Help Kate choose a cover for her cookbook!

M is great!

It's a Rayburn Royal, around 50 years old and runs really well on dry hardwood.

Andrea Locke wrote: But I have a feeling it would be worth trying to go up as much as you can with font size for your name and the words other than off grid kitchen in the title. I think you are right to keep off grid kitchen bigger than the rest but there probably doesn't need to be quite as much size disparity.

Good idea, and oooooh how about metallic color letters on your name? Gold might be a bit bright, but what about silver or copper?

I like the layout of D and G. Don’t care for H, I, and other layouts.

Like the thinner borders.

Sometimes the font of the title is hard to read.

Yes! It's really getting there!

I really like your name moved to the stove photo and the script font. And the narrow lines look much better.

And now I would love to see the title in the green panel widened a bit to take up the extra space, perhaps using a font for "Off Grid Kitchen" that has a little more width to it - not so tall and narrow?? And then you could go up a size and widen the line below it to match the width.

I also keep wondering what it would look like if the outside border only was the same green as the title box. Might not work, but I keep trying to picture it. I agree that the brown borders didn't pop as well.

Here's the latest one

It's beautiful, Kate! When can we expect it, for sale?

Carla Burke wrote:It's beautiful, Kate! Wyden can we expect it, for sale?

https://permies.com/forums/posts/read/148293

She's saying maybe Thursday afternoon here.

I love this latest version.
That sub-header is SO important, it tells me why I want this book (and I do!). It's great to have it large and readable.

I think you've nailed it, Kate!

I'm really happy with that cover too, and with all the feedback I've received. Sometimes something can look not-quite-right and I can't figure it out, and it's really helpful to have other eyes looking at it and making suggestions! The Permies community will get a big thank you in the book!

I've shared the cover on Kickstarter! It's not too late to change it if anyone has any great other ideas, but I am happy for it to stay as-is.

Here's the Kickstarter preview page with the cover, if anyone wants to see it in that context: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/706848724/real-food-cookbook-a-year-in-an-off-grid-kitchen?ref=cxh9a1&token=b631536b

I loved your D example, except that the stove must be one of the pictures. This cover let me know much more about what you offer with all the extra pictures in there. The green with thinner black borders is my preference, but I think your name at the bottom looks far better. Your final one would do though, because I understand small pictures don't show up well. However, it might make someone curious to know what the pictures are and therefore click on the cover for a closer look. Best of luck with your endeavor!

Just as an aside, I did a cookbook 10 years ago called "Alive Health Recipe Book - Healthy Eating On The Run" which is on Amazon, if you want an example of what didn't go over well. I put small pictures of all my food around the outside border on the front page since color photos were at a premium. People just weren't willing to give up their McDonald's and other fast food, so it didn't sell very well. I used Create Space and self-published it because no publisher was interested. Hopefully you'll do better than I did.

Now it's time for me to design the entire cover, including the spine and back...

What are your thoughts on this design?

And the text on the back?

I am not sure if the black spine is a good idea or not... So I tested out the hardcover with brown (the extra area around the outsides is the casewrap and doesn't show up on the actual cover, please ignore it), if I end up choosing the brown cover I will probably change the black dividing lines on the front to be the same colour as the spine.

Here's the text, in case it doesn't show up on this small jpg cover:

Learn the skills that helped our ancestors to thrive in harsh times...


When the panic buying, empty shelves, and restrictive rations hit in March 2020, it was not a problem for Kate Downham and her family, because she knew these skills, and knew how to feed her family without the supermarket system. With the help of this book, you can learn these skills too.

Learn traditional methods of preserving pork without electricity. Make your own cheese, butter, and other dairy essentials. Learn sourdough bread recipes that take only 5 minutes of hands-on time to make. Preserve fruit and vegetables in many ways - from failproof fermenting through to jams, chutneys, pickles, and water bath canning.

Learn one skill at a time while also finding recipe inspiration in seasonal local recipes that are designed to be cooked in everyday homestead life.

These recipes have been tested in many different kitchens, and will work on wood stoves as well as conventional electric and gas cookers. Many variations and ingredient substitutions are included to help you make the recipes with whatever ingredients are on hand at the time, along with useful indexes to help make use of seasonal abundance.

"I love the intuitive approach to real food and seasonal eating in Kate Downham's A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen. Recipes are thoughtful, nutrient-dense and, above all else, approachable.” 
Jenny McGruther, Nourished Kitchen

“An excellent addition to every homestead library.” 
Leigh Tate, 5 Acres and a Dream

"Full of homestead wisdom, healthy recipes, and helpful tips, Kate's book is a great resource even if you aren't off-grid or just one day aspire to be.  The seasonal organization coupled with discussing skills and methods at just the right time makes this a great guide to learning to live more in tune with nature and with less reliance on modern conveniences and contraptions." 
John Moody, author of The Frugal Homesteader

I think it's beautiful! I do like the brown better, as the white text on the back is easier on my eyes, than on the black.

I think they are both well excecuted. I usually like bold black on a book. If it were my book, I would choose the brown one, as it warms my soul. I agree that changing the black around the front photos is a good plan.

I agree with the others about the brown; less harsh. All in all, it looks really good, Kate!

Thank you all : )

What do you think of the blurb and back cover?

Would it be better to cut out the last paragraph before the quotes? Or change anything else about it?

I like everything about the back cover. The last paragraph sounds different than the rest... has a different tone? But I think the content will help borderline purchasers to make up thier minds as a "YES!".

Kate Downham wrote:Thank you all : )

What do you think of the blurb and back cover?

Would it be better to cut out the last paragraph before the quotes? Or change anything else about it?

I think it's perfect.

I think the black works with the cover better, since the cover has black lines and font. I do like brown better (I generally like brown better, though). Maybe make the lines and font be brown on the cover, so it matches the the brown spine and back?

For the blurb, maybe rearrange the words a bit. I'd probably divide the 3rd paragraph between the 2nd and 4th.

Take the first phrase in paragraph three and use it at the beginning of paragraph two, so it reads something like

"Learn one skill at a time. Learn traditional methods of preserving pork. Make your own cheese, butter ...(etc)"

"Find recipe inspiration in seasonal local recipes that are designed to be cooked in everyday homestead life. These recipes have been tested in many different kitchens ... (etc)."

So you'd have three paragraphs, providing a brief but to-the-point of the contents of the book. Considering the times we live in, it should sell well.

Brown lines on the cover instead of black, and implementing Leigh's idea of changing the blurb into 3 paragraphs instead of 4.

Ooooh, that looks a lot nicer!!!

Ready and waiting! Lol!

For some reason the brown looks a different colour when I click on the attachment.

In the design program, on the computer, and in the thread on both phone and computer it looks like a nice fertile earth brown. When I click on the attachment on Permies it looks lighter.

How does the colour show up for you?

It's hard to know exactly what it's going to look like when printed, so I'm very glad I can get as many proof copies as I need before I get everyone's copies printed, so I can make sure I'm happy with it.

Kate Downham wrote:For some reason the brown looks a different colour when I click on the attachment.

In the design program, on the computer, and in the thread on both phone and computer it looks like a nice fertile earth brown. When I click on the attachment on Permies it looks lighter.

How does the colour show up for you?

It's hard to know exactly what it's going to look like when printed, so I'm very glad I can get as many proof copies as I need before I get everyone's copies printed, so I can make sure I'm happy with it.

Rich & chocolaty?

Carla Burke wrote:

Kate Downham wrote:For some reason the brown looks a different colour when I click on the attachment.

In the design program, on the computer, and in the thread on both phone and computer it looks like a nice fertile earth brown. When I click on the attachment on Permies it looks lighter.

How does the colour show up for you?

It's hard to know exactly what it's going to look like when printed, so I'm very glad I can get as many proof copies as I need before I get everyone's copies printed, so I can make sure I'm happy with it.

Rich & chocolaty?

Sounds right : )

Kate Downham wrote:

Carla Burke wrote:

Kate Downham wrote:For some reason the brown looks a different colour when I click on the attachment.

In the design program, on the computer, and in the thread on both phone and computer it looks like a nice fertile earth brown. When I click on the attachment on Permies it looks lighter.

How does the colour show up for you?

It's hard to know exactly what it's going to look like when printed, so I'm very glad I can get as many proof copies as I need before I get everyone's copies printed, so I can make sure I'm happy with it.

Rich & chocolaty?

Sounds right : )

I know - have another pint of mead, Carla...lol

The enlarged attachment looks washed out to me too. But then, color on a screen is so different from color in print. On my covers, the color usually is darker in print than on the screen. Hopefully, your cover file will print out perfectly.

The proof copy of the paperback has arrived!

Thanks to everyone that helped with making this cover!

I'm so excited! I just got my Kickstart update, too!