Today it’s my ‘cover reveal’ – which means my UK publisher is unveiling the cover of the hardback version of my debut novel, Room 706. The book itself comes out in January 2026, but do please feel free to pre-order a copy, which is very helpful to authors as it lets booksellers know there is a demand for the title, and encourages them to stock and promote it.
The reveal is in the form of a trailer, much like a movie. I always knew novelists were as glamorous as film stars! (You can see it here on my instagram).
If you’ve been reading my posts and following me on other social media, you may have seen other covers for Room 706 over the past few months, so I thought I would try to explain why this is.
The first cover was a ‘holding cover’. This was created by a designer, Alice Clark, who works in-house at my publisher, Hachette. She is the same designer who created the hardback cover that is revealed at the end of the trailer. This holding cover, a dark hotel room with a bed and a net curtain visible, also has the text ‘cover to be revealed’ on it, and was created early on to be used for internal and external presentations. Having a holding cover like this shows confidence in the book, and gives it an identity.
After that a ‘proof cover’ was designed, this time by a freelance designer commissioned by the marketing department at my publisher. It’s a kind of turquoise green with the title and my name in rose gold raised foil. It’s meant to feel luxe – and it does – and this was the copy sent out initially to other authors and some journalists and bloggers, in the hope that they would give early reviews of the book, some of which then made it onto the final hardback cover.
Because many of the people who received this version have done this, including posting photos of the book (often carefully curated with gorgeous backgrounds), this cover is the one many people will have seen already.
There is also an American cover already out there, which has some similarities with the UK version in terms of colour palette and concept. However, each publisher chooses a cover design that they think will most appeal to their market, and there are some differences. It is also possible that the paperback will have a different cover again, when it comes out in due course, although sometimes this is very similar to the hardback version.
Ellie Levenson 