Illustration and book cover I made, rejected the last minute 2016

This illustration and book cover design, was done with another book title and author name initially, but I deleted title and author name, publisher, and added a new mockup title and my own name. The book was never published

Of all the book covers I´ve made, only one book cover I´ve made has been rejected at the last minute. You have to accept the situation, and no hard feelings as it is called. It happened in 2016.

Certainly, I redo book cover designs, revises, adds, removes – simply make changes during a book cover design project process. It’s nothing strange, it’s normal. But at the very last minute, before it more or less goes to print – No. But, nevertheless, it is sad that it happened. And since you are closest to yourself, I still like ”my” book cover, instead of the one that was done by a completely different person. You also have to accept that. In other words, despite the fact that a collaboration initially, both the personal chemistry between me and the publisher, and he brief worked really well all the time – until the very last minute. And it finally failed, and fell flat. The publisher’s reference group protested when they saw my cover and illustration – which they had seen several times being built up during the process I may add. Now with a few years having past since then, it is still a little funny to look back at the illustration and the book cover I did. It is still there, just not never gone to print.

So why was it stopped, at the very last minute you may be wondering. Well, the reference group that the publisher used, let us say at least that the red color apparently was too much in conjunction with the fist and POW expression. The reference group felt that the cover felt communist. Yes, you can always read basically anything into a picture. The red colour and the classic fist ”POW!” and star around it, which is a classic comic drawing thing was just too much for them. Classic comic style, they considered communist.

 Reference: Classic Comic style Fist Pow!

They wanted a fist, a comic style feeling with a fist and a POW! with that star around it – They got it. They wanted to have people drawn in a more comic fashion – they got it. They wanted a sense of job satisfaction feeling among the people – they got it. And they liked the fonts. They wanted a comic feeling, and everything they got – but those in the reference group suddenly got a feeling seeing the red color and the fist and pow and star around it. And there the project died from their side. The color did not fit. End of. The red color, the yellow coliur and the star in conjunction gave them the wrong references.

Too bad because the publisher and I had fun when I worked with the cover. And it would have been different to the usual picture of that genre’s book cover styles – Self help books. It had stood out. Instead it became traditional for that genre. Thats how it is sometimes. It would have been completely okay on my part to redo the cover altogether, totally different. But that opportunity had to go to another person. And, yes, sad as it may be, you have to accept it and then move on with new projects.

Stefan Lindblad

Illustrator, Cover artist, graphic designer