(Under)Cover

Non-authors are always curious about how book covers are designed. What’s the process? How much input does the author get? As with everything in this business, it depends.

A lot goes into designing a cover and though there is generally one actual designer, there are many cooks in the kitchen—marketing, sales, the top brass. In some cases, my publisher has even asked major accounts (e.g. Target, Costco, B&N) to weigh in. All that to say, it’s not all about keeping an author happy (though I know they do try).

When I received the initial cover design for my first book I cried (and not in a good way). I’m not an artist, and didn’t know exactly what I wanted, but it wasn’t that. The proposed design didn’t match the tone of my book, and my main character would never dress like the woman on the cover, but they told me not to be so literal, and they’d put a jacket on her, and it’d be fine.

When the updated version landed in my in box, I held my breath, wondering what this fix-it blazer was going to look like, but understanding that ultimately the decision wasn’t mine to make. I opened the file and cried again—this time with joy and relief. They’d totally redone the cover, and it was perfect. The before and after:

(We decided to change the title from “The” to “A” for a very dumb reason that I won’t go into here). A huge improvement, yes? I swear that cover is a big reason for the book’s success. The other books that season had very dark covers and mine stood out. I’ve also received messages from dozens of people who’ve incorporated it in their home decor!

For the next 6 books (3 with my former publisher, 3 with my current) there was no need for pushback. I loved the first versions of everything sent, and they required no comment aside from tweaking some lipstick shades and a few other things, here and there. Aren’t they lovely:

DARLING BEASTS (out on July 8!) has been a whole new journey for me in every way. It’s my first non-historical novel and it felt like we were starting from scratch regarding “book cover tone.” I had a lot of “thoughts” and luckily they were very open to hearing them! I knew I wanted a colorful, cartoon-like cover, and animals (one of the characters has a condition that causes her to manifest live animals).

Here are the covers I sent as inspiration (FTR loved all of these books!):

DARLING BEASTS book cover inspo

Then, of course, I really wanted the cover to feature a Jindo. Jindos are a South Korean breed, often rescued from the dog meat trade. They are South Korea’s 53rd National Treasure and kind of look like shiba inus. We have two.

Sidebar to evangelize for Jindos… They’re truly the best dogs. Cute and smart and well-behaved and the perfect size (40 lbs). They are neat and tidy and never bark and while they will probably run away from you the first week you have them (both times) and possibly jump a 10 foot fence and run across town and get stuck in a cactus in a canyon it’s smooth sailing after that. Just get some training and a GPS.

After sending the cover designer way too many Jindo inspo pics, and going back and forth about the need for a fluffier tail, this beauty arrived, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled:

Yes. I have a Jindo on my cover. Truly a career milestone.

DARLING BEASTS comes out on July 8th, and if you’re in So Cal, please join us for the launch at Warwick’s! The event is free but you can reserve a seat by preordering (hardback or paperback). I hope you enjoy meeting the Gunn family (and their pet Jindo!)

P.S. I recently reached 100 books read this year, and The Antidote by Karen Russell is the clear #1 so far. It’s also on Time’s The 14 Best Books of 2025 (along with another favorite from the year, Tilt by Emma Pattee, which I just picked for my book club). Part speculative, part historical fiction, all brilliance and heart… it was perfect.