Hand Me Down World has some textbook examples of excellent back cover design and planning.

I love the way the cover artwork has been designed to frame the text, making the back just as attractive and intriguing as the front and allowing the whole cover to hint at a story through illustration. The yellow frame for the blurb is a really satisfying touch, drawing the eye to the right place straight away.

The main paragraph of blurb is really well written — short, direct and resisting the temptation to tell the whole story. It introduces you straight away to the main character and makes you want to read on. The last sentence — “This is a novel you cannot stop thinking about.” — is a mistake, though. It sounds both didactic and patronising and will put off readers who don’t want to be told what to think. It jars the reader away from the world of the central character and back to pompous “publisher speak”.

It would have been nice to see the author photo and biog and the Mister Pip jacket incorporated more cleverly into the overall design. Here they look rather bunged on at the last minute.

Overall, though, this is really pleasing to look at. It excites and intrigues without fuss or complication. Lovely.

…We are a bit worried, though, about the forthcoming paperback edition. It looks like another tragic example of a lovely design being chucked away in paperback. John Murray — it’s not too late to save it. Please?