Five Ferries - Cover Story

Creating a cover for my first book was a learning experience. 

I began by creating my own covers for successive versions of the manuscript (titled, at various times, Europe on No Dollars a Day, EONDAD, and No Dollars a Day) because that made it feel more like a book. I copied photos from the actual trip—or in one case a map--and added a title and my name as author in a Word document.

Each time I sent a draft to my editor with one of my mocked-up covers, she would write back “No.” I thus decided I needed help. I asked Lorenzo Contessa, a long-time friend and graphic artist, if he could create a cover showing a hitchhiker on the road. He came up with various proposals and I nagged him every step of the way. 

For one thing, I was unhappy with the proportions of the hitchhiker and the backpack. That pack held my whole world for six months, along with a tent and a sleeping bag, and the weight and bulk of it played a part in the story. So, I dug the pack out of the basement, stuffed it with packing material, and asked my wife Megan to photograph me on Lexington Avenue:

Lorenzo kept trying, with one title or another and eventually using the final title. (Deciding on the title was another involved process, beyond the scope of this page):

Lorenzo finally ran out of patience and pointed out he had no experience designing book covers and I should use a professional. However, he did agree to distill his work down to an image of a hitchhiker, which I could use as a starting point—and book logo:

The process was fascinating and I loved seeing the different concepts, from psychedelic to pastoral. In the end, I chose a design that turned out to be created by Colum Jordon, a designer working out of Dublin. This is the final design, revised to show the American Fiction Awards seal: