Anita Mumm @ Mumm's the Word Editing

My favorite book-adjacent creative is hands down Anita Mumm at Mumm’s the Word Editing. 

Anita was my editor for The Mars Strain before it became the amazing audiobook it is today. Which of course means any and all typos or mistakes are MINE, because I was the last eyes on my manuscript before it was submitted to Recorded Books. 

If you’re looking for an editor to do deep edits, line edits, help with a query letter, or agent search consulting—check out Anita. I’ve mentioned this before, but the get to know you form she has you fill out has excellent questions and she really takes the time to understand your expectations before she will begin. 

Did I mention she has a great brain for finding plot holes and a knack for kickstarting your brain into storm mode? And on top of all of those skills, she’s a lovely person. 

Curious if she works with your genre? Here’s her list:

COMMERCIAL FICTION

LITERARY FICTION

WOMEN'S FICTION

ROMANCE

SCI-FI / FANTASY

MEMOIR

NONFICTION

YOUNG ADULT

MIDDLE GRADE

SHORT STORIES & ESSAYS

Find her at her website anitamumm.com

Shoutout to Ravven, My Brilliant Cover Artist!

This week at the SFF Seven we're giving a shoutout to our favorite book-adjacent creative! (Be it cover artist, free-lance editor, web designer, etc.) I'd be remiss if I didn't shout to the heavens about the talents of Ravven, my cover artist.

I swear, sometimes I think I wouldn't have an indie career without her! 

Ravven is just a hugely talented cover artist with the phenomenal ability to simultaneously nail genre, find exactly the image that's in my mind, and create a brilliant work of art. 

These are the two most recent covers she's done for me, and they're just fabulous. All the love to Ravven!

Dan Brereton

 So the idea for this week is to point out someone you admire in the art field and for me, that's Dan Brereton. Dan is a comic book illustrator, writer, and creator. He's worked for Marvel Comics and DC Comics as well as on his own stuff. He's is also a writer with serious chops, and the creator owner of THE NOCTURNALS, which is, hands down, one of the best independent comics out there. In fact, if you go to http://www.nocturnals.com, you will find a page of gorgeous illustrations to make my point.

Dan is also one of the artists who has been kind enough to work with me on covers for a few books of mine, like my short story collection THIS IS HALLOWEEN, and my collection SLICES, and the anthology I put out last October, OCTOBER NIGHTS, and my novel HARVEST MOON, and were working on a few other projects together, because, well, it's fun. 

He is a talent, and a force to be reckoned with. 

\If you have a chance you should check out his work. In addition to being a major talent and illustrator, he's one of the good guys. I'll even go crazy here and point out that he's one of my favorite people. 

Covering All That

Book covers are as much art as they are science and I mean that beyond the images. It's an art I'm not that good at. For that reason, I engage people who know more about book covers than I do - particularly people who know what questions to ask to elicit the most helpful (some might say most marketable) aspects of the story. Jeffe mentioned that the point of the cover is to catch the eye and to convey genre as quickly and completely as possible. If you can work story images into whatever ends up on that cover? Bonus. But more than once I've had to have a cover artist talk me down from the tree where I insist that some image from the plot needs to go on the cover. I never insist on having my way on covers - I hire professionals and then I listen to them. It's their livelihood. They know better than i what the trends are - but honestly, chasing trends is a fool's mission - the real issue is that the cover artists I hire have the experience to understand what a reader expects to see in a cover for a science fiction romance novel. Or an urban fantasy novel.

When I finally finish the SFR series, I'll have an opportunity to cover the books. I won't bother with trends. I will do my darnedest to make sure the covers for the two new books look as much like the previous three covers as possible. My goal will be to keep the branding visually similar. I want people to be able to look these books up on whichever online story they prefer and know just by looking that these stories belong together.

If I had the mental bandwidth to put a new cover on the incubus book, Damned if He Does, I'd work hard to get rid of ambiguous symbolism on the cover. Right now, the existing cover does a fine job of conveying that the story is a romance. But the cover includes all those flames. Lots of them. There's a plot reason for that - the incubus is in thrall to Satan and Hell. Unfortunately, in a romance cover, flames can also mean that the story is hot - erotic. In the case of this book, it was supposed to convey those fires of Hell. You can see how that image on the cover could be confusing. I'm concerned that readers might pick it up thinking it's a sexy read when it isn't. The heroine is Ace. The smexy just isn't as hot and heavy as those darned flames might mistakenly convey. In a perfect world, I'd have the bandwidth to update the cover. I just don't at the moment.

Book covers can be a great asset to a book and across the publishing world, you'll find all kinds of check lists and points to consider as you work on building a visual package to represent your story. They're worth glancing at. It's always worth glancing at what other authors in your genre are doing with covers as you think about yours. But it pays to remember that the cover has one job - get someone to crack open your story. That's it. And yes. It's a lot to ask of a static image. Buy maybe that awareness can help you take a step back. Sure. We all want our covers to be perfect. We worked so hard on the story, we want it dressed to the nines, dang it. Just consider what kind of audience you're going to attract if you dress your book like Wednesday Adams versus dressing it like a Kardashian or like Annie Oakley or like Madam Curie. Very different looks. Very different moods. Very different audiences. It's one of the tricks a cover artist taught me. Pan out a little. Consider the voice of the story. Then match the feel of the cover to that voice if you can.

That's the piece I'll add to Jeffe's advice of focusing on eye catching and genre. Figure out the voice of the story and lean into it in the cover.

When It's Time to Put New Covers on a Series

This week at the SFF Seven we're discussing Cover Trends. We're asking "What was, is, and will be "hot" in cover art/style for your sub-genre? If you have a say in your covers, will you chase the trend or will you stick with the image in your mind?"

There's a lot to be said on this topic, too much for even a week of blog posts. When I'm asked for advice on covers, which is a frequent request, I tell authors to keep in mind that a cover has two jobs: to attract positive attention and convey genre. This has to be emphasized because authors - both in trad and in self-publishing - tend to get caught up in wanting the cover to adhere to the story. One first-time author who was very upset with the cover her publisher gave her and came to me for advice said "but the cover doesn't illuminate the story." I had to tell her that the story's job is to illuminate the story. The cover does different work: attract the eye and convey genre.

It's that second that's most relevant for this week's discussion. Because trends change and a cover that accurately conveyed genre six years ago may find itself conveying something else entirely to a current audience. 

Case in point: I love the covers for my six-book Sorcerous Moons series. 

These were among the first book covers I ever commissioned and I particularly adore the cover for book one, LONEN'S WAR. It does come straight from a scene in the book - a pivotal scene that was, in part, the genesis image for the story - and the artist (Louisa Gallie) exactly nailed what I had in mind.

I will always be grateful for Louisa's gorgeous art and I will always love this cover.

But, recently, people have been pointing out that these covers no longer convey what kind of story these books tell. The fantasy romance genre has moved on. If I want to tell readers that this IS the kind of thing they're looking for, then I should consider updating to match current trends. 

So I did!

Behold: The new cover for LONEN'S WAR! 

I contracted with BZN Studio Designs to design new covers for all six books. Right now the series isn't available, but once I have all six covers, I'll re-launch the series with some fanfare. I'm super excited to see how they do with the new covers. I've heard some people (including my own assistant!) say scathingly that these look like all the other covers out there in this subgenre, and there's truth to that. 

AND THAT'S THE POINT.

The content is what makes the stories unique. The covers are doing the job they're supposed to do. Caught your eye, did it? I hope so! And I'm hoping you also know exactly what kind of story you'll get. 

Fantasy Covers: From Character Illustrations to Superfonts & Thingamajigs

Cover trends: past, present, and future for my subgenre. Since I'm in the throes of writing high fantasy at the moment, I'll talk about those trends.The operative word here is trends. 

High fantasy leans towards using illustrated covers. In the US, we're big fans of characters and/or scenes being on the cover. In contrast, the UK covers tend to employ hyper-stylized fonts and symbols. 

Side note: There's a very deep and fascinating rabbit hole of consumer research into which you can tumble about how cultural differences between the US and UK (and other nations) shaped media design and distribution through the early '00s (before streaming modified consumer behaviors). In short, US consumers like their fantasy detailed in design and well defined in storytelling, while UK consumers prefer more ambiguity and space to let their imaginations fill in frameworks. If you're a nerdlinger about consumer behavior like me, the rabbit hole for studying the US mainstream market's blossoming embrace of Asian-original entertainments isn't as deep as US-European, but interesting case-studies are cropping up. Unlike past investments, corporate money is chasing the niche fanbases that are growing exponentialy and globablly due to technology-enabled accessability and the diminishing digital borders.

In the way past (okay, the '80s) bright fantasy illustrations, often with the Chosen One on the cover, dominated. The '90s saw the rise of ambiguous settings over characters (a bay, a mountainside, an alleyway, etc.). In the '00s, the Hooded Man was everywhere along with the over/under split image covers. The '10s saw an influx of superfonts and symbols, adopting more of the UK market aesthetic. These designs are lingering into the early '20s because the pandemic's lockdowns impact on the modeling and photography/photo-illustration industry...and because using things instead of people on the cover tends to be cheaper. Keep in mind the books releasing this year from major publishers likely had their covers designed at peak pandemic. Smaller presses and indies, however, are far more nimble, and the trend there seems to be a rise of superfonts overlaying singular-character covers. 

Now, because it's fantasy, illustrated character and scene covers never disappear. They're a staple of the genre. Plus, there's a dedicated superfan base who buy books based on the illustrator/artist more than the author. 

The Art of the Book Cover

Hey all! This week's topic here at the SFF Seven is Cover Trends: What was, is, and will be 'hot' in cover art/style for your sub-genre? If you have a say in your covers, will you chase the trend or will you stick with the image in your mind?

I write romantic fantasy, and best I can tell, most books in my sub-genre have aimed toward symbol and typography covers over the last few years. Black and gold are popular too, but then other covers go for bolder colors. Here are a few examples:

I have noticed, however, that some covers in romantic fantasy that contain more of a fairytale vibe are leaning toward these artsy, folkloric covers.

Luckily for me, I only have the Witch Walker trilogy to deal with for now, and those covers have been completed since 2020. I also had input, which I appreciated from my publisher. This happened because they thankfully trust my judgment and knew I had a vision for this trilogy. I made mock-ups, sent them to the publisher who then sent them to the cover designer, and here we are. I think they're really beautiful, and I cannot wait to see them side by side in hardback!

As for where I see trends going? I don't really know. Any book that's popular enough can sway the market. If you look at Atlas Six, a dark academia/romantic fantasy TikTok sensation that went trad recently, you'll see a very minimal and mystical vibe with a mostly black cover. But then if you take a peek at Daughter of the Moon Goddess, a fairytale romantic fantasy, you'll see all this gorgeous pastel artwork that is just breathtaking. I love them both!!

I don't have my thumb on the cover-trend pulse, but I know a good cover when I see one ;)

What about you? What covers do you love in the romantic fantasy genre?

Noodling Newsletters

 Full disclosure: Having a difficult mental health day. So if this comes across as defeatist and maudlin, it probably is. There's a chance this is a side effect of a new migraine medication. Or it's just -- [waves hand around.] I'm frankly not sure how I'm supposed to know the difference, which is full on annoying.

Anyway. Newsletters. I subscribe to a few. Mostly friends. Aaaaand like others have already said, I don't read them. My time and attention are so fragmented. I cannot imagine that anyone else in this post modern apocalypse is any different. We have to pick where our shards of time are spent. If I have a few random seconds, I'd rather read your book. Not your newsletter. I'd rather write. I'd rather pet a cat. I'd rather plant flowers.

I do have a newsletter. After a fashion. I rarely send one out. My issue is that writing is already enough like screaming into the void that I don't need to add a newsletter to that mix. I realize that it's my life, so of course it's boring to me. But there's nothing in my life or in my writing process that is worth conveying to others on a monthly basis. My life is no different from anyone else's life. We're all doing the best we can. Yes, I could use it as a promotional tool. Could do. And honestly, that is about the only time I ship a newsletter. When I have something to promote. But a regularly scheduled product? Not currently my cup. I'd like it to be different. I'd like to be a different writer than I am. The best thing I could think to do with a newsletter would be to put outtake scenes or short-short stories in - make it some kind of value add. I could see doing that and hoping that readers would enjoy that. It would require a different life than the one I have, however. Because right now, about all I could offer would be a chronic daily migraine support newsletter with medication efficacy experiences, relief product reviews, and cautions for migraineurs that noise cancelling headphones are likely to set off an attack (but not if you turn off the noise cancellation.) And of course I could talk about cats. Endlessly. I just don't think there's much overlap between those audiences and the SFR audience. Some, sure. And maybe I'd convert one or two. But really, I'd rather just write stories and let those do the conversion. That's the goal, isn't it. Let the stories we love bring in people who might love them, too.