Thursday, July 19, 2012

Writing A Book Proposal Step 8 – Cover Page.

This discussion is about the cover page for the proposal not for the book. You usually have no control over the cover art if you are working with a publisher. When Suzy Prudden and I wrote “Change Your Mind Change Your Body” we told the publisher about our experience with “MetaFitness: Your Thoughts Taking Shape” and why we thought the cover should have a more metaphysical picture and definitely not a picture of Suzy in a Leotard. I’ve posted the cover picture we ended up with below. Obviously the publisher did not listen and the book didn’t sell well. It was not a fitness book in the conventional model and the metaphysical audience it was intended for would never pick up a book that looked like that. Putting a picture on the proposal that you really think speaks to your reader is your only shot at influencing the publisher’s ideas about cover art unless you are famous enough to demand final cover approval. So choose carefully. I’ll cover back of the book blurbs at another time – there is no back cover in a proposal and no back cover on the digitals.

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