Susan Sarah here ... we've discussed covers before at Word Wenches, and I'd like to revisit the wonderful world of cover art, with a twist -- not to look at lots of lovely, lovely covers (and we Wenches have been collectively VERY fortunate in terms of cover karma!) -- but this time to toss around some ideas and to hear what you all think about cover art for mainstream historicals, rather than romance covers for now.
The trade paperback edition of LADY MACBETH will be out next spring, and the publisher is whipping up fresh back cover copy and choosing clips from the reviews and quotes for the book ... and they're discussing cover art. Instead of a "Mini-Me" version of the hardcover jacket art, the trade paper edition may get a whole new cover. They haven't decided about that yet, but the possibility seems strong. And they've asked me for ideas and input, so I've been thinking about it ....
I have ideas and images to suggest to the art dept., but I'd love to hear what readers think. LADY MACBETH is a mainstream historical, falling within the range of fictionalized biography; these novels are primarily female-centric historical fiction, focusing on actual historical women. What sort of covers work best for these books? And in particular, what would suit the historical Lady Macbeth?
I am a sucker for a beautiful cover, whether original cover art or a fine art reproduction. I drool over color, design, composition, motif and theme, and I've sometimes purchased a book on the strength of a gorgeous or at least successful and fascinating cover. And I love the fine art covers often seen on mainstream female-centric historical fiction. The art historian in me (with thousands of artworks somehow still catalogued and computerized in my brain) loves wandering through bookstores looking at the virtual galleries of cover art displayed on front tables and racks.
Wenches Susan/Miranda and Edith have had gorgeous portrait and fine art covers for their mainstream novels (see sidebar), and Mary Jo has also had gorgeous covers for her hardcover fantasy historical romances. Susan/MIranda is lucky enough to have actual portraits of the main characters of her novels--not everyone has the advantage of cover art by Sir Peter Lely!
From the first, the art for LADY MACBETH posed a dilemma for the art department, with that early the 11th century setting. No contemporary portraits existed, and 11th century art, while beautiful in its own right, looks downright academic on a juicy novel, without the impact of a Waterhouse or a Rossetti, let alone a vibrant Lely portrait. So the landscape art for the hardcover jacket of LADY MACBETH was a wonderful solution -- evocative, exciting, and very striking.
If we're not going to see the golden tones of the Lady Macbeth castle cover, what then? What sort of image might evoke my 11th century Lady Macbeth, and be marketable, interesting, striking cover art? Would a fine art image of a lovely, poignant or compelling anonymous woman, probably done in the 19th century, be right for this book? Some art depts. love to portray women with heads partly or completely missing (this
especially suits some Tudors), but I don't think that's the look for Lady Macbeth. Considering the time period of my book, we could see a swatch of the Bayeux Tapestry, or a manuscript illumination. Or another Scottishy landscape or castle. Not sure those work either for the trade edition.
Secretly I long for a lush, painterly, romantic and gorgeous Pre-Raphaelite image, though that may not 
happen -- some publishers think that trend is winding down, and they're searching for new looks. ::sigh:: All the Waterhouses were taken by the time my book came out.
Have so many beautiful fine art images appeared on bookcovers by now that the fresh, breathtaking impact (though individually and indisputably gorgeous) is diluted? We see repetitions in fine art covers, no question. Partly this is due to the finite number of available and suitable images, and art departments looking at the same sources -- and the permissions of museums and collections can be expensive and may come with conditions that limit and influence what shows up on a cover.
What cover styles do you prefer for hardcover and trade historical female-centric fiction? (whew, that's a mouthful). Are you a fan of fine art portrayals of women for historical books, or are you over them and attracted by something more unexpected? Does a fine art cover signal to you what sort of read it is, and is that a good thing, or a tired thing? Do you like landscape covers for their power to evoke a time and place, or do you find them a little distancing, and prefer the immediacy of a human image?
And the art dept. would love to know, and I would too -- what sorts of covers capture your interest as a reader looking for a good historical novel, and does it influence you to buy the book? Thanks for any and all suggestions!
Susan Sarah