Struggling with book cover design? So was I. This is my journey.

Everyone judges a book by its cover.

The cover conveys what kind of story to expect. It is shorthand, the same way traffic lights are visual indicators of whose turn it is to go through that intersection. The wrong cover is the equivalent of a green light that should really, really have been red.

No one wants pistachio ice cream when they ordered a pumpkin-spice latte.

A reader looking for a sweet romance doesn’t want hard science fiction. Imagine her surprise when the book with a cover showing two beautiful people chastely holding hands is really a story about murderous cyborgs and ugly people having zero romance. That reader is left feeling like she drove the wrong way down a one-way street while pistachio ice cream melts in her cupholder because, damn, she wanted coffee, not green ice cream!

This is my journey designing the cover for Aulisyn: A Gothic Sci-Fi Novel. Buckle up, buttercups!

Aulisyn is bizarre. It combines the middle-ages with a futuristic virtual reality corporation that puts profit over ethics. I know, I know. Corporations never, ever scrimp on doing the right thing, but this is science fiction. Nothing like that would ever happen in a world of benevolent tech dictators such as ours!

I digress.

What IS Aulisyn? Really. What IS IT??

• Half of the dual-timeline is set in a Medieval demesne so… historical fiction?
• Half of the dual-timeline is set in the near-future with oh-so-slightly futuristic tech, so … soft sci-fi?
• 100% of the book focuses on women’s issues so … women’s fiction?
• A good 99% of the book is psychological tension so … suspense?
• The prose is more complex than the shockingly abysmal seventh grade reading level possessed by the average American so … literary?
• The atmosphere is one of dread and isolation so … Gothic?

I ruled some options out pretty quickly.

• Women’s fiction? Apparently, that is a euphemism for “chick lit” and my book is definitely not that.
• Suspense? The narrative is suspenseful, but Aulisyn isn’t a thriller.
• Literary? No. The sad state of American public education doesn’t make my novel literary.

Then I proceeded to incorrectly pick historical fiction as the genre and my first design reflects this poor choice. I mean, only HALF of the book is sci-fi. No need to indicate that in the cover! At the time, I hadn’t identified the atmosphere of the book as being Gothic, so that had no bearing on my initial attempt.

I had no idea what my genre was, and my first cover attempt served pistachio coffee while signaling red-yellow-AND-green at the same time!

Yes, Aulisyn spent a brief time as The Reeve’s Daughter.

How This Cover Fails

• Amateur looking composition.
• The title meets the expectation of historical fiction readers… and does not appeal to science fiction readers.
• The font, like the cover, indicates historical fiction not sci-fi.

How This Cover Succeeds

• N/A

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Maybe I should skip the pistachio coffee and fender benders?

I was pleased with my sneaky “A Novel” on the arm. I was like, I’m rocking the socks offa this design stuff! It’s okay, I’m laughing, too!

How This Cover Fails

• Composition is too busy without any nuanced layering.
• No indication of science fiction.
• Gives “literary” vibes more than genre fiction vibes.
• Imagery accentuates the Middle Ages, yet the primary theme is the clash of the main character’s (Medieval) ethics with those of the near-future VR corporation.

How This Cover Succeeds

• The title is “sci-fi,” not historical fiction.
• The image captures the mood of the book far more than the first iteration.
• The font is “old-fashioned,”
• The title color is directionally correct for sci-fi, even if it doesn’t get all the way.

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If Middle Ages is pistachio and sci-fi pumpkin spice, I’m missing a lot of pumpkin spice.

It took months, but I finally deciphered my genre: Gothic Science Fiction! Hooray!

How This Cover Fails

• Composition looks cramped, with almost all elements above the midline.
• Author name difficult to read.
• Gives “YA” vibes more than “SF” vibes.

How This Cover Succeeds

• More nuanced composition with layers
• Font style matches the “Gothic” aesthetic.
• Font color matches the “sci-fi” aesthetic.
• Subtitle is more descriptive (A Gothic Sci-Fi Novel vs. A Novel)
• Dope-ass flowers contrast with the groovy software code overlay to indicate the book’s admixture of mood and theme.
• Imagery no longer focuses on the Middle Ages

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Green light on that pumpkin spice!

This is the final cover. This design signals potential readers with a green light for sci-fi fans, yellow light for those on the fence, and red for people who dislike the genre. Best of all, now I have a template for the entire Bitterhaunt Science series of standalone novels. By retaining the primary visual elements (code and flowers) and using the same the same font style and color, the design conveys a consistent “look” across the series. Eventually, readers who like my books will be used to seeing these elements and recognize them even without reading my name or the book title.

How This Cover Succeeds

• More nuanced composition with layers.
• Font style matches the “Gothic” aesthetic.
• Font color matches the “sci-fi” aesthetic.
• Subtitle is more descriptive (A Gothic Sci-Fi Novel vs. A Novel).
• Author name is legible.
• Groovy code layer made brighter to increase the contrast with the dope-ass flowers.
• Imagery no longer focuses on the Middle Ages.

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I used Canva Pro to design the cover. The pre-made templates are excellent for learning design techniques that you can apply to your own blank canvas. The upcharge for licensed one-off purchases makes Pro well worth the yearly subscription fee.