"BLACKSTOCK, ROB" <rblackstock at ersgroup.com> writes: > This brings up a good point: how does the process of > developing cover art for a new book come about? > Does the artist actually read the book? Is the artist only > given a 2 paragraph summary of the story and characters? > For years I've wondered why book covers have so little to > do with the stories they illustrate... Especially in > fantasy fiction. > > Does anyone know? It varies a lot. In some cases (like with Robert Jordan), the publisher needs the completed cover art *months* before the manuscript is turned in. On the other hand, I've heard that the artist Robert Whelan requires the finished manuscript a year before the deadline for the artwork. In a perfect world the artist would carefully read the final version of the text (and other books in the series) and then have long detailed conversations with the author. In this imperfect world, publishers have been known to use artwork they bought years earlier for a different book. --KG