Go away! I’m reading.

10 February 2012

Some people just don’t understand that when you have your nose deep in a book, it means just that. You are deep in a book. You do NOT want to be interrupted.

The other day, my friend Sarah Enni found this amazing pin on etsy:

I thought it was genius, but Tracey Neithercott promptly pointed out that it would be even better to have a dust jacket sporting this same message. It would be larger, bolder, easier to read. Sarah and Tracey started lamenting over how someone Must Make These and Do So Immediately, so I chimed in and offered up my design services.

A few days later, the three of us have a present for you. A lovely little family that we call the “Go Away” Dust Jacket series. We wrote a bunch of snarky “leave me alone” messages, I designed a few fancy covers, and now we want to share the entire batch with you.

Imagine how much easier it will be to read in peace and quiet when you look like this from across the room:

 

We split the family up into three different sets, and if you jump around between our sites, you can download them all!

I’m giving away this set (scroll down to access set #1):

 

Tracey is giving away these snarky beauties (click here to get set #2):

 

And Sarah is giving away these book-specific masterpieces (click here to get set #3):

 

Look at how pretty they look when they are all lined up together!!

 

Download set #1 from the “Go Away Dust Jackets” series:

Go away. I’m Reading. (pdf)  //  Reading > Talking (pdf)  //  Team Reading (pdf)

 

Printing Instructions:
These covers will fit the traditionally-sized YA book.* Take the PDFs to your local FedEx or Staples and get them printed on tabloid paper (11x17in). We suggest a matte cardstock  (you could print on something glossy, but sometimes that causes light glares at certain angles and you want people to be able to read that Go Away message without incident). Choose a weight between 60-80lb for the paper. Anything lighter and the page will be too thin, anything heavier and folding it around your book will be difficult. You can have the store cut the printer-outs for you (it will cost a little more), or you can handle it on your own when you get home (there are crop marks in the files).

 

Assembly Instructions:**

 

So happy reading! Happy book wrapping! Enjoy your peaceful, uninterrupted reading time :)


Creative Commons License
“Go Away” Dust Jacket Series by Erin Bowman, Sarah Enni, and Tracey Neithercott is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.embowman.com.

* Massive of uniquely sized books, like Harry Potter, may stretch these dust jackets beyond their limits. You’ve been warned ;)
**I apologize for the video being backwards. I can’t for the life of me figure out how to flip it. I know it should be easy, but I’m having a blonde moment, so please bare with me. Also, please ignore the very sad and lonely shelf above my desk. I cleaned it off so that my ARCs can one day sit there. :)

  • http://www.sarahenni.com Sarah

    YAY! So glad to finally be able to share these! And now everyone else can drool over how adorable your office is, too :)

    • Erin

      hehe. This was such a fun project to be a part of. Thank you for sparking the whole thing :)

  • http://www.thewordsonpaper.blogspot.com Tracey Neithercott

    So glad you kicked this idea into action, Erin. I think this is what the movies talk about when they reference using your abilities for good, not evil. :)

    • Erin

      YES! Design powers used for good, solely!! :)

  • http://yahongchi.blogspot.com Yahong

    I swear, Erin, you are GENIUS. And all those colours together! Did you plan them like that? ‘Cause they’re frakking beautiful.

    • Erin

      Ha! Thank you, Yahong! And yes, I planned the sets to all be in the same general family of color, and then to sort of create a rainbow effect when all together. So glad you like them :)

  • http://janasbooklist.blogspot.com Jana

    Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing!

    • Erin

      Thank you! Happy to share :)

  • http://litendeavors.blogspot.com jennifer o.

    beautiful!

    • Erin

      Thank you!! :)

  • http://a-nudge.blogspot.com Krispy

    SO PRETTY! I love the colors and the design! I wish I had these in high school and college. LOL.

    Thanks so much for volunteering your skillz0rs and for sharing these lovelies with us! You and Sarah and Tracey rock! :D

    • Erin

      Thank you so much, lady!! And I’m so glad you shared them on tumblr. Spread the word! Book nerds unite! :)

  • http://myfleet-footedself.blogspot.com/ Sophia Richardson

    Erin, oh my gosh. I overheard (oversaw?) the Twitter exchange, and these covers are gorgeous! The joys of the internet — and the awesome people on it — are truly boundless…

    • Erin

      It’s a pretty amazing thing, the internet! (and thanks for the kind words!)

  • http://apriltucholke.com/ April Tucholke

    So very, very, very cool.

    • Erin

      :)

  • http://emyshin.com/blog/ Emy Shin

    This is genuinely the coolest thing ever!

    And I love the designs for the dust covers as much as I love the idea behind them. Such much awesomeness. I am in awe of your designing skills.

    • Erin

      Aw, thanks Emy! Glad you like ‘em :)

  • http://coffeeandwizards.wordpress.com Meghan

    These are absolutely brilliant!

    • Erin

      Yay! Glad you like them :)

  • http://muggle-born.net Cialina

    These are adorable! :D Thanks for sharing.

    • Erin

      Of course! Hope you enjoy them :)

  • http://jessicalovewrites.blogspot.com Jessica Love

    You girls are so amazing. I love these.

    • Erin

      Thanks, Jess! I hope they help you ward off interruptions next time you’re curled up with a book :)

  • http://jennybiteoflove.tumblr.com Jennifer

    wow it’s amazing ! .. I need it haha sometimes people don’t understand what means when you are reading.. please ! how can I get those books jackets :D ?

    • Erin

      Thanks, Jennifer! You can download three of the PDFs right here on my site (the links are in the blog post). And then there are also links to Sarah and Tracey’s websites, where you can download the other PDF sets! Happy reading :)

  • Amana Issa

    Wow these are awesome !!

    • Erin

      Thank you! :)

  • Amana Issa

    NEEDED !!

    • Erin

      So glad to help ward off those reading interruptions ;)

  • http://www.ohmedusa.tumblr.com brittany

    OMG thank yo so much for this! they are amazing!!

    • Erin

      You are most welcome! Enjoy!

  • tazzyannie

    Thank you!

    • Erin

      You’re welcome :)

  • Kristine M.

    Thank you! I found your site from Joe Hill’s Twitter post a few minutes ago.

    • Erin

      Yay! So happy to hear people continue to spread the link!

  • http://www.twitter.com/vanesdigregorio Vanessa Di Gregorio

    OMG! Erin, these are SO AWESOME! I LOVE THEM!

    • Erin

      Thanks, V!! :)

  • Genn Albin

    My poor husband endures this all the time at work…someone always wanting to chat about what he’s reading on his break. And he has a birthday coming up, he needs these!

    • Erin

      Hooray! Print him out one…or three…or the entire set ;)

      • Allan Orr

        Heh I got the whole set myself honestly. Only one for a book nobody I know will touch, the twihards stopped talking to me years ago. And thanks for the reminder to put in my order on Tuesday for my replacement copy of the Gandalara Cycle, sadly these will not fit any of the novels in the set however.

  • http://thereviewsnews.blogspot.com Juli Helms

    I LOVE this!!! <3333 Thanks so much for being awesome!

    • Erin

      Thank you!! I take DFTBA quite seriously. ;)

  • Shelby

    Is any body else not able to pull up Sarah’s website? I really want those covers!

    • Erin

      Yeah, Sarah’s site is temporarily down. She’s having issues today. It should be back up soon though!

  • http://leighbardugo.com Leigh Bardugo

    “In Forks, send help” LOL.
    These are amazing, Erin. So jealous of/ impressed with your design skills.
    I want ALL OF THESE.

    • Erin

      Sarah wrote the copy for that gem. It might be my favorite ;)

      And thank you for the kind words!! <3

  • Braulio Tavares

    Lovely idea, but it would help to have one of these with something like “Honey, I love you so much, but let me read this book!”.

    • Erin

      Yeah, these are pretty blunt. A softer one for the significant other might be in order.

  • http://Loganberrybooks.com Harriett

    Oh, I did notice that empty white shelf, and I’m so glad to hear there’s a good explanation for it! Excellent DJs, thanks!

    • Erin

      Haha. It looks so sad and lonely right now, doesn’t it?

  • http://www.readnowsleeplater.com Alethea

    Awesome! Now to check the shelves for some ugly dustjackets to hide…

    • Erin

      hehe. Have fun!

  • Noora

    These are so wonderful. I wish I could give these out to kids at my library. :D

    • Erin

      Thank you!!

  • Sunny

    So, will there be a version for E-Readers? My Kindle needs a fashionable cover as well, something that I can clip onto my e-reader?

    • Erin

      We are actually working on exploring eReader options! Stay tuned :)

  • Frances

    I think I love you

    • Erin

      Right back attcha ;)

  • http://safaripoet.blogspot.com Petra

    I love these! Thanks for sharing.

    • Erin

      Thanks, Petra!

  • Rachel

    so, in the case of books like the larger harry potters that may be a bit big, is it possible to make the dust jackets bigger, or would that mess up the design? (i don’t know much about this subject, so i’m sorry if that’s a silly-seeming question to some.)

    • Erin

      We are working on creating some larger options. The height of the jacket is not the issue, but rather the width. For a novel like HP7, with such a huge spine, it becomes difficult to find commercially accessible paper that will fit our size needs. Stay tuned though! :)

      • Rachel

        oh, excellent, thank you.

  • http://martinisforbreakfast.com Daghain

    You should do these as Kindle covers. Seriously.

    • Erin

      We’re working on stuff for the Kindle!! Stay tuned :)

  • Linda Moore

    So how do you adjust to make it for a bigger book? and where do you get the card stock that long? Like Hobby Lobby? Thanks!

    • Erin

      Tabloid-sized cardstock (11×17) is available at most printing stores. Of course, that works well for the traditional YA, under 350p novel. We are working on solutions for larger books, so stay tuned! :)

  • http://blissrambleson.blogspot.com Larissa

    Completely in love with these! Thanks so much for sharing :)

  • http://www.candlebeambooks.com/ Beth DiIorio

    WOW! These covers are fantastic! Can’t thank you enough for sharing your inspiring idea. My books will be fighting over who gets to wear what :-)
    Beth

  • Kim Cz

    I love these! I need to figure out how to size it down for mass market titles. A cover for my iPad would be even better. Thanks for sharing your fabulous idea. :)

  • http://bookblog76.com bookblog76

    What an awesome idea! Well done. You could soooo market these. Love them. Keep up the good work.

  • http://www.jennifernbaker.com Jenn Baker

    Oh, me like. Thanks for sharing!

  • Yams

    So glad to hear you’re looking into options for the Kindle!

  • http://alltogethernow.org Dale Copps

    They’ll interrupt anyway. Nothing can keep these people from yacking away at you when you’re trying to read.

  • May

    it’s really interesting!luv ur sharing!thank u :)))

  • http://www.thaiflowershops.com thai flower

    Thank for sharing

  • :)

    I love these! :)
    Maybe you can make one for Game of Thrones? :)

    • :)

       rather, for a song of ice and fire series
      oops :p

  • amy

    how do you buy one of these?

  • Rebecca Scaglione

    I just have to say I love the “Go Away I’m Reading” book cover the best.  I am always harassed when I am alone at the pool reading, so hopefully the creepy guys will leave me alone when I have this cover on my book!  I think I will also try to alter it to cover my Kindle!  :)

  • Hollielol

    I love these! I so hate it when people interrupt my reading to ask me what I’m reading. I don’t want to talk to them, I want to read my book!

  • http://www.facebook.com/angie.stormer.5 Angie Stormer

    Is it possible to make them in paperback or massmedia size, can you just cut them down them down to that size? I have an autoimmune disease and am unable to hold a hardback….

  • http://pt-br.facebook.com/people/Gabrielle-Brunner/733939135 Gabrielle Brunner

    “In Forks, send help.” CRYING here! Hahaha
    But those are AWESOME! Do want.

  • emily235

    ‘Climbing Mount Doom, brb’ I need this now!

  • http://www.facebook.com/lauren.hough.18 Lauren Hough

    What about “Saving Camp Half-Blood” or “Off in Neverland.” I think it would be an excellent addition.

    • Booklover

      YES. PLEASE!

  • ecaterin

    “In Forks, send help” made me do a spit-take with my morning tea. THESE UNIVERSALLY ROCK. :D

  • Sheireen

    I just love your dust jacket series! I wrote about it on my blog in italian, to let my friends understand ;)

    http://sheireenswords.blogspot.it/2012/10/go-away-dust-jacket-series.html

  • Kristie

    I would love to see covers for Divergent and City of Bones :)
    I love the site!

  • Katie

    should make an At the Institute one

  • Frappucino

    Can you make one for the Percy Jackson fandom please?

  • kindlequeen

    You should make a kindle cover with these sayings (:

  • kimi

    Can you make some for the Inheritance Cycle? :D Dragons!

  • http://www.facebook.com/AJK3198 Alex Knight

    NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED

  • Elle

    You should make one that says Stay Away If you Have Seen The Movie

  • http://www.facebook.com/monika.werling Monika R. Werling

    Love these and would love to see something similar for eReaders like Nook, Kindle, and iPads.

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  • Ross Thompson

    Any chance of getting these as Kindle skins?

    http://www.decalgirl.com/custom/

  • weezybear

    Have you considered making and selling these as kindle covers?! I would buy one!!!