Judging A Book by Its Cover

The evolution of Lock-In, through book covers.

Writers have their own ways of procrastinating - doing literally anything other than writing. We’ll fantasize about getting a publishing deal, going on The Late Late Show to promote the book, going viral on Twitter or TikTok. But procrastinating is not limited to fantasizing. We’ll wash the dishes, complete Netflix, disprove the Second Law of Thermodynamics, complete Disney+, go for a walk. My favourite form of procrastination is designing book covers.

Do I have a finished book yet? No.

Do I have any graphic design experience or qualifications? No.

Not to worry.

It took me the whole of lockdown to write a book (called Lock-In, but has nothing to do with lockdowns, just a coincidence). Why did it take so long? Partly down to inexperience. Partly down to other commitments. But mainly because I spent half my time designing covers for the bloody thing. What’s worse, I ironically ended up hiring a pro to design the final cover. Do you need professional help? It’s not as essential as editing, I think. But it’s not far off. Considering this was my first ever book, it was worth collaborating with an expert. I’d recommend checking out Reedsy, where you can find designers based on their genre specialization and previous experiences.

So, feast your eyes on the many different Lock-In covers. For these initial drafts, I used mostly Microsoft Word and Canva. Obviously, the pros use Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator et al. They are the best tools but they’ll cost you a bomb. GIMP is a powerful Photoshop alternative, and it's free. Canva in particular is great but can be limiting at times, especially if you’re using the free version. I’m a big fan of playing around with designs here. But just remember that a lot of people use the same templates so you run the risk of unoriginal designs. PS: Canva can also be a great place to create on-brand social media posts and book trailers too. Okay, here’s some covers.

Design #1: I like this. It’s quite minimal, a trend which will stay for most of the drafts. However, it’s very serious. It could be a Shari Lapena book. Nothing wrong with that, but Lock-In isn’t serious. It’s a funny story. Some bad things happen along the way, sure, but it's ultimately a comedy. This doesn’t scream comedy.

Design #2: If draft one was serious, then this is grave. It looks like a horror story. It’s grunge. Nirvana. Saw. Criminal Minds. The green bottle reminds one of Heineken. Doesn’t get more horrific than that. I quickly realised I wanted illustrations over stock photos. Covers created using stock image manipulation are common to almost every genre, but are particularly visible in thrillers, romance, and non-fiction titles.

Design #3: Okay, so this is more in tune with the genre. The font is sort of comic. The light bulb in darkness is supposed to represent the interiors of a closed pub. But is it too simplistic? Probably. I like the slogan here though - ‘It’s never just a quiet pint’. Damn, why didn’t I use that in the final copy? BRB, going to update the product description on Amazon.

I can’t take credit for this one. Before I went any further, I channelled Dermot Bannon and went “looking for inspo”. God, I hate myself for writing that. Jurassic Park is perhaps the most iconic cover of all time. Minimalistic but everyone is familiar with that t-rex illustration. It’s so good Spielberg and his marketing team at Universal used it for the film’s logo, simply adding a dash of colour.

Design #4: This draft follows a similar colour theme to JP, with the black silhouettes depicting pint glasses. I really liked this. I still really like this. Maybe it will make the cover of the 25th anniversary special edition (we can but hope).

The Final Design: As I mentioned earlier, the finished product was designed by a pro. Generally speaking, designers appreciate it when you give them a creative direction (unless it’s so specific that they have no room to work with it), and they’ll be happy to hear your ideas. So, keep a note of the types of covers that capture your attention in bookstores or on social media, and save photos and illustrations that you think may fit your title nicely. If you’re self-publishing, it’s also worth examining your prospective cover in thumbnail size. Most people who will see this cover for the first time will be via the Amazon search pages. For Lock-In, the title is big and bold, with a sharp contrast between the letters and the background. I love the colour combo here too. Blue, black, and white. It’s set in the middle of winter. It looks like shit is about to go down, but is it too serious? I don’t believe so. Although I would love to hear feedback if you have any. What are your favourite covers out there? Let me know!

Lock-In is available in ebook and paperback. Get it on Amazon here

Contrary to this whole article, please don’t judge by its cover. Also, this is my first book, so maybe don’t judge by the writing either.