I’ve sworn that I was tired of changing the cover. The manuscript is needing more work than expected so I have time. I am changing the cover again. This is it. No more changes, this time I promise. one of these four will be your cover in your hands.

I’ve said it multiple times. The book has to accomplish a few things:

1. Accurately apply a visual ‘vibe’ to the writing

2. Get users attention against the other books available in it’s genre

3. Be able to fit in with the user application. If they are reading on the subway, a giant dick on the cover ain’t gonna work e.g.

4. Make the client happy (me)

1. The Army Guide

Olive and green is not used much in the amazon library. They have blue, pink, and more blue. I like it distressed, a homage to the 60s and 70s pulp that inspired me. It’s also got some winks at 1980s VHS action sci fi movies.

The typography is pure block color. There’s a lot going on so it has to grab attention above all. The RA stone on the spine is to match The Dog Walker, and will be aligned so they can sit together and not bug peoples OCD.

I didn’t like the idea of using digital text on a cyberpunk book. It seems too derivative, which is funny considering this is a collage of derivative, but here we are.

2. The Classic

Like Softbone, no rules but what can be enforced by tongue or fist or pussy or boot. It’s the VHS cover, amplified. Simple, bold, contrasting. It’s what happens when you don’t overthink the goal. The only issue, which I’ll get to later, is that the back cover won’t contrast on the amazon page, since the front covers are what’s there. It’s the closest to what you see others works as. Which gives users some confidence in that they will be getting what they are used to.

3. Golden Child

In older book prints, they didn’t have the technology for edge bleeding, so everything had a border. If the classic leaned heavy on VHS, this leans heavy on the pulp covers. I added some artifacts for image balance and focal points, but I know it stands out against the competition. the typography is meant for maximum visual appeal, but minimizes any individual identity. I’ll probably make the spine match it, but the thing about 70s pulp I loved is they went overboard with typography mixing and matching, so I like how there’s 7 typefaces at once.

4. Blueboy

I actually like the blue, so I aim to have the contrast with the title stand it out against the bookshelf. It’s a blend of the VHS, the pulp, and the classic. It’s busy and noisy and typeface heavy and breaks every rule I’d have about cover design, but that’s what I like about it. In a way it reflects that, while I have a lot of homage to many decades of style in here, it’s synthesized it for it’s own thing.

e.g. the characters have eye patches, but not because they want to look cool, but for characterization. Jake has his because he went back to try to simp for the system, which cost him, and Buck, because he doesn’t trust technology, which put him in this position. they have opposite eyes because you find out later how similar their arcs have been. It’s subtle and you won’t pick up on it, but it’s there for the few who do.

The Book Shelf

When you compare them against the list of the top 100, you see what I mean. Where’s waldo the covers, how long to find all 4?

And while this isn’t the final and only reason to pick one over the other, you do have to weigh it against the competition. In this case, blueboy, surprisingly stands out. It’s the first I could find, and probably the first you could find. It’s not so much the color as it is the largest amount of a solid color, as well as the stand out typeface and neon yellow-green.

Having said that, more contrast on the typeface of golden boy does have an effect.

User Application

It’s a bit of guesswork and a bit of application, but you have to think of where they are reading this. Where does it sit when they aren’t. Who is reading it? In this case, guys. In what place, publicly or at least not shamefully private. It’s also got potential for someone to ask what it is, since it does not look like your typical Memphis corporate, or AI generated plasticized slop.

Final decision?

Next time you see it, it’ll be on the Amazon store, so I’ll let you know. Feel free to comment on your own preferences. I may not seem like I listen, but I do. One of you always brings something up to make me understand better, and occasionally make me realize why I’m wrong about a design choice.

Cheers