. And if I thought that cover sucked, the next one was worse. That’s when I realized the novels weren’t 'mine' anymore; I had to let them go..."

Read the rest of Nina's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

3 comments:

Stephanie Guerra said...

Funny post! love the new cover.

LoriStrongin said...

It's definitely a shocker the first time you see your cover and realize your baby isn't your baby any more. A friend of mine's publisher recently sent her the WORST cover I've ever seen. It didn't even reflect anything in her book. When the publisher refused to change it, she cancelled the contract with them and sold her book to another publisher.

A lot of new writers don't realize that cover artists don't have time to read all the books that come across their inbox, so that's why it's so important for authors to be really specific with their art surveys.


Smiles!
Lori

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