Can authors choose their own cover illustrator for a publisher-released novel?It depends on the publisher. Some assign one directly, and the author only finds out who when they see the sketch; others let the author nominate someone or choose from a list. Authors usually provide character designs and cover layouts, and communicate with the illustrator through the editor rather than directly.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

How publishers choose cover illustrators

　　A reader once asked me whether, for works published with a publisher, you can find an illustrator you love for the key visual. The answer is a bit tricky, because in my experience different publishers choose illustrators in different ways.

　　But before choosing an illustrator, publishers all ask authors to submit character designs or cover layout sketches, so they have a reference for finding an illustrator and the illustrator has something to base the cover sketch on. Authors and illustrators usually communicate through the editor rather than directly — reportedly to keep both sides from getting too carried away and ending up with something that doesn’t meet the publisher’s standards or vision XD

　　Some assign an illustrator directly, and you may only find out who when you see the sketch.

　 Some ask whether you have an illustrator in mind, or give you a few options to choose from, then check whether the illustrator can take the job. I prefer this — after all, getting to work with an illustrator you love is a truly, truly happy thing!

My experience with an unprofessional illustrator

　　I’ve also had a publisher ask directly which illustrator I liked and then work around that illustrator’s schedule. It was a dream collaboration — I deeply felt the publisher’s love for me and my work, and I’m truly grateful ><

　　Though I later learned this illustrator picks and chooses: some jobs get a sloppy effort (thick strokes, even unfinished details), others get their full attention. Unfortunately the publisher I worked with was small, so we got the former… Luckily my editor, while trying not to cough up blood in anger, worked hard to coordinate, and we got a better result. Thank you so much for all your hard work ><

　　Even more absurd, the direction of the hair strokes went against the line art, almost like claws. Even I, a complete amateur, could spot several very odd places. I guess they were exhausted from rushing deadlines? Thanks so much for your hard work — but there’s a limit to being unprofessional ^^

　　My fists quietly clenched, but they’re a big name and I can’t afford to cross them QQ

　　If the pay had been unreasonable, the blunders might be somewhat understandable. But our editor paid that esteemed illustrator the top rate for book illustrations! Not to mention they’d been wishy-washy about taking the job, disappeared several times without explanation — for months and weeks at a time… Just when we were planning to replace them, they popped up saying they’d do it, and we wasted tons of time waiting. What the f— (beep—)

　　Ahem. I’m perfectly calm.

　　Anyway, I will never work with them again in this lifetime. I’ve been angered enough to shorten my life, and I’m sorry for the trouble it caused my editor. Luckily we did get the artwork in the end (covers face

　　Oh, and I’ve heard of some works switching illustrators midway, maybe due to contracts or other reasons. That can confuse readers, but luckily it’s very rare XD

　　Because illustrators are human too, and working with different illustrators apparently takes different skills — honestly, it’s an art in itself… That’s something one of my editors said, and hearing the stories he shared, I couldn’t agree more.

Publishers’ go-to lists of illustrators

　　So working with a publisher basically filters out illustrators who communicate poorly or whose quality is inconsistent, since publishers almost all have their own go-to lists and partners they’ve worked with several times — so you almost never get driven to explosion… Um, speaking of which, I did have one exception, but I’d recommended that illustrator to my editor myself, so in the end it’s my fault. I’m so sorryyy QQ

　　So after that I never recommended illustrators again, boo hoo, and I no longer object to anyone the publisher assigns — because the character design sketches they sent over again and again nearly made me cough up blood. The heroine was drawn as an overly mature witch, her two-handed greatsword became an ordinary longsword, and they forgot their own character designs, and so on.

　　Not reading the original for reference is one thing, but they definitely hadn’t even read the character notes properly. At first I thought I hadn’t labeled things clearly, but I found I really had noted it in the designs… All I can say is it was their first novel commission, and they didn’t yet understand that a novel cover has to match the text, rather than letting loose like with their own original work…

　　Such a painful lesson — so scary QQ

　　Finding a responsible illustrator whose style fits your writing is something you can only hope for, not count on!

FAQ

Further reading (in Chinese)

• Previous: #18 (in Chinese)
• Next: #20 (in Chinese)
• Start from the beginning: #01 — Utsudo’s debut
• Column introduction
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.

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