Cover Art Drafting
The History of Living Forever is a sweeping debut novel spanning centuries of scientific and alchemical inquiry, and a gorgeous story of one boy’s struggle with first love and deep loss. Despite the heavy topics, a warm humor also infuses the book’s tone. It was a tough process to convey all of that in a cover!
Publishers typically share cover design drafts with the author and agent for their input. The goal is to find a cover that the sales and marketing teams love and that the author is proud to promote. The initial drafts we were shown didn’t match the novel’s unique tone. They suggested a thriller, filled with maze illustrations, or a book focused on science, with the font and design evoking the periodic table. Both elements are found in the novel, but the author knew he wanted something that got across the whimsy and magic at its heart.
Final jacket design and art by Alex Merto
I drafted the black and white sketch shown here. The novel features a delightful plot twist involving sparklers. I thought a simple cover with three sparklers, each ticking down closer to the end, would combine the inherent wonder and delight of sparklers with a sense of time ticking away like a lit fuse – the countdown to the end of life that so many characters in the novel are fighting against.
The publisher loved it and the talented designer Alex Merto took the sketch and developed the gorgeous final jacket.