Why does a good book cover matter?
Why does a
good book cover matter?
A
book cover creates the first impression on its potential readers. Therefore, a
book cover design is one of the most important aspects of marketing a book. If
the cover is not designed well, you will
loose sales. So, one must consider a professional book cover designer for
creating a book cover.
Writer
of a book don’t write books, they write manuscripts. Designing a book cover is
the process of getting an author’s manuscript into the hands of a reader, by
materializing it – giving it a form. A successful book cover needs to make a
reader ‘feel’ the manuscript rather than ‘tell’ about it.
Do
you know what makes a good book cover?
You
should…if you ever want to maintain consistent sales of your book.
The
best way to start is by understanding how important it is to invest in a good book cover design, and
knowing what makes a good one. Knowing the basics is still really important
whether you plan on hiring a Self-Publishing School professional
designer or another professional cover designer.
The
book cover is there to promote
your book, and
ultimately sell it.
Here’s
what makes for a good book cover:
1.
Centre on the big picture
2.
Strong structure
3.
An intriguing focal point
4.
Clear title and subtitles
5.
Keep it simple
Now, the next big question is, what makes for a good book cover that achieves this goal?
The
book cover needs to draw the viewer into the story. Even if you are writing
non-fiction. You are a writer, so you know there is always a
story.
The
cover needs to show what the book is about, without giving all of it away, much
like the book title but with
visuals.
The
idea is to get your reader to open the book. Once they open the book, your
magic as a writer will not let them put it down before reading it to the end.
But
to catch in your spiderweb of literary magic, you need to use bait. And
that is what your cover needs to do for you. It needs to play on the human
emotions of intrigue and curiosity.
So
think about the big picture of what your book cover should represent.
Ask
yourself these questions when figuring out your book cover:
- Does
your idea represent your story or message?
- Does
it illicit intrigue?
- Does
it stand out from other books in your category?
02. Create a Strong Structure
This
is where is start to get into the wizardry that is graphic design and
illustration.
Structure
is one of the most fundamental skills required of anyone working with visuals.
And as with all fundamentals, the structure takes a lifetime to master, at
least!
This
is why it’s advised to hire a book cover designer instead of creating the cover
yourself in programs like Canva or Photoshop.
But
if you have some experience and want to go for it, here are some guidelines on structure:
- Use
the rule of thirds
- Symmetry
is your friend
- Use
texture and patterns to add non-distracting details
- Use
high and low angles
- Combine
several structure tips into one for full-effect (but not ALL of them)
But
you can start off with a few interesting guidelines or you can simply hire a
book editor who’s experienced in the field of structure.
03.
Erupt a Clear Focal Point
Every
structure, every piece of deliberately designed visual communication, needs a
focal point. The easiest way to find your focal point is to ask yourself (or,
preferably, a friend) where your eye goes first on this piece.
Whether
it’s the title, your author byline, a figure in the artwork, some specific
abstract shape, your focal point is what grabs your attention and catches your
eye the first.
04. Title,
Subtitle and Their Relatives
Please
don’t make the mistake of thinking your cover is completely at your designer’s
mercy. No. You are the writer. And you play the key role in determining how
well your cover performs.
How? The book title!
When
trying to come up with a book title idea, ask yourself this: Will it pull your reader
from across the store? Or the webpage? It should be compelling. It should be
visible and readable.
AND it should be
strengthened further by any additional visual elements on your cover.
Your
title, and any subtitles and taglines are going to play a pivotal role in
selling your book.
05.
Keep It Simple
And
finally, I like to keep my covers simple. And I personally tend to like covers
that are simple and minimalistic.
Overly
complex covers usually give a very blatant impression of desperation, where the
designer didn’t exactly know what to put in.
And
hence, they put everything they could think of in there. Not cool. Don’t do
this. Keep it simple!
So when you decide to finally lock
down your book cover, remember to keep it simple. Keep the big picture of your
story in mind.
Make
your viewers focus on the key selling points of your book.
Where can you find a
professional cover designer?
If
you are baffled about your book cover design, check me out and I would see how I can handle the cover design and other book production services for you.
As a professional graphics designer, I can craft the cover for you.
Unless
you’re a professional graphic designer, we highly recommend you hire a
professional, whether I or someone else. A good book cover is essential to
drawing readers to your book.
Need some help? Contact.
Comments
Post a Comment