Author Sung J. Woo: What’s it like to choose cover art

DEBUT LIT hosted release parties in New York and San Francisco last year for debut novelist, Sung J. Woo. His book Everything Asian has since been released in paperback. When I saw the new cover, I was surprised. It was radically different in style than the hardcover, so I asked him how that came about.

Everybody knows the saying — you can’t judge a book by its cover.  Which is true.  But at the same time, it is the first thing that people see, and you want it to be original, relevant, and eye-catching.  I didn’t think my hardcover jacket was any of those things, but I didn’t have much choice in the matter.  Unless your last name happens to end in Grisham or Patterson or King, I don’t think you have much input when it comes to your cover.  For a little while, it seemed possible that we were going to go with the “shoe cover,” which had three shoes — Japanese wooden thongs, Chinese slippers, and Converse Chuck Taylors — but ultimately, we ended up with the “kid cover,” with the boy holding the sandwich (it’s not a hamburger — it’s some sort of a breaded chicken or fish!).  By the way, those aren’t even his hands — I’m fairly certain the boy’s head was Photoshopped on top of a grown man’s body; look at the back flap and you’ll see two separate credits for the composite.

Anyway, my publisher was well aware of my non-love for the jacket cover, so they were gracious enough to design a new one for the paperback.  I believe Noah Dempewolf had a lot to do with the finished product.  Noah’s the artist behind Menacing Panda (http://www.menacingpanda.com/), and last year, I’d hired him to come up with two drawings for a broadsheet of the first chapter I wanted to create, as a way to promote the book.  So the two cool headshots that are on the paperback are Noah’s creations, his stylized interpretation of the two main characters, David and Sue.  With those illustrations, Elsie Lyons came up with a brilliant design that encompasses so much of the book: its time period (early 80’s), its feelings of adolescent uncertainty (hold the book at an arm’s length, and you’ll see the question mark), and a pizza pie reminiscent of Pac-Man, both of which are featured prominently in chapters.  And I just totally dig the deep blue/yellow combination; those are some real eye-catching colors!

 

As you can see, I’m thrilled with the new cover.  And having reading group questions written by Stewart O’Nan is the proverbial icing on the cake.  It’s perfect.
 

Sung J. Woo will read with DEBUT LIT at powerHouse Arena in Brooklyn on Sept. 10 as part of the Brooklyn Book Festival’s “Bookend” events.