Devon, I love this post! It made me think about how I select a book to read/buy! I had never thought about this before. But for me, it is not the art on the cover that will get me to pull a book from the shelf at a bookstore or at a library. The book has to pass the spine test. It's not the words on the spine necessarily; it's the font choice and the color contrast. I am more likely to nab the book that has full saturation of the colors and high contrast between the font and the background. Spines with fewer words usually get first dibs on my attention. Also, since many shelves are stacked by genre, those that blend into the style of the others are unlikely to catch my eye.
Love the cover because it would make me pick it up and explore. I’m a writer and artist and hope to someday have many opinions about my own cover and keep my mouth mostly shut about them.
Coming from a design background, if my cover team began with “what fonts/colors/art styles do you like?” I’d be more than a little dismayed. It’s not the job of a non-designer to understand those things…and it’s not the job of a designer to give a client what they *want.* As in a well-written book, the protagonist needs to get to what they *need,* and it’s the designer’s job to guide them there. Your pivot to theme was exactly how I always started with a new client: “explain to me what you want a customer to feel.” I’d have hoped that they would have started there, moved onto visual symbols from the story to help convey those feelings, resulting in “here are fonts, colors, illustration styles, designs that convey that feeling” along with “we understand the marketplace; this design will help you stand out from the crowd…here’s *why.*”
A designer’s job isn’t about what it’s about. The visuals they produce — like the visual symbols in a story — are simply the outward expression of underlying themes: technical mastery and market expertise, certainly…but even more important, empathy and understanding.
Really thrilled for you that you landed with a great cover.
Congrats! Your cover is soooo cool! McSweeny’s creative team is on another level.
I’m going through cover design for my book now and it’s nerve wracking. Also because I realized that I’m drawn to literary covers whereas mine is more genre/ cross genre (introspective character study in a fantasy setting). This guide is super helpful!
That's a quality cover! So much about our reading choices is totally arbitrary. I would pick up a book with a cover like yours that looks original and/or different; we also keep getting told that covers have to instantly flag up the genre, hence so many books looking almost identical. Maybe it's a commercial vs literary fiction thing?
Such an original idea! The colors are great, the title is unexpected and evocative. And if you’re a reader and you get to spend time playing with the cover-wheel, how could you not want to then devour the book? Finally, a book you can judge by its cover.
Isn't crazy how things fall into place like that? Thanks for the insight into this journey. I feel like a bit of the publishing process as a writer has been demystified for me because the cover is such a make-or-break aspect of one's work.
Devon, I love this post! It made me think about how I select a book to read/buy! I had never thought about this before. But for me, it is not the art on the cover that will get me to pull a book from the shelf at a bookstore or at a library. The book has to pass the spine test. It's not the words on the spine necessarily; it's the font choice and the color contrast. I am more likely to nab the book that has full saturation of the colors and high contrast between the font and the background. Spines with fewer words usually get first dibs on my attention. Also, since many shelves are stacked by genre, those that blend into the style of the others are unlikely to catch my eye.
Love the cover because it would make me pick it up and explore. I’m a writer and artist and hope to someday have many opinions about my own cover and keep my mouth mostly shut about them.
Devon, your Substack is a must-read (even for non-Wallies). Congrats on the forthcoming book, which I have preordered.
Fabulous and covers can be soooo charged! So congrats
Great cover and they are clearly excited about your book or they wouldn't be investing in what looks like a very expensive design to produce.
Excellent post! Thank you.
Cover looks amazing, Devon! Congratulations!!!
Coming from a design background, if my cover team began with “what fonts/colors/art styles do you like?” I’d be more than a little dismayed. It’s not the job of a non-designer to understand those things…and it’s not the job of a designer to give a client what they *want.* As in a well-written book, the protagonist needs to get to what they *need,* and it’s the designer’s job to guide them there. Your pivot to theme was exactly how I always started with a new client: “explain to me what you want a customer to feel.” I’d have hoped that they would have started there, moved onto visual symbols from the story to help convey those feelings, resulting in “here are fonts, colors, illustration styles, designs that convey that feeling” along with “we understand the marketplace; this design will help you stand out from the crowd…here’s *why.*”
A designer’s job isn’t about what it’s about. The visuals they produce — like the visual symbols in a story — are simply the outward expression of underlying themes: technical mastery and market expertise, certainly…but even more important, empathy and understanding.
Really thrilled for you that you landed with a great cover.
I took judge a book by it's cover, and you've got a gorgeous one here 🤓
!!!! Can’t wait to order this for the store.
Congrats! Your cover is soooo cool! McSweeny’s creative team is on another level.
I’m going through cover design for my book now and it’s nerve wracking. Also because I realized that I’m drawn to literary covers whereas mine is more genre/ cross genre (introspective character study in a fantasy setting). This guide is super helpful!
That's a quality cover! So much about our reading choices is totally arbitrary. I would pick up a book with a cover like yours that looks original and/or different; we also keep getting told that covers have to instantly flag up the genre, hence so many books looking almost identical. Maybe it's a commercial vs literary fiction thing?
Thanks for sharing your takeaways. What a unique cover! Too many times I hear people say, “Well yeah, I first bought it because the cover was pretty.”
A strong cover really is a force to be reckoned with, right up there with word of mouth.
Such an original idea! The colors are great, the title is unexpected and evocative. And if you’re a reader and you get to spend time playing with the cover-wheel, how could you not want to then devour the book? Finally, a book you can judge by its cover.
My philosophy when working with a cover artist - after meeting to discuss our mutual visions, step aside and let the artist be the artist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o4SxNr9gbw
Isn't crazy how things fall into place like that? Thanks for the insight into this journey. I feel like a bit of the publishing process as a writer has been demystified for me because the cover is such a make-or-break aspect of one's work.