Acacia Mass Market Paperback Cover
Finally, proof that the paperback version of Acacia: The War with the Mein really is forthcoming!
I've just gotten a look at the cover Doubleday has for it. It's been a long process, although a circular one. They'd first told me they were going to stick with the original - and since they were planning a trade paperback the basic format of the cover would really have been the same as the hardback. (They did this with Pride of Carthage.) But then they proposed - and I agreed - to try a mass market paperback instead. At that point the word was they'd try something completely new for the cover. Hearing that both excited and worried me. I'm always keen for a cool new cover, and always worried that's not what I'll get. So that's what I've been waiting to see. What showed up? This:
"Wait," you say, "I thought they were going to do something drastically different?"
Well, I guess not. They came full circle, deciding that the original performed well enough that they wanted to stick with it. Actually, I can't complain about that. It's like the old one, but bolder. I kinda think it'll look nice in the small (but thick in page count terms) version. And it'll keep some visual recognition in play, as well. That's my thinking, at least. Any thoughts?
I've just gotten a look at the cover Doubleday has for it. It's been a long process, although a circular one. They'd first told me they were going to stick with the original - and since they were planning a trade paperback the basic format of the cover would really have been the same as the hardback. (They did this with Pride of Carthage.) But then they proposed - and I agreed - to try a mass market paperback instead. At that point the word was they'd try something completely new for the cover. Hearing that both excited and worried me. I'm always keen for a cool new cover, and always worried that's not what I'll get. So that's what I've been waiting to see. What showed up? This:
"Wait," you say, "I thought they were going to do something drastically different?"
Well, I guess not. They came full circle, deciding that the original performed well enough that they wanted to stick with it. Actually, I can't complain about that. It's like the old one, but bolder. I kinda think it'll look nice in the small (but thick in page count terms) version. And it'll keep some visual recognition in play, as well. That's my thinking, at least. Any thoughts?
posted by David Anthony Durham at
6:17 PM
6 Comments:
I like it - by the spine it looks like quite a hefty read.
It is visually stimulating and would catch my eye just about anywhere, especially the colors. The tree makes me think of some kind of generational strife. I like these types of mood covers.
Yeah, the spine does make it look really thick. Right up my alley. I hate thin books. Give me a story with some meat to it.
Paranoyd,
Thanks. By the way, I picked up the audio version of The Thirteenth Tale. Might be a little bit before I can get to it, but I will.
Stephe,
Glad to say Acacia is a hefty book. The US hardback is deceptively slim, really. The word count nears 250k. Pride of Carthage was around 220k. So if you want a thick book I've got at least two to choose from! (Gabriel's Story and Walk Through Darkness are both 100k. Hadn't really got my steam up back then...)
I'm actually kind of pumped that the paperback has the "same" covor as the HB - I say that because I really liked the cover of the Hard Back.
I'm not trying to be mean, but what originally caused me to pick up Acacia and read the blubs and flaps, which then let to my purchase and subsequent enjoyment of the book was that the cover caught my eye.
I thought "Heh, what a sweet cover. I wonder if the book is as good?" so I picked it up, read the flaps, read the blurbs, read a couple of random pages and I was hooked.
Hopefully, the same thing will work out for many more readers with the paperback.
And the HB WAS deceptive!!! It seemed like it was taking forever to read that book for its size! (Not a bad thing, it was a great read!)
I guess it goes to show what a publisher can do with typecasts, font sizes and margins. ;)
Good Luck with the PB!!!
Incubus Jax,
I'm sure that's music to Doubleday/Anchor's ears. And it's fine by mine, too. The way covers work or don't work in attracting readers remains a strange voodoo for me, but they way it should work is just as you describe. I'm happy whatever gets readers to pick my work up!
Part of me has always wanted my Doubleday books to look thicker. I felt this about Pride of Carthage, too. The quality of the paper and the print make it look shorter than it is. My publisher clearly thinks that's for the best with my hardbacks. This MM paperback, though, is going to look quite a bit more brick-shaped.
-David.
Well, thickness is a good and bad thing. You have one group of people out there, who are going to see a really thick book and say "Dang, I'd kinda like to read that, but I've read so much Robert Jordan...." - just 'cause the thing looks huge.
On the other hand, you'll have those people who are thinking "Wow, I really want to get something that will keep me enthralled for a good long while."
So it's just a guessing game really. There's so much psycho-babble that we could get into over this... ;)
I think the physical size of Acacia works well because it's about the same size as a Terry Brooks or R.A. Salvatore novel - that way new readers can pick it up and immediately identify with something we've already read. Only once we get it home do we realize what an epic and thought provoking read it really is.
Not to say Brooks and Salvatore aren't, mind you, but I know people who can rip through one of those books in a weekend, easy. Acacia is a different story.
I just read Patrick Rothfuss's "The Name of the Wind"; I would probably not have picked a book that size up on my own - I bought it off a recommendation by your webmaster. ;)
Sorry for the length again. ;)
Dang you, now I want to re-read Acacia. {Sigh}. Maybe I'll get the paperback. :)
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