Tag Archive for ‘Perfection’
Q&A with Graphic Designer Julie Metz: Judging a Book by its Cover, Part 1
The inside scoop on what makes a successful book cover – and why it matters. Several weeks ago I wrote about the jacket cover for my new novel, Bird in Hand. So many people responded with stories about their own covers, and questions about the process, that I asked Julie Metz, a book designer who has worked with all the major publishers (and who also recently wrote a memoir, Perfection) to weigh in. We talked about how she designs covers, [...]
Anatomy of a Book Cover: Bird in Hand
Everyone says that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but of course we all do. Presented with an overwhelming array of options, a reader has limited ways to figure out which book on the shelf is worth $20+ – not to mention hours of precious time. The best covers, I think, reveal much about the tenor and style of the book while stimulating the browser’s curiosity. (Recent covers that spring to mind include Lush Life, by Richard Price; [...]
Guest Blog: Julie Metz – Some Thoughts on Memoir and Fiction
The memoirist Julie Metz, who is now working on a novel, writes: When I wrote my memoir, Perfection, the story of my discovery of my husband’s secret life only after his sudden death, my focus was on careful recall aided by journals and letters. And yet, since I love reading fiction, I wanted my memoir to “read” like a novel. After many failed attempts, I found a structure for the factual narrative that allowed me to recapture my own state [...]
