Meredith asked Maria V. Snyder:

1. In traditional publishing, how much say does an author have over a book cover? I've read books where the main character's features/clothing are very specifically described, and then the person in the cover art looks very different. 2. How much say does an author have over their book's title?

Maria V. Snyder Hello Meredith! In traditional publishing most authors don't have much say in what is on the cover - when you sign a contract with a publisher they decide how the book is published - format, size, and cover art. The author has more control over the story/content. However, authors who are major bestsellers can have a clause in the contract that says they have final cover art approval, meaning if they don't like the cover, the publisher has to change it. I'm not at that level...yet :) But my editor will send me a mock-up of the cover and ask for my opinion, which is a nice compromise.

As for titles, it's about the same as the art - the publisher is in the business to sell books and the two most important aspects for selling books is the cover art and the title - readers won't buy the books based on those things, BUT they will pick a book up or click on the book to see more because of them. Publishers also know what sells well and what doesn't - they have years of experience. When my publisher doesn't like my title, we work on finding a better one together - again this is a nice compromise. For example, I had originally titled Fire Study - Soul Study, but they didn't like it for a couple reasons, which they explained. I came up with Fire Study while writing the book and everyone was happy with that.

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