Elantris & Emerson

[Shrain]

So, I'm all excited for my Book Design and Production class tomorrow night because I get to plug Elantris shamelessly for my Emerson classmates. Okay, okay, I -will- be talking about the design of the book more than the actual content, as per the assignment dictates.

But, let's see . . . I plan to discuss the awesome cover art, the prologue on the back cover, the blurbs, the map, font choices, running headers and footers, section dividers, the Aons that serve as the chapter heads (and which form some kind of meaningful pattern linked to the story, or so I was told on good authority ), and, of course, the Glossary of Aons (very cool).

Even so, I shall definitely begin with a succint but enthusiastic synopsis of the plot. After all, I kinda have to if I'm going to talk about how well the design fits the spirit of the novel. Who knows, maybe I'll convince one or two fellow Emersonians to buy it. (I think I've got a good shot with the gal I saw reading Terry Pratchett's Going Postal. Bwa-ha-ha-ha.)

But if anyone thinks of anything else I might want to mention, I'd be glad to hear it. Should be fun.

[CtrlZed]

Wow.  That's a really cool idea to discuss the design/artwork of the book and how it relates to the book itself.  I hope someone does this with Mistborn someday!  

[stacer]

We did that in the design portion of my publishing class at Simmons. Very important in fantasy right now, especially YA. They've got the money for it (most publishers at least) and so the leading is widening, the endpapers are getting pretty, the paper's getting thicker, etc.

[Shrain]

stacer, I get that sense too--that publishers are more "into" closing the gap between design and content in fantasy. Definitely a positive trend.

Having read an old plain-text hard copy of Elantris (as EUOL's thesis), it was highly interesting to see how the design matched the feel of the book and my experience of it. Normally, I don't get that opportunity. So it was cool to gain an understanding of the book that is "unbiased" by the art and design. That way, you can have a more honest first impression of how the design measures up.

Personally, my expectations with Elantris were more than met. The design fits so well, I think, with the majestic, mysterious tone of the work. The front cover, of course, is amazing in what it includes and hints at. Even the sparse back cover seems to fit. The section dividers were a neat surprise, as were the Aons for chapter heads and the Aon Glossary. I could go on . . . but I'd better save it for my class.

[Parker]

I was just processing a book in the library today, and I was really impressed by the design of the cover.  It's called Kingdom Keepers, and is being published by Disney.  Great cover--although it's hard to describe, and I think you'd have to check it out in person to get the full effect.  It's got this rainbow shiny Disney World castle in the background, and . . . well--go check it out at a bookstore or something.  When I saw it, I thought of this thread.

[stacer]

From the School Library Journal review of that: "However, readers never really get to know any of the characters well, except for Finn, the narrator, and the mystery is so convoluted that it's hard to follow, and even harder to care about."

Hm. Not sure I want to read it, even if it does have a pretty cover. But I've been trying to make it to a bookstore so I'll look for it. I got a gift card for Christmas I keep forgetting to use.

[Parker]

Yeah--I read that review as well.  I wasn't necessarily recommending the book, just saying how impressed I was by the cover.  Pair that with a great book, and they'd practically sell themselves.

[Shrain]

Ah, book marketing . . . But that's something for a whole different thread probably. After learning more about the business, though, it's amazing to see how difficult it can be to sell a book, even if it's stellar in content and packaging. *sigh*

Anyway, the little presentation went well. It was fun to discuss the book's design with classmates.

I can hardly wait 'til Mistborn comes out! I love to see how books change from revision to revision. Although . . . I'm still not -quite- as crazy about the cover for this book in comparison with Elantris. What's most important, though, is the actual writing, and I'd bet that the Mistborn trilogy is gonna be a smash--especially now that EUOL's name and 1st book are out there.

[Tink]

It's called Kingdom Keepers, and is being published by Disney.  Great cover--although it's hard to describe, and I think you'd have to check it out in person to get the full effect.  It's got this rainbow shiny Disney World castle in the background, and . . . well--go check it out at a bookstore or something.  When I saw it, I thought of this thread.

Or you could see what the cover looks like on Amazon here.

[Parker]

Yeah--but it doesn't have the rainbow shiny thing going for it.  That's half of what makes it so moth-forced-to-go-toward-the-light buyable.

[Tink]

Yeah, but some of us are really lazy and not willing to actually go to a bookstore or library to take a look.

And when I say some of us, I mean me.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

she speaks for me too. Simply because I don't want to bother speaking for myself.

[Shrain]

Hum. This week has sort of been "Elantris Week" for me because I also discussed the book's merits in my Novel in Progress class on Wed. night. (We were supposed to bring in a novel most like the one we wanted to write.) This time, of course, I talked about the quality of the writing, which was fun. Everyone seemed interested by the premise and the POV Triad and such.

However, my teacher sort of amused me by how, um, relieved she was to see -why- I was aspiring to write a book with the same qualities. I mean, she seemed ever so thankful that I mentioned how I admired the skillful dramatic irony and the strong, character-driven plot within a well-paced narrative and well-rounded world. Oh, and having a "bad" guy who ends up as a hero was gratifying to her as well, since it implies no flimsy, one-sided villains.

Ah, how I have my work cut out for me . . .  Shoot, I wish Uppinder Mehan were still around!! He was the one Emerson prof invested in SF. But they didn't give him tenure, the fools!

[Shrain]

Victory! In class last night, my writing prof had us read some small excerpts from the first chapters of fantasy novels. What's even more exciting is, lo and behold, she went ahead and included ELANTRIS as I'd suggested. (I emailed her the links to EUOL's site. hehe) We also read some of Wizard of Earthsea, HP & The Sorcerer's Stone, The Hobbit, and The Golden Compass.

I love that my prof is willing to take fantasy seriously and discuss the literary merits of the genre. Plus, we got to include ELANTRIS in the deal. And, yes, it was received well.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Excellent. More converts for the fold!