#11. Behind the Scenes: Book Covers
and countdown to autumn.
Hi. It’s been a while.
Quick recap since we last published Experimenting, The Newsletter.
Lots of swimming in July. Lots of sweating in August. As the best month of the year is approaching, I’m sitting on the couch at 11:29 PM finally getting time to put pen to laptop to write my favorite newsletter.
This week's post is very lighthearted, hence publishing on a Sunday ☀️ However, I have a few drafts in progress with hard-cutting topics in the experimentation realm scheduled for the next few weeks. That’s the beauty of having your own newsletter, you can write about any topic in any tone and style as you wish.
Thank you for reading!
35 days until the autumn season officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere.
32 days until the average pumpkin is ready for harvest.
10 days until its pumpkin spice szn at Starbucks.
62 days until fall foliage in Vermont is at its peak.
Speaking of fall foliage, there are leaves on the front cover of my book – Practical A/B Testing. How did I come to choose this book cover, you ask? Or perhaps, why did I opt for two-toned leaves in favor of a pair of kittens?
Well, keep reading to find out.
We actually do judge a book by its cover
A book's cover is even more meaningful than the description presented on the back. It’s the first thing you see, before you examine the table of contents or critic the author’s bio. I’ve actually purchased books solely based on the esthetic cover art and have yet to read.
Everyone likes visuals of the content they’re consuming. When I browse Instagram, viewing imagery of morning coffee habits, I get a warm feeling inside. With that in mind, is it possible to create a cover for a technical book that also gives you a somewhat warm and happy feeling? Yes. I think it is possible.
What follows are the book cover images that landed on the cutting room floor and some of my thoughts as to why that was the case.
Option 1: Confused Cats
There’s something about these kittens.
They look a bit confused, cute, but confused. Maybe we should have overlaid astronaut helmets or lab coats as a nod to experimentation.
Cute but next please.
Option 2: Futuristic City
If the future looks like this, then I'm buying a cabin in the woods.
Also, I've seen a variation of this cover before. Unclear where I’ve seen it, but I’ve seen it.
Option 3: Life is a Highway
I like this book cover.
If only I could have added a large green sign with the words “Schuylkill Expressway” as an homage to Philadelphia.
Or maybe “Route 66” in Northern Virginia as a reference to where I grew up, then I may have actually selected this one.
Now that you have a sense of the book covers that didn’t make the cut, next let’s talk about the winner.
Option 4: Maple Leaves Turning Red in the Autumn
Instead of attaching an image of the book cover we went with, let’s describe it with galvanizing prose.
The book cover of Practical A/B Testing will give a sense of calm, a sense of…practicality, and an understanding that even though you may lack an experimentation platform today, it doesn't mean you can't take steps towards building a simple solution tomorrow. Like a crisp autumn day with colorful leaves gracing the sidewalk, this book gracefully walks you through the beginning stages of building an experimentation platform.
Did I manage to bring calming and soothing vibes as you imagined the book cover? Or was that too poetic?
Jokes aside, I’m really fond of the book cover we ended up with. It’s simple and somewhat distinct from the atypical technical book covers. There are two leaves, symbolic of the test and control comparisons within an experiment. If you have a copy, I hope you like it or at least laugh at my attempt to write mild poetry when describing it.
Hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at the making of Practical A/B Testing. As fall approaches, heres to the remainder of your summer being filled with sunshine and sunflowers.
Happy Experimenting.