Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Trust the Experts

I've been getting a little anxious about the fantasy book, First Dragon, that has a release date in November. Though it's been on the coming soon page for a while, I haven't seen the cover art. I'm very excited about the book and wanted a cover that would give life to the characters in the book. I worried for nothing.

Two days ago the publisher sent be a choice of covers, nearly the same but with minor differences, and asked me which one I liked best. What a choice! They were both perfect, better than anything I imagined.

For my last romance book, my other publisher, my editor suggested a change of title. She explained the reasoning, and I gladly went with her idea. And the book sold great.

I'm busy writing the second book in The Morbunda Saga that will continue the epic fantasy introduced in First Dragon. I have a title but I'm not  completely sure of it. If my editor suggests a change, I'll be happy to agree. Because I'm learning to trust the people who are the experts.

When a writer puts her name on the bottom of that contract, she knows she's turning over a lot of control of her work to someone else. It's an easy decision for me with New Concepts Publishing. I've worked with them for a number of years and they've been in the business longer than most small presses. They were a leader in the ebook market way back in the beginning. That beautiful cover for First Dragon is going a long way in building my trust in that publishers also.

Have you had a publisher change a title of your work? Has a publisher ever given you a choice of cover art? How long before the release of your book did you receive your coverart?

9 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Can't wait to see your cover! Is it up yet?
I get to see mine about six months before the release, which is cool.
My second book had no title when I sent it (is my publisher patient with me or what?) and I was happy when they suggested a title for it.

Lynn Proctor said...

as i have never had a book published, only articles---i am not sure how i would react to my writing being changed, but most of me thinks if i were paid enough, i could care less---that sounded horrible, didn't it----congrats on all of your success, susan!!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I'm not sure when the cover will be up, Alex. I would love to have had it six months ahead of time.
I'm much better at just going along when they change my work, Lynn, than I used to be. it's the trust thing.

Unknown said...

Oh I'm not there yet, but I bet seeing a cover on your baby just ties the whole experience together! How exciting. Congratulations.

mshatch said...

My publisher had me change my title, too. Luckily I didn't mind since I wasn't attached to the one I had plus the one I came up with (though it took me forever!) suits the story much better.

Gina Gao said...

I don't know how I'd react to my title being changed. But congrats about the book!

www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Sounds like fun - looking forward to seeing the cover art once it's revealed!

vickyb said...

I've never had a publisher change a title, but have had them do weird things with my cover art. Good luck!

Carol Kilgore said...

Looking forward to your cover!