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Cover Stories: I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert (+ a Contest)
I feel so lame for not having read my copy of I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone yet. I mean, I've only been hearing the buzz about Stephanie Kuehnert's debut novel since 2007! And Venus Zine, one of my very favorite publications, says, "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone is a manifesto for defiant high school girls, as well as a refresher course for the goddesses they turn into." How cool does that sound?! Plus, that cover is just plain amazing!!
Luckily, Stephanie is still talking to me. In fact, she's even sharing her cover story. And here it is:
"I didn't have a cover idea right away, but my agent did. As soon as she read the book, she thought of the album cover for 'Goo' by Sonic Youth. She wanted a cover like that. It was one reason why I knew she was the perfect agent for me.
"My publisher didn't ask for input, but I gave it to them anyway. I sent them the 'Goo' album cover for my agent (above left) and then I love looking at live photos of musicians and I had two favorites that reminded me of Emily in a way. One is this gorgeous shot of PJ Harvey in front of a festival crowd that looks so triumphant and powerful (above center). Another is a black and white Charles Peterson photo of Kurt Cobain (above right). Charles Peterson takes the most amazing band shots in the world, in my opinion. He really just captures all the emotions of a musical performance as a black-and-white still somehow. I was thinking of his photography when I wrote one of my minor characters, Ian, a rock photographer. Anyway, the picture of Kurt, I think, gives the sense that there is so much going on with him on the inside that he is letting out on stage. And that was totally Emily. So I sent those three things as suggestions and also something about a sticker on a guitar or a black-and-white photo being tucked into guitar strings as my ideas. But I have no idea if they passed any of that on to the designer. I was huge on the black-and-white thing though and the cover did end up using a black-and-white photo, but somehow I doubt that had anything to do with me.
"I can't even begin to tell you how antsy I was about seeing my cover. I was sooooo nervous. And it didn't help that every time I talked to my editor and asked about when I'd see it, she told me, 'Oh, it wasn't quite right, so we just sent it back...' This made me nervous, mostly because I thought, if they are working on it this hard and then I totally hate it, they aren't going to be willing to change it. I even asked if I could see the ones they'd decided against so that if the end result was awful, I could say, 'But I really did like this one...' But my editor was insistent that I just see the final. One day I came home from work and there it was in my email box. I was nervous and giddy at the same time to open the attachment. And when I saw it, my jaw just dropped. I nearly cried out of joy.
"It captures the feel of the book perfectly. The combat boots and the little swatch of lace at the top of her tights are the perfect metaphor for my main character Emily, a tough punk girl with a secret vulnerable streak. Not to mention I had those boots at 16. They are still in my closet right now. And I would have totally bought a book with that cover at 16 in an instant and I wrote the book for the 16-year-old girls like me, so perfect. Oh and the guitar picks! I'd been planning on promo guitar picks, so that was just perfect too. I got the guitar picks tattooed on my arm. I want to get the photo on the cover framed. That's how much I truly love it.
"I didn't see the original versions of the cover until two weeks ago (shown above, and you can see them in larger form here). And I like them but none of them are as good as the final. I probably like the one with the amp best. The close-up on the girl who is supposed to be Emily is okay, but she's not true to Emily because Emily's hair is black, not dark brown. I see Emily's hair very specifically in my mind because it is the color of my mother's hair before it grayed, so I would have been super picky about that. I still like my cover best. I mean that cover just is the book. I can't picture it any other way at this point. And I just can't wait to see what they do with my next one...
"I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on the alternate IWBYJR covers. Which do you like best? Do you like any better than the final?"
Well go on, answer Stephanie's questions. One commenter will be chosen at random to win a signed cover flat of the final cover from Stephanie herself. Very cool.
And thanks for reading. Great cover story, Stephanie!
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Comments (20)
We definitely hit the motherload with that flickr set! I love seeing all those different ones. Of the unused covers I think the one with the boots and fishnets is my favorite. I do like the one they ended up using best though.
Posted by Alea | August 18, 2008 10:12 AM
In my opinion, I like the third one with the amp the best. It is more simplistic and the bright red background pops up on me more. I would likely be more interested picking the book with this cover rather than the final one. >
Posted by Diana Dang | August 18, 2008 12:21 PM
I think if I had to choose a cover besides the real one, I'd choose the red one with the amp. It's really plain and it has the vibe of the book, I think. But, of course, the real cover of the book is the best. It totally embodies what IWBYJR is. Loved the book so much!
Posted by Liv | August 18, 2008 12:31 PM
i love the forth one :)
but i like the real one the most
Luv ya
Katie
Posted by Katie | August 18, 2008 3:06 PM
I definitely love the real cover the most, but if I had to pick a second like the fourth one. That one could never take the place of real one though.
Posted by khy | August 18, 2008 3:34 PM
i like the real cover but the other ideas are still pretty neat. rockin!
Posted by Marie | August 18, 2008 5:37 PM
I like the real cover the best, you're right because it does in fact capture the story the best.
But if I had to choose between the alternates, I like the fourth and fifth ones the best, respectively.
I actually don't like the amp cover, sorry Stephanie. I really hate it because it reminds of a lot of novels who do that one color background with an object in front and its because rather cliche, if not stereotypical.
And the girl with the hair, is eh... because its been done before, and the bracelets also remind me of what I said above and for I wanna be your Joey Ramone it just doesn't fit the stereotype... that's why I like the actual cover better. It fits the book, its different and it catches your attention for it.
Working effortlessly and perfectly.
;}
Posted by Stephanie {the Dizzy} | August 18, 2008 6:22 PM
the 4th one
Posted by TAMI blackroze37 | August 18, 2008 6:40 PM
I like the third and the fifth a lot. But the final cover is definitely way better.
And no thanks to the signed bookplate... I already have one =D So count me out on the contest portion.
I just had to read the cover story =D It was so fun.
Posted by Chelsie | August 18, 2008 8:48 PM
Hmmm.... The final cover is the best. Second would be the one with the amp.
Posted by Ink | August 19, 2008 12:00 AM
I like the first one with the coffee stains, but none of those covers really grab my attention like the real one does. I absolutely love the final edition of the cover. Awesome thing to blog about!
Posted by Melissa N | August 19, 2008 12:40 AM
I like the final cover the best, but my second choice would be the last cover with the boots and fishnets.
Posted by Kate | August 19, 2008 9:36 AM
i like the first and forth one the best. they book are really eye catching and look like something i would pick up if i judged a book by its cover...which i don't....;)
Posted by nadine-stella | August 19, 2008 3:23 PM
I like the other legs cover, but I agree the final is the coolest. It's tough, but just a little vulnerable. Plus the picks give it just the right amount of color.
Posted by Liviania | August 19, 2008 8:25 PM
my favorite is the one with the red cover but i prefer the final one i think it really tells readers a lot about the book, well quite a lot anyway : )
Posted by yessenia | August 19, 2008 9:53 PM
Wow...what a fantastic cover story (not that I'd expect anything less).
I don't think any of the early covers can hold a candle to the final. None captures the raw, edgy awesomeness as well. MTV/S&S totally hooked you up, dude! I will say my LEAST favorite is #2--especially 'cause it kind of looks like the girl really DOES want to be Joey Ramone (which is so not a good look--for a guy or a girl :-O), and because I generally dislike covers with real people (um, yeah, let's not talk about it beyond that, 'kay?).
XO
Posted by Alexa "the rocker" Young | August 20, 2008 12:51 AM
Ohh I love reading about cover art stories!
I'm glad that the second one was not choosen because it's not accurate to the description of Emily. It always drives me nut whenever I read the book and the picture of the picture is no where near to the description of the book. Like in the 1-800-Where-R-U series by Meg Cabot (which I love) the old copies had 4 different girls as the main character!
Anyway..
I really like the 4th and 5th one. The 4th one because of the coloring of the photo (it has a reddish tint which I liked) and the 5th one because the outfit looks amazing. However it lacked color like the final version with the different colored picks. Plus it did have those amazing combat shoes, so it was a win-win.
So yeah, I totally LOVE the final version and I would LOVE to win a copy of this fabu (that's fabulous for those who haven't heard ;)) book. Please enter me.
Thanks,
M&A (my initials)
Posted by M&A | August 21, 2008 3:38 AM
I like the cover with the amp, too. Although the final version is of course the most awesome! I also like the fifth cover version.
Posted by jocelyn | August 21, 2008 4:04 PM
The current cover really nails it. As someone who was REALLY REALLY into punk & indie in high school (and still is, come to think of it), I would have picked this up in a heartbeat. The Doc Martens are such a subcultural touchstone, it would be impossible to NOT include them! Second choice would be the far right, but it just doesn't have the same oomph as the final.
The earring cover is the worst, in my opinion.
I haven't read this yet, but it is definitely on my shortlist! Very excited.
Posted by Sara | August 27, 2008 4:34 PM
I tend to agree with a lot of commenters...the chosen one rocks! But, close second choice is the other one with the boots and fishnets. There's something defiant in the way the model's legs are posed that I really like. Can't wait to check out the book!
Posted by Kelly | August 27, 2008 4:42 PM