Wild Ride: The Covers
Apr52010
We went through a LOT of cover ideas for Wild Ride. Have a look:
Jennifer Crusie is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of twenty-one novels, one book of literary criticism, miscellaneous articles, essays, novellas, and short stories, and the editor of three essay anthologies. She lives on the Ohio River where she often stares at the ceiling and counts her blessings.
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- The Argh People’s Interview: Lucy March
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- The Three-Goddesses Chat: Book Collages
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78 Comments to 'Wild Ride: The Covers'
On April 5, 2010 at 4:36 pm Merry the CB said...
It looks really weird to see a blank, comment-less page. I can fix that.
On April 5, 2010 at 4:38 pm Merry the CB said...
For authors who are already well known and well respected, such as youse guys, the cover doesn’t draw me in; I’m already sold. But I appreciate a cover that doesn’t make me want to hide it in a brown paper bag. (Some of the earlier Pratchett books had cringe-worthy covers.)
I like the cover you picked best. The one with the roller coaster tracks disappearing into the clown’s mouth is disturbing.
On April 5, 2010 at 7:30 pm Jenny said...
Yes, everybody thought that. It was in front of us only briefly.
On April 6, 2010 at 9:12 am Lora said...
yeah the clown’s mouth creeped me out baaaad. i liked #3 but it was perhaps a little cheerful in the end…it was neat-o seeing all the potential covers!
On April 6, 2010 at 5:50 pm Denise said...
ditto. That’s just downright scary…
On April 5, 2010 at 4:45 pm McB said...
Yep, the one you went with is definitely the best. In fact, it rocks, it really does. And then there are the three that are identical except for the placement of the bird. I found that amusing for some reason.
But the final cover really does have the feel of the book and shade of blue really makes it stand out. Number one is to romancey-feeling for the book. Number two wasn’t bad except for the electric green. I liked the purple-ish background, but it doesn’t pop like the blue does. And I’m with Merry on the clown’s mouth. That’s just creepy. I mean, okay, the book has demons; but it’s not creepy.
On April 5, 2010 at 7:31 pm Jenny said...
The four that look identical were different type treatments, mostly color. We nitpick these suckers to death.
On April 5, 2010 at 4:49 pm doris in munich said...
I’m with Merry and McB, the one you picked is rather good. And as Merry said, I don’t really care for the cover art either, I go for whatever is next in your publication line. But it helps if the cover isn’t too ugly or creepy (I’d have had a strong impulse NOT to get the Clown-one even if your and Bob’s name was on the cover). Thanks for NOT choosing the creepy-ones!!
On April 5, 2010 at 7:32 pm Jenny said...
We’re not INSANE. Plus Bob hates clowns. We used to be in the car late at night going somewhere and he’d start to mutter, “Can’t sleep. Clowns will get me.”
It was an interesting collaboration.
On April 5, 2010 at 4:53 pm Brenda Bradshaw said...
I think it’s neat to see what all you went through before the final product, which is definitely the best! Sooo glad the creepy clown didn’t win out. *shudder*
On April 5, 2010 at 5:33 pm Susan D said...
Yup, the final choice is excellent. I’m taken with 2 and 3 as well.
On April 5, 2010 at 5:35 pm Tawna Fenske said...
So cool to see the evolution! I love the final version. Would love to know more about the process involved in narrowing the field, adding/deleting art elements, and eventually choosing this version.
Thanks for the peek!
Tawna
On April 5, 2010 at 7:37 pm Jenny said...
The process is pretty simple: Jen culls through the ones she doesn’t like and sends us the one she does. (We never saw the clown.) Then I give feedback and Bob stays silent, hoping nobody will ask him about color and design. I loved the Wild Ride letters that looked like they had lights on them, but they weren’t right for the book. We needed something spooky that was still light and bright, and I insisted that there be something with eyes on the cover because I think that draws people to look closer, which is why Frankie is on there front and center. But there’s also that movement that suggests it’s a fast-moving book, and the moody blues that give you the suspense and then that burst of carnival-colored lettering that moves with the roller-coaster and that was it.
I did a whole blog post on the Crusie Theory of Covers four years ago and all of it still holds.
On April 5, 2010 at 5:35 pm Dee said...
Now, see, I kinda dug the creepy ones. But then, I dig creepy books, so maybe that’s more of a commentary on me than what fits the book. I do like the final cover art, though. It’s a good balance…as I’m sure you and all the other far more experienced people who made this decision already know.
On April 5, 2010 at 5:51 pm Jill said...
The ones with the clown give me the heebe geebies. I would not pick up that book off the shelf.
On April 5, 2010 at 6:47 pm robena grant said...
What is it with clowns? Those really gave me the creeps. So glad you picked the one you did. It represented the book well, and the colors worked great.
On April 5, 2010 at 7:38 pm Jenny said...
You know, it wasn’t a good clown, either. Ugly. Not elegant. And the idea of rushing into the clown’s mouth . . . really not good at all.
On April 5, 2010 at 6:53 pm Sierra said...
I like the one you picked the best. The bright pink and purples felt too…cheery, I think. Didn’t have the eerie feel. And number 3 makes me think of a Janet Evanovich book. Nothing against her at all, but her stuff and this book are completely different, so…
Plus, of course Frankie should be included on the cover! Now, if you put ravens/crows on the cover for Maybe This Time, that might be a warning of trend beginning – Jennifer Crusie, author of creepy romance that still makes you laugh. I don’t think I’d be complaining.
On April 5, 2010 at 7:39 pm Jenny said...
I’ll do a blog post on the cover process for Maybe This Time in July or August, closer to the pub date. No raven.
On April 5, 2010 at 8:57 pm Sierra said...
I was thinking of Maybe This Time but picturing one of the covers you posted for Fairy Tale Lies. Argh. School is a zombie that has eaten my brain.
On April 5, 2010 at 7:08 pm KellyJ said...
I love seeing the evolution of the cover design. When I first picked up Wild Ride at the bookstore, I thought Hooray! and then I thought, What a great cover. I really love the design you chose, and the silhouette of the raven adds the perfect touch. I teach digital imaging, and always tell my students not to get too attached to a design, to work up a dozen different visuals for each project – and of course, they look at me like I am crazy. I am going to show this slide show as an example of what good design work is all about, if you don’t mind me sharing the covers with my class.
On April 5, 2010 at 7:44 pm Jenny said...
Oh, no, go right ahead.
And definitely tell them not to get attached. A good cover design is not the same thing as a good design, so they’re going to go through a lot of versions. At least they will if they design for me.
We’ve done other blog posts on cover selection: The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes, Don’t Look Down, and Agnes and the Hitman (which didn’t go through that many iterations).
On April 5, 2010 at 7:45 pm Jenny said...
So here’s a question:
Do you like the slide show better than seeing the covers in the body of the post with comments? Because I have the trade paperback cover post coming up, and then followed in a couple of months by the Maybe This Time cover post.
On April 5, 2010 at 8:06 pm Allie said...
I do like the slide show, but only prefer it in this case because of the number of covers. Otherwise, I’ve liked the commentary in the other posts.
You obviously didn’t have to say “clown is too creepy” here, cuz…well, LOOK AT IT.
On April 5, 2010 at 9:57 pm JulieB said...
I mean ditto to Allie’s point about the commentary. I replied in the wrong spot.
On April 5, 2010 at 9:19 pm Kelly S said...
The slide show was nice. But I also agree that since this was a done deal, it worked great and didn’t require too much commentary. I guess if the book is already out, this way is very nice.
On April 5, 2010 at 9:56 pm JulieB said...
Ditto. I always learn about neat things when you discuss the process and I can see the visual, but it was fun seeing all the various spins on each theme as well.
On April 7, 2010 at 7:21 am Micki said...
I liked the content, but I don’t like the slide show format, because it moves too slowly on some, and too fast on others. (-: And of course, it’s going to move too slowly/fast on different ones for different people, it’s not me in a time warp. I prefer scrolling at my own pace.
If there were some way to display the thumbnails, and have the thumbnail pop up and STAY up until something else was clicked, that might be the way to go. But, I don’t want to wait too long for something to download, either.
(-: I am picky, picky, I know. This slide show worked well enough.
On April 10, 2010 at 6:07 am Venus Vaughn said...
I like seeing the covers in the body of the post so I don’t have to keep scrolling back up to see what you’re referencing.
On April 5, 2010 at 8:29 pm Thea said...
Body of the post with comments. It’s the WRITING that’s important, illustrating – yes! – the thought processes. Plus, I’m susceptible to cover overload.
On April 5, 2010 at 8:37 pm Barbara said...
I’m with Bob about clowsn. I was at a parade once with some female friends and his clown started following us, joking around. I asked him politely — twice — to stop. Clowns have always creeped me out … who’s behind that face? Well, he wouldn’t stop. After all, I was with some attractive female friends…So I turned around and before I knew what I was saying I was threatening to do something violent to him if he didn’t back off. He did. By the way, does anyone remember what John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer, did for a hobby? HE WAS A CLOWN! AT CHILDREN’S PARTIES! I rest my case.
On April 5, 2010 at 9:11 pm Stephanie said...
Generally I’m attracked to brighter colors on books but obviously they would’ve been out of place here. The one y’all picked was exactly what it needed.
Best story I have about picking a book up entirely for the cover was when I went to the library after getting my eyes dilated. Picked up a book 3-4 years ago because the pretty pink cover caught my eye. It turned out to be an interesting YA story about an Australian teenage girl and her mom who write notes to each other because of their busy lives, etc. Great fun. Sadly I didn’t write down the title and colors don’t look the same and now I can’t even pass along a good read because all I can tell people is, “It was pink.”
On April 5, 2010 at 9:22 pm Kelly S said...
One of the most common traits of a book that a person tends to remember is the color of the cover. If they have forgotten title and author but are looking for it again, they’ll ask a librarian about it with a vague memory of a plot, oh and the cover was {insert color here}. It is great fun seeing photos of libraries sorted by the color of the book.
On April 5, 2010 at 9:35 pm Emily said...
I think the book you are talking about is Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers – at least, that sounds the same as this one (http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/display_title.asp?ISBN=9780230531376&Author=Kuipers,%20Alice)
On April 5, 2010 at 9:51 pm marly said...
There’s something particularly eye-catching about blue with black. I especially love the roller coaster in black – the whole design is very evocative of that slow chug and hitch going up the first hill and then that awful tummy cringing swoop as you tilt over the crest and FALL. And then there’s Frankie’s silhouette. That’s a definite draw. I love the final choice, and am relieved the disturbing clowns were vetoed. They were nightmare material.
On April 5, 2010 at 10:07 pm Mary Stella said...
I loved the covers with the tracks going into the creepy clown’s mouth. I would have grabbed that book off the shelf even if I didn’t know your names and work.
This might be because I was born in Atlantic City, home of amusement piers with giant Mr. Peanut people, the Amazing ape girl, the Steel Pier High Diving Horse and other oddities.
I also lived and partied for a number of years in Asbury Park, where the creepiest of all amusement clowns “graced” Palace Amusements. Long Live Tillie! (www dot asburyboardwalk dot come/palace/palace.htm
http://www.asburyboardwalk.com/palace/palace.htm
On April 5, 2010 at 10:38 pm Louis said...
I’m with the anti-clown group. The clown covers do not “send” me*.
Like the slide show. There is also the option of a “scattered” show if you click on the single pix.
On April 5, 2010 at 11:14 pm Hellie said...
Really super glad the Clown covers didn’t make the cut. CREEEPY.
I think you all picked the right one. *LOL* But I’m with the others. I’d buy whatever you wrote…though if it had a clown cover, I’d probably have to cover it with something else while I read…because clowns are creepy.
On April 5, 2010 at 11:55 pm Eve said...
I like the pics in the post. Easier to have all things Crusie in one place (im ocd that way). honestly, thanks for all the great writing!! I bought the wild ride ebook off b&n, waiting for a really bad week to sink my teeth into it. And I was fortunate enough to be one of the few who got the Maybe This Time in advance – O.M. Ggggggg!! Amazing! I was at first worried when you were talking about pursuing new genres – you kick butt in that book! Love it so much, new Crusie classic! gracias
)
On April 6, 2010 at 12:24 am Logical Judy Long said...
Pics in the post definitely. Not if you have 16 choices though. That would be a bit much.
I guess I’m the weirdest of anyone. I almost immediately get rid of dust jackets. They drive me nuts. They slide around as I’m reading. Must be a function of the fact that I’m old and cranky.
On April 6, 2010 at 12:58 am Briana said...
I do it too. I keep them, and re-dress the book when I’m done. But it’s nekkid in my hands. Whoo-eee!
On April 6, 2010 at 2:04 am CrankyOtter said...
I have a giant pile of book jackets on top of my 8 ft high bookshelf. With few exceptions (Agnes, because it’s the perfect cover), I take them off, put them in the pile and forget about them. I have some notion that a redesign team from HGTV will show up and turn them into a decorative project that makes me really happy, but I can’t figure out that project myself. So they gather dust. Really, I prefer paperbacks. One of these days I’ll prolly get an e-reader and my pile will stop growing.
On April 6, 2010 at 1:59 am Lois said...
I am mixed on the slide show vs. body of blog…in the body it is easier to view them easily for comparison, but the slide show allows for more detail viewing……hummmm have to say stick with the body of blog….the slide show is too “techy” for us bookworms!! it looks like palying with a a new toy, just stuck up there because it can be.
On April 6, 2010 at 8:15 am Naked Under My Clothes said...
I probably would have been satisfied by the pinkish covers but the final was obviously the right pick–it surprised me and encouraged me to buy buy buy.
On April 6, 2010 at 8:35 am Carol-Ann said...
Glad I’m not the only one who found the clowns creepy; normally I’m fine with clowns, but that one, gaaagh!
Which brings me to a quesion about the cover – there are 4 cars on the rollercoaster. Just a coincidence or relating to the fact that by the end of the book Fun is still out for the forseeable future, so there’ll only be 4 rattles on the dragon ride?
On April 6, 2010 at 2:45 pm Jenny said...
Coincidence. The artists never read the book and I didn’t go into details when I was giving info to her. (It’s Mara Lubell again.)
On April 6, 2010 at 3:51 pm McB said...
If she hadn’t even read it first, that’s even more amazing. Both on the part of the artist and whoever (you? Jen?) had to describe the book.
On April 6, 2010 at 9:31 am McB said...
I think it’s the Fake Cheer that makes some clowns spooky. I’m fine with hobo clowns, but the Bozo variety are too alien looking.
I normally prefer the cover pics inside the post. But when there are 16 of them, the slide show is probably best.
Oh, and I usually undress a book first if I’m planning to carry it around with me. Otherwise the jacket gets messed up. But then it goes back on again before shelfing. Unless I’ve mislaid it. I suppose that’s backwards thinking, assuming dust jackets were invented to protect the book in the first place.
On April 6, 2010 at 11:18 am MDA said...
I like the clowns… creepy yes, demented yes… but it also has that “spooky, what are they thinking, is this book really that scary” feel to it… I wonder what that says about me.
I like it when you comment best. This way we know what your reaction was and what you were thinking while making your choice.
On April 6, 2010 at 1:37 pm Lilah Pierce said...
Yup, I think the blue one it ended up with was the best. Most definitely.
On April 6, 2010 at 2:59 pm colognegrrl said...
I liked the second one, too. Reminded me of the light at the end of the tunnel (is that expression even used in English? -Probably, you have so many more expressions than we Germans do…)
I didn’t care for the slide show so much as it made it difficult for me to jump back and forth between choices.
On April 6, 2010 at 3:45 pm Jenny said...
Yep, we have that expression.
We also have a longer one: The light at the end of the tunnel is the oncoming train.
On April 6, 2010 at 4:11 pm JulieB said...
But not quite the same meaning…
On April 7, 2010 at 4:42 pm Jackie said...
Or -The Light at the end of the tunnel is out due to budgetary constraints.
We hear that a lot these days.
On April 6, 2010 at 3:47 pm HoosierCherry said...
Sorry Jenny – from all these comments it looks like you’ll have to 86 that book you’re working on: “Red Noses & Squirtin’ Roses: A Clown Love Story”
P.S. I finished “Wild Ride” this week and, of course, loved it. My exact words upon completion were “Now THAT’S a story!” I adore that your plots are unique and dynamic.
On April 6, 2010 at 8:00 pm Bob said...
Hmm. I never saw half those. Or maybe they were sent to me and I didn’t look. Clowns might get me.
On April 6, 2010 at 8:14 pm Jenny said...
You kept saying, “I don’t care.” Although I didn’t see half of them either. I think the first one they officially sent to us was the purple and green one.
On April 6, 2010 at 8:28 pm Alyssa Goodnight said...
While I very much like the cover that was chosen, I also really like the vibrant pinky-orange carnival one. The clown ones kinda creep me out. Thanks for showing all those!
On April 6, 2010 at 8:33 pm Alyssa Goodnight said...
On second look, that wasn’t at all clear–I meant I liked the 3rd one.
Oh, and I liked the slide show, but then when I was trying to find a specific cover, it seemed like they were all shifting. Or else I’m crazy.
On April 7, 2010 at 2:34 am Jenny said...
I think they’re always in the same order, but some of them are so similiar it’s hard to tell.
On April 6, 2010 at 9:21 pm Becky said...
Has everyone seen this “making of the cover” video? http://www.orbitbooks.net/2010/03/08/blameless-or-how-to-design-a-cover-in-155-seconds/
I never realized how much tinkering goes into making a book cover. And it wasn’t even a Crusie!
On April 7, 2010 at 3:48 am Ingrid said...
I was thinking how strange it was that there were all these Argh people with clown phobias, while I’ve never met one in real life. Then I suddenly realised it was probably due to Pipo the Clown. In my youth he was the hero of books and TV programmes and he always triumphed over the baddies. He lived in a gypsy caravan, pulled by a donkey, with his beautiful wife Mammaloo and his little daughter Petra. For years there was a short programme on television every night in which he would tell his daughter a bedtime story, which was the frame story for another Pipo adventure. It always ended with him tucking up his daughter in bed. So to generations of Dutch people a clown with a white face, red wig and huge shoes denotes a force for good and a loving father.
On April 7, 2010 at 9:47 am Jenny said...
Meanwhile, Stephen King gives us a clown that eats children. This explains a lot; thanks, Ingrid.
On April 7, 2010 at 10:19 am AgTigress said...
I don’t think that people’s eactions to clowns are necessarily based on fictional clowns who are good or evil, though those may well explain some fairly conscious reactions.
Masks and mask-like alteration of human features (as in clown make-up) are found in virtually all human cultures: they tap into deep, atavistic perceptions and fears about the supernatural, and about possession and identity. Countless pagan religious rituals involve the wearing of masks, and a masked performer takes on the being of the creature whose mask he wears: his basic human identity is overruled. Remember that the ancient Greek drama, with its stereotyped masks, evolved from religious rituals in honour of Dionysos. I think clowns are simply part of that wider and extremely ancient tradition, so whether they are ‘good’ clowns or ‘bad’ ones, most people have a fairly strong reaction to them, because they are intriniscally deceptive, and it is hard to identify what reality they represent. Whether we see them simply as actors taking part in a humorous celebration or a joyful festival, or as something much more sinister, depends on many factors. Our personal memories, including stories we have heard or read, come into that, but there are also deep-seated, innate anxieties about disguise, deception and divine/demonic possession which lurk beneath the surface.
I am quite uncomfortable about clowns, myself.
On April 7, 2010 at 10:22 am AgTigress said...
Sorry about the typos. Can anyone else get the ‘preview’ function these days? I haven’t been able to for ages. The preview button is still there, but nothing happens when one clicks it.
On April 7, 2010 at 1:31 pm colognegrrl said...
Ignore it – it’s just for decoration purposes. At least it never worked for me, either.
On April 7, 2010 at 7:46 pm AgTigress said...
But the old preview function really helped when trying to spot typos and edit them out. I was sad to lose it.
Sigh.
On April 8, 2010 at 8:25 am Jenny said...
I e-mailed Mollie to ask about it.
On April 7, 2010 at 3:38 pm Becke Davis/Martin said...
I like the purple one, too, but I think you made the best choice.
On April 7, 2010 at 6:17 pm McB said...
What AG said. Hobo clowns reflect some part of ourselves, but the white face, painted grin types are hiding something. I’m not phobic, but all that fake cheer is creepy. Plus they look like aliens.
Oh, and preview has never worked for me.
On April 7, 2010 at 8:23 pm Bob said...
It’s interesting: I really am kind of repulsed by carnies, yet, in a way, you could call the Guardia carnies. But, like the Renaissance Fair people, I think there are groups of people who bond together because of a place or a theme. Dreamland was a place that brought people together.
On April 8, 2010 at 2:14 am Ericka said...
for 4, i thought, ‘ugh, clown.’ and then for 4 i thought, ‘ugh, bald clown. even worse.’ i was also entertained by the moving bird – here, no here, no here, no… but the cover you picked is by far my favorite and i love the colors you picked. some of the others were just too cheery.
On April 8, 2010 at 2:15 am Ericka said...
and ten for 5. sigh.
On April 8, 2010 at 2:15 am Ericka said...
darn it. i give up.
and THEN for FIVE.
On April 8, 2010 at 4:03 pm Kimberly said...
I love the final cover on this book. I really like pink and orange together, but those colors had the manic/hyper feel of an amusement park, which doesn’t seem to be the appropriate tone for this book. The monochromatic teal on the final cover really helps convey the twilight/spooky feel of a book with a paranormal theme.
On April 9, 2010 at 3:15 pm Corinne said...
I was already committed to reading the book before I saw the cover, but I was swayed to read it before the armload of other books I also brought home from the library that day by the inside title page, which was just beautiful. I hope that process wasn’t as fraught as the cover.
On April 10, 2010 at 11:13 pm Jenny said...
No, they showed me the inside and I said, “Love it,” and that was that.
On April 18, 2010 at 2:59 pm Amy said...
But the old preview function really helped when trying to spot typos and edit them out. I was sad to lose it.
Sigh.