A friend of mine, Barb Hendee, is half of that incredible tag-team author-pair that has brought you The Noble Dead Saga and many other novels and series.
Well, Barb has a blog, and she often posts articles of a writerly nature. While all of her articles are good, her most recent article made me choke on my coffee and laugh out loud.
For the uninitiated, it’s as easy to suppose that all published authors are fabulously wealthy as it is to assume we have total control over the publication of our books. Hardcover or softcover? Price point? Cover art?
None of these are within an author’s control, once you sign that contract. I’ve even had the title of some books changed without either my consultation or assent. Go ahead. Try to guess which ones.
Meanwhile, go check out Barb’s article on the topic.
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Unraveling Time
Desert Wind
Ploughman's Son
Ploughman King
The Year the Cloud Fell
The Spirit of Thunder
Shadow of the Storm
The Cry of the Wind
Beneath a Wounded Sky
Cryptogenesis: A Memoir
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 
I’m always excited to find something new. I’ll admit, I haven’t gotten to the point of cover art and didn’t realize how little the author is involved in some of those decisions. Thanks for pointing me in that direction!
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Truth be told, I never expected to have any input on most of the production decisions. Changing the title of the book (without advice or consent) threw me, though.
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I never really thought about it, to be honest. I know that the publishers know a lot more about what’s going to make a book sell, so I wouldn’t have a huge problem with letting them have control. The title, though, I’d have trouble with. It’s like letting someone change my kid’s name.
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They’re not always wrong. Sometimes an author picks a title that is just…not right. But I’ve had some publisher-supplied titles that just plain sucked.
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