Wednesday's Words

I got off to a late start today writing this, because I had a scene that just couldn't wait. I finished it and worked on email for a while and found this great blog on Romancing the Blog written by Melissa Senate. Now, some of you might have heard of her, but when I first started writing, Melissa was a big deal in the publishing business. She was an editor with Harlequin a long time and recently she left that part of the business to write Red Dress Ink books. Her blog goes on to speak of authors and their covers and how we really aren't all that crazy when the book inside, the one you sweated, loved, hated and basically poured your heart and soul into, isn't the book on the outside. The cover is meant to depict the story, but often authors become disappointed. Melissa's take on this was great -- speaking from a point behind both sides of the fence. Yes, an author can make an editor crazy with their demands and expectations, but the other holds true too, when the editor, marketing department and pub house, doesn't "get" what the book is really about. And usually the cover doesn't relay the author's message. It's a two way sword. And except for two rather bland looking covers with nothing more than hills and trees on them, I haven't been overly disappointed in my covers. In fact, I loved the last one-- The Courting of Widow Shaw -- it's an amazingly beautiful piece of art. Check it out on the homepage and see if you don't agree.