What makes a book cover stand out?
When you focus all your efforts on what goes on in between the front and back of your book, you don’t tend to pay that much attention to the cover. However, with a great design, you’re essentially giving readers a reason to check out your book.
Why should you care about how your book looks?
Think about it from a readers’ point of view. Over a million books get published each year according to Wikipedia. And the biggest online platforms for books, i.e., Amazon, AbeBooks, Barnes & Noble, don’t separate self-published and traditional books. Small-time, independent authors, must compete with the giant publishing houses.
So, if you want to have a fighting chance against the big names, you’ll have to do a great job of designing your book cover. It’s okay if you’re not ready to pay for a professional book cover design and you want to DIY it. This article helps you get things started.
Book cover design seems like a straightforward thing: most people don’t spend a lot of time staring at a cover since they’re more interested in what’s inside. But with a creative balance of text, information, and images, you’ll be surprised at what it can do to generate interest in your book.
If you’re fixed on creating a book cover on your own, you better look at these tips:
1 – Get Ideas From Your Genre.
A book cover design is not a representation of your imagination. Use your creativity in a way that you come up with a design inspired by your genre. As much as you want to incorporate your own idea for your book cover, you can’t just use it if it doesn’t fit the title or the genre. Look at this example:
While the design is simple, you’ll easily see how it fits the title. Since Andy Weir’s book is a science fiction novel where the planet Mars is the setting, you’ll see shades of red in the background. You don’t see any complex sci-fi component like a spaceship or a rover, just a typical astronaut in his spacesuit. It’s simple and effective.
The author wanted to avoid overwhelming a casual reader who’s not a fan of the sci-fi genre. Hence, his choice of a cover design may pique everyone’s interest because of how fitting it is for the genre.
2 – Pick a Design Program That’s Easy to Use
There’s a ton of graphics software out there, but some of them are meant for professionals. If it’s your first time, choose a user-friendly software; there’s even a bunch of choices specifically designed for authors and their book cover design needs.
Don’t be too concerned about the limited templates and features if you’re just getting started. Once you’re up to the task and you feel like you can do more, that’s the time you try on the more sophisticated software like Photoshop and InDesign.
We’re a big fan of this Canva template for aspiring authors. The design is an accurate representation of the title, yet it leaves enough room to be used for other books. The template also offers a handful of colour schemes.
3 – Look for Free (stock) Images
Though you probably haven’t thought of it, you might be surprised to know that hundreds of authors use images they got out of a Google search.
Fortunately, there’s a ton of stock images available online:
- Pexels
- Shutterstock,
- Unsplash,
- Pixabay
These images are free to use without a need for attribution or consent. Some of the premium ones that you can use exclusively may cost a few dollars, but it’s worth a try. Below is an example of an abstract design that’s free to use at Shutterstock.
All you have to do is sign up to get a free trial. As previously mentioned, some of the more sophisticated designs come with a minimal fee.
4 – Use The Correct Dimensions
Size matters when you’re designing a book cover.
If you’re sticking to an eBook, Amazon wants your cover to be 2,560 x 1,600 pixels. Be sure to check with other distributors and retailers that you plan to work with once you have your book. Nevertheless, Amazon’s size requirement is the industry standard.
Meanwhile, printed books present a more challenging chore. You’re factoring in several things, including the standard, or widely accepted book sizes in your genre, paper density, page count, and others. So, if you’re planning to sell printed versions of the book, you’re better off working with a professional designer for your book cover.
5 – Mind the Lettering
Typography is just as crucial as the image. The lettering on the book cover is likely the one area that you’ll struggle the most, but there’s no harm in trying your best.
You’ll want to see other popular covers within your genre for inspiration—factor in things like font style, the thickness of the text, and variety. Although you want it to be as simple as possible, you still must refrain from using the same typeface for the author name, tagline, and title.
Editor’s Note: Use one or a maximum of two fonts – don’t overdo it. Avoid using overly fancy typeface, i.e., Comic Sans or Papyrus.
6 – Get Opinions On Your Book Cover
Finally, don’t forget to test your designs.
Assuming that you managed a couple of book cover designs, you need to test them with your target audience. One feasible avenue to do this is Facebook advertising, where you carry out an A/B test.
Gather two groups of people from your target audience and show them the advertisement. The first group sees the one with you’re a cover, while the second one sees B cover. The ad that accumulates the most number of clicks is the better choice based on your target audience’s preference.
Editor’s Note: Make sure the people you send your book cover are your target audience. If you’re writing a self-help book, make sure your target audience reads self-help books and are familiar with the genre.
The way to create a compelling book cover is by appreciating its value. If you don’t think it carries enough weight to sell your book, then you’ll never have enough motivation to make a good one.
Joel Mark Harris graduated from the Langara School of Journalism in 2007. Joel is an award-winning journalist, novelist, screenwriter and producer.
He has ghostwritten numerous books in all types of genres including true life crime, business, memoir, and self help. With over 1,000 blog posts to his name, he has helped hundreds of business owners scale their business and increase their visibility. You can email him at info@ghostwritersandco.com
