As both a self-published and traditionally published author I am very aware of the importance of a quality book cover. This is an aspect of writing that is sometimes overlooked or seen as less important than other aspects of book marketing, by new writers. However, in reality, the book’s cover is probably the most important piece of marketing a writer has, other than a unique and interesting storyline; making a quality book cover worth its weight in gold. Now that you know how important your cover is to selling your book, here are some tips to point you down the path of success.
Understanding the importance of your Book’s Cover
Knowing why a book’s cover is so important is the first step to creating a successful book marketing campaign. Just as a person can only create a first impression once, a book’s cover is a book’s first impression to the reader. If a book’s cover comes off dull, lifeless, and amateurish, potential readers may assume that the book’s contents are also these things and pass it by.
Designing your book’s cover
A good book cover design will be clean, relevant to the book’s content and genre, and contain enough information about the book and its author to create intrigue for those looking for something to read. Essentially it should have cover art that creates an image of what you are attempting to depict with your tale, as well as a short synopsis no more than 130 words about the story, a short author’s bio that will explain why the author is the person to tell the tale, the title, ISBN numbers, and publisher and copyright information. Additionally, if possible, cover blurbs from established authorities on the subject such as other authors, publishers, newspaper reviewers, etc. are a great selling tool to have on a book cover.
It is also important to understand book placement and bookstore protocols so that a book’s cover design is appropriate for the manner in which it is placed on the shelf. This means understanding how the image, title, author’s information, and other details will display on the spine of the book as well as the front and back. Depending on where the book will be placed on a bookstore’s shelf there is a great possibility that the spine is the only thing the reader will see as they walk down the aisle of hundreds of books, all vying for the reader’s attention. The spine is probably the most overlooked aspect of cover design for novice book cover artists and new writers, especially when it comes to thin books.
In addition to understanding book placement in traditional brick and mortar bookstores, understanding how a cover will look in a thumbnail view for online sales is essential. A book’s cover may look spectacular in full view, but once it is shrunken down to a thumbnail image for online book sellers, it may not be recognizable. This is where clean lines, visible contrast, and legible fonts are key. They not only make the overall cover design look more professional; they make a cover brand stand out no matter where it is being displayed.
Options for Book Cover Designing
There are several options to consider when designing a book cover, doing it yourself, using a book cover design program, or hiring a professional being the most common options. If you are a proficient artist or photographer, you might be considering creating your book cover by hand and then scanning it into a digital format. This option is great for creating a unique design, but comes with many pitfalls once it is translated into a digital format. It takes a great deal of photoshop and digital design knowledge to finesse a hardcopy drawing into a professional looking digital format.
There are many digital drawing programs available to choose from so that the image can be created in a digital format from its origin, but you will still need to have adequate knowledge of design and the program being used to make professional looking cover art, and the art created may not transition well into the book cover layout when incorporating it into the book cover’s template.
Using online software that is specifically designed to create professional looking book covers is the best option for doing it yourself, however the creative aspect of the design process can be limited by the number of tools and templates offered by the selected book cover maker. Unless you use a design application that is open source the number of graphic images available will cost you a fee for each element of the design, while free or open-source graphics will not have an upfront cost associated with them, they will be limited in variety. Pay for use design applications may have more graphics to choose from when creating your cover, but they also have their own limitations and come at additional expense.
The next option is to hire a book cover designer to do the work for you. When choosing this option, it is vital that you find a professional who will collaborate with you. A good book cover designer will have questions about what you envision your cover looking like, the basic premise of the book, specific design elements that you want incorporated, the genre of the book, and specific publishing details such as if you are self-publishing or you are submitting to publishing houses for publication, if it has been accepted by a publishing house and which one if yes, along with a publishing schedule. Keep in mind if your manuscript has been accepted by a publishing house without a cover, they may already have in house designers working on this, so it is best to confirm the publishing house’s policies on book cover design.
When working with a cover designer you need to be receptive to the designer’s and publisher’s (if working with one) ideas and input. They have the expertise and will be the best source of knowledge for ideas that work and ideas that just don’t. You are paying for their expertise and experience, so use it. This is where the collaborative element comes in. Hiring a professional cover designer is not cheap, but it is well worth it in the end since you should come out with a high resolution ready for use cover design that says I’m a professional who is ready to sell some books.
Understanding all of the elements of a book cover, the design process, and options for creating a professional looking book cover are the essentials for creating a book cover that jumps off the shelf into the reader’s hands. Knowing how to collaborate and communicate your ideas with those who have the experience and knowledge is what will make the process successful and, in the end, help you sell more books.
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