Cover story

While editing continues on the stories that will make up the first edition of our Vertigo anthology, we've got a big decision to make - how to pitch the cover art.

Regardless of the saying, people do judge a book by its cover. Okay, the final decision on whether to purchase might come down to other factors, maybe the back cover blurb or the first few lines of page one, but the cover can either hook a browser or confine your book to a long life on the shelves.

I received five uncorrected proofs in the post today to review, none of which I'd heard a word about. Of those five, one jumped out a mile - Prophecy of the Sisters, by Michelle Zink. It had by far the most striking cover art and it was the one to which my attention was drawn. Sure, I checked out the others and read the blurbs, but Zink's novel had its hook into me.

We need Vertigo to be a success. We're starting Nemesis from scratch, and that goes for finance too. Vertigo has to sell, in order to generate cash for future projects. What's more, we want this to be a regular anthology, and for that reason alone it's important that the first editon is well-received.

The reasoning behind the title of the anthology is that these are stories that will leave you feeling uneasy, disorientated, out of kilter with life. The artwork needs to reflect that, and look damn cool doing it.

So the choice of cover art for Vertigo is vital. Obviously, the stories have got to kick ass. But to get folk to buy the thing in the first place, we need a knockout front cover. Easily said, not so easily done.