Rejected Book Covers

I’m not afraid afraid to share my drafts.

Get it in Print

Pick, Pack, or Die is now available as a paperback, hardcover, and ebook. Thanks to everyone who’s ordered copies so far!

A Gallery of Failed Ideas

Here’s a quick rundown of the many variations I considered for my book’s cover. You’ll notice some are better than others.

QR Codes

I liked the idea of using a QR code, but shipping labels use barcodes and I didn’t know if Amazon would accept a design featuring a fake code.

Conveyor Belts

I played around with the idea of using conveyor belts, but it always came out looking more confusing, than clever.

Shelving Units

An experiment with shelving units and flames.

Cardboard

I messed around with the idea of cutting the title into cardboard, but the layer effects made it look so late 1990s.

A Clump of Falling Boxes

Expressive Boxes

Ultimately, I stumbled upon the idea of creating anthropomorphic boxes that were excited, happy, and sad to be on fire. Unfortunately, that meant I’d have to teach myself how to use Blender.

I started with a large group of boxes, but it was too busy.

After a ton of revisions I settled on three boxes and learned how to add textures to each cube. Next, I learned how to open the top flaps of the saddest box.

The final step was to add the faces, and rig the lighting.

After I added the flames and ominous glowing eyes to the design it was ready for a test print.

Once approved, I grew to enjoy the story it conveyed. A cluster of flaming boxes falling in a dark and mysterious warehouse as the creepy red “eyes” of drones lie in wait. Each box is reacting with shock, excitement, or fear of the danger headed toward the Zing Warehouse employees.

Free Design Resources

• Blender

• Photopea

• Ilovepdf

That’s all I’ve got until next time,

Jed