We’ve all heard the expression, “never judge a book by it’s cover.” The thing is, that most of us actually do. A well designed book can help you sell your book by showing off that you are a professional author.
1. Research other books in your genre
This is pretty key. I’m not saying you should copy other books in your genre, but it is always good to check what has worked for successful books. A nonfiction book has a very different cover from a fantasy novel and potential readers use that to gauge the type of book and potentially quality. You need a good cover to draw attention to your book.
2. Templates vs Custom Designs
Hiring a graphic artist to design your book cover is probably the best choice, especially if they specialize in book covers. They know how to use fonts, what colors produce the best emotions or excitement, and how to properly stage people, places, and more. The downside is, of course, the cost. A professionally designed book cover can cost close to a grand or more.
If you feel like you can’t afford hiring a designer, the next best thing would be a template. Templates are a more cost-effective way of giving you a great book cover. There are even templates available in word documents so even if you don’t have photoshop, you can still create a book cover. These templates are often designed by designers and already have text placement and some coloring already selected for you. The downside to templates is that your book cover won’t be that unique. Other people can buy that template too and have a similar cover.
3. Stock Images vs Your Own
Using your own images or illustrations are a cheap way to add visuals to your cover. The problem is that not all of us are good photographers or illustrators. This is where stock photos can come in. Stock images are a professional option to adding people, places, etc to the cover, but you have to keep licensing in mind. You have to get the correct license for your needs, keeping in mind that this is a commercial use – I’m assuming you want to sell your novel of course – and there may be a limitation on the number of printings you may have.
Some stock photo websites to check out:
- Shutter Stock
- Flickr (remember to adhear to correct license)
- Photodune (my personal favorite stock photo place)
- Google Image search -> Advance Search -> usage rights -> “Free to use, share or modify, even commercially”
4. Tutorials are your friend
If you are making your cover yourself, there are lots of tutorials. Watch a few of these to get an idea of sizing, placement, fonts and more! Here are a few tutorials to check out:
5. Simple is always better
Don’t clutter. You want to draw your attention to one or two things and the title. You want people to able to read the title too. People are inherently lazy and will move on to another book if they can’t tell what type of book your book is.
Also having simpler covers makes series themes easier to design.
Other Reads
- The Book Designer: 8 tips for self-publishers
- DIY book covers - MS word templates and instructions
- Hongkait.com Designing book covers
- Scott Berkun - Designing a great book cover