The Spirit of the River (affiliate link) is a terrific novel by Diane McCarthy, published by her own Cloudland Press. I met Diane at an all-day publishing workshop run by the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA) where we are both members.
After I finished the book I decided to redesign the cover. Now this isn’t something I ordinarily do, but Diane had done an outstanding job of designing the interior herself, and the books were very nicely printed. But looking at the black and white cover, I felt it deserved something different. So I set to work.
The book is a thriller and a murder mystery that starts around a whitewater rafting camp in the Sierras. I wanted to capture both the river and the menace that gathers around the main characters as the story moves forward.
In the end I came up with four variations that I thought would work. Have a look:
The Covers for Spirit of the River
Here’s my first take on the cover. I liked this photo and tried to make it a bit more “thriller-esque” by darkening the water substantially.
Click to enlarge
I wanted to go in a completely different direction with the second, and got out an old favorite font that looks like a distressed typewriter type. It gives an edgy feeling to this ghosted shot of roiling water.
Click to enlarge
I really liked this photo of a river meandering away to an unknown destination in the distance, and added the dark gradient at the bottom for even more mystery. Unfortunately, I kept seeing the big space between the words “of” and “the” and it bothered me.
Click to enlarge
Here’s my last take on this cover. I went back to the image from the previous design, but reworked the typography. Looking at it now, I think the colors are a bit too festive for this design.
Click to enlarge
In the end I offered the designs to Diane should she ever reprint her book. Although it was only an exercise, I thoroughly enjoyed re-imagining the cover of a book I had enjoyed.
What do you think? Does one of these speak to you, or perhaps you have an idea that never occurred to me. I’d love to hear from you.
Related posts:
- Project Focus: Cover Design With Supplied Artwork for Not A Fire Exit
- Project Focus: Cover Design with Supplied Artwork for The “And” Principle
- Project Focus: 2-color Cover Design for Self-Publishers
- Project Focus: 2-Color Cover Design for Trade Publishers
- Interior Design for Not A Fire Exit by Christopher Finlan
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I like the photo in the first take. All that roiling water looks alive; lots of dangerous personality — esp with the fallen branch in the background. Like the type layout too. But I also like your distressed typewriter font. Wonder how that would look on your first cover? You’re right about the ones with color — too festive. And the water is too calm! Thanks for posting. Fun to look at your visual process.
Betty, thanks for looking. I didn’t think of combining the rough typewriter type with that first river shot, which I really liked. Hmm. Might work. These covers are so much fun to do, it’s almost like not working. Hope you’re having a good holiday, Betty.