The design of a cover is an exciting process, and I’m sharing a peek behind the scenes. In this article, the cover in question is Nimrod Squad, my tale of a dysfunctional crew of bounty hunters.

The cover started off as a premade designed by J Caleb Clark of J Caleb Design, whose fantastic work I can’t recommend enough. What’s a premade? It’s when the designer creates a cover for a specific genre, puts mock title and author fonts on it, and then presents it for sale. It allows them to work free of constraint and create whatever their imagination impels. More often than not, authors find premades to fit a story they have in mind. They purchase the premade, relay their title info to the designer, and get their new book cover. Most designers are willing to make small changes to the premade to better fit the author’s vision. But be aware that additional charges may incur should you want to do so.

This is the premade cover I purchased from Jake:

Very impressive work. Just the type of throwback sci-fi pulp action that I enjoy writing. I was instantly drawn to the dynamic, B-movie poster style of the art and knew it would be a perfect fit for my Nimrod Squad concept. I purchased it and made a request: I wanted the woman’s face to be more realistic, so I found and bought a stock image of the model I wanted to use. I also wanted her to have a punk look so I asked Jake if he could style her hair with a cyberpunk attitude. He obliged and updated the look:

So the final version looks good, right?

Ok, maybe that wasn’t the final version. A few months later I purchased another premade from Jake for a future novel. I realized the look of the character would be perfect for Jinx la Fox, the hacker on the cover of Nimrod Squad. So once again I went to Jake to pester him for a change and update. He happily obliged.

And look at that: even better than before. I finally had a cover that perfectly reflected what I wanted for the story. Right?

Err…

Let me clarify by saying that I had not written the book when I bought the cover. And even after making the changes I was still in the writing process. As the book progressed, the characters came to life and evolved. And lo and behold, I had one more idea for the cover. Once again I went to Jake to nag him about swapping out the robot with a different character. I wanted to feature Mateo, my young swashbuckler who uses a very unique weapon. I purchased the stock and talked with Jake about designing the cyber sword. Would he be up to the challenge? See for yourself.

There you have it. I really couldn’t be happier with the results and want to give a huge should out to J Caleb Clark for his professionalism, impressive design skills, and the patience to deal with a bothersome customer like me. I’m in your debt, man. Can’t wait to show off many of the other premades I’ve purchased from you in future articles.

If you’re reading this and want to work with Jake, here’s the website: https://www.jcalebdesign.com

Tell him Bard sent you!

Some tips: this isn’t exactly a typical experience, so don’t expect every designer to be so accommodating. Many designers, Jake included, are on tight schedules and are regularly booked for work. It’s always best to know exactly what you want upfront. Preferably after the book is finished, lol. Fortunately, I’ve worked with Jake more than a few times, so he was able to give me some leeway.

I mentioned purchasing stock for the modifications. While designers can buy stock for you, I find it’s best to buy my own. That way I choose the exact model and pose I want, and there’s no confusion to bog down the process. I’ll post more about stock purchasing in a future article. If you have any questions, you can ask in the comments, and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.

Oh, and if you want to give Nimrod Squad a shot, you can check it out here. Thanks!