Appearance – and Why It Matters

As you might have gathered by now, my novels are 'traditionally' published: I have an agent; I have one mainstream publisher for ebooks and paperbacks, and a different one for audio and large print. This means that the process, from the early ideas all the way through  to release adhere to the tried and tested publishing cycle. To date, that has meant that we have generally been well into a project – usually the other side of structural edits, if there are any – before I see draft artwork for the cover and am asked for my thoughts. Clearly, by then, I am au fait with my protagonist's appearance as well as aspects of the setting which, in featuring on the cover, will help communicate to potential readers something of where the story takes place – especially where the setting isn't fictitious but a real location.

Sometimes, though, the publishing world has a surprise up its sleeve and, for the first time, I was recently on the receiving end of one such occurrence. If I tell you that I was mere days into a first draft when I was asked if I could submit an outline of my character's appearance – not just for the first in the trilogy, but for all three books – and preferably with pictures of any real life people who have inspired me, you can probably understand my astonishment. The first complete manuscript wasn't due to be delivered for a further eight months, the last one not until 2025. Even so, I knew what my characters looked like, didn't I?

Well, yes and no. Forced to picture them in detail, I realised that, while I knew an awful lot about their situations and the challenges they faced – and had fully developed their back stories – I couldn't actually describe their physical attributes. I knew that, in the first book, Julia was no shrinking violet, also that, in the second, Isabel was petite and demure. And I had a feeling that, in the third, Veronica – known to her friends as Ronnie – had been raised along very traditional lines and was fazed by very little. But what did they actually look like? It was then that I realised I can be quite some way into a character's story, and have put them through all manner of challenges, before they actually develop physical features – in particular, a face.

The other issue for me is that I write historical sagas, and the 1940s wasn't the era of selfies. Unless you were a public figure, an actor, or a singer, you were unlikely to be caught on film very often. And while there's a belief that looks are timeless, I'm not sure I agree. It isn't just because a picture is in black and white that we can tell it's from days gone by. There are all manner of giveaways, from the obvious ones such as hairstyles and make up to less obvious clues such as the shape of eyebrows and even what used to be called 'vital statistics.'

Having to describe three, as yet undocumented, female protagonists proved a challenge; once they're on the cover, and it's been agreed by all the interested parties (and there are a surprising number of them), then you heroine's (or hero's) appearance is set in stone. That's the person about whom you're now writing; the chance to go back and make her a brunette instead of blonde, or tall instead of petite, is lost.

So, I suppose my message to myself here is 'Get it Right'. Know what you can live with. And make sure you're happy with the final draft of your cover because, if it features a picture of your protagonist, that is the image that will be in your reader's mind from the moment they read the story's opening line.

There's a part of this confession that I wasn't going to mention. But, for completeness, I think I will. If you can negotiate a sensible amount of time to mull your descriptions and spend a few days living with them just to make sure, do so. Twenty-four hours to submit three outlines, complete with photographs, turns a tricky task into one that induces panic. Trust me, I know of what I speak...

Rosie