A face for your baby ( Part 2 )

I'd hoped to come up with part 2 and part 3 really soon of this article, but then my vacation happened and I haven't been on a proper vacation in five years so I stopped thinking, packed the suitcases and sexy sunglasses and hit the airport with my family. A week after I reached, I got the final draft of my second book Blinkers Off from the publishers who wanted me to check and see if everything was all right. Everything was not all right.

I looked at the PDF and for maybe half a second I wished I was not accessible by email. But that half second passed, I rolled up my sleeves and sat down and worked. Yes, worked, on my vacation. Because that's the kind of workaholic (read idiot) I am. If I have work sitting before me, I cannot do anything else, least of all have fun. And a vacation for someone like me (with two brats) does not imply that I'm sitting on a lounger somewhere sipping on chilled mocktails. It's work of a different kind altogether.

But you're not reading this post to hear how I fared during my vacation, whether I finished editing my third set of proofs, whether we went to Disneyland or not or how much I prayed that our plane wouldn't crash on the way back with lightning bolts played hide n seek with it for nearly fifteen minutes. You're reading this to find out how you can get readers for your book especially if you're an unknown author. Right?

In my last post, I mentioned that it was the name that attracted a random reader towards your book. But it's just one part of the whole package. The next thing that you might want to take care of if you're getting your book ready is the cover of your book.

Yes, that old adage – Do not judge a book by its cover – is a bit obsolete now because people do judge a book by its cover. Once again, this rule doesn't really apply if you're J K Rowling, Martha Grimes or Jodi Piccoult. They can get away with any disgusting cover because their name is more than enough.

So, for ordinary writers like you and me, the cover is quite important. If you've signed a contract with a publishing house, you may or may not get to provide your input for the cover. Or even if you do provide input, it may not be accepted finally. Which is pretty sad because the cover is literally the face of your book. It's your baby. But imagine someone else painting a face on it? Makes you upset right?

So far I've been lucky to have a dear friend design my book covers for me. And his covers have been liked by the publishers as well. However, this may not work out for everyone and you may have to rely on the in house designers to come up with a face for your baby. It's good to be prepared for that eventuality nevertheless and here's what you can do to make sure you have all your inputs ready before the designers start working.

Clarity is important. What is the book about? Do you want to represent it literally (a common enough choice) or do you want to make some sort of symbolic statement?
What are the main elements of the book? Could those be represented on the cover? Would that whet the appetite of would be readers and make them wonder what the book is about?
Sometimes an extremely abstract idea might work but be ready to explain it to an interested reader if they get hold of you.
Do you want the cover to have an illustration or a photo or sketch? Your inputs may not be accepted but it's good to show the publishers that you have given plenty of thought to it.

Most people don't give too much importance to covers. While others give a little too much importance. I like to maintain a certain balance. While the cover might attract the reader to my book, once they've opened it, the content should keep them hooked. At least that's what I like to think.