They say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but when we’re buying books, we do exactly that, every time. The most amazing book in the world will not sell a single copy if you put the wrong cover on it. You may think that a cover doesn’t do much, but it gives the reader an idea of what they’ll be getting when they purchase the book. A good cover tells your readers exactly what they’ll think and feel before they even pick up the book.
How can you make sure that you’re creating the best cover for your book? Follow these tips, and you’ll be on your way.
Check Out the Competition
Go to the bookstore or go online, and check out other books in your genre. What do the covers of the bestsellers look like? When you design your cover, you don’t exactly want to copy those cover designs, but you want to emulate them to a certain extent.
Choose the Right Images
Remember, you’re not just putting a pretty picture on the cover; you’re placing an image there that will evoke a certain response. A suspense thriller is going to have a very different cover image from a romance novel. Think about how the images make you feel when you’re selecting the right one for the job.
Everything on the Cover Counts
Don’t overpopulate your cover with too many images or too much written text, and other “noise”. You want your title and your name to stand out first. Then you want the eye to move to the image and perhaps to a quote from a good review. That should be the extent of your cover. Less is definitely more, and everything counts.
Don’t Be Afraid to Call a Professional
If you don’t have any experience with design, or you aren’t sure how to create an effective cover, go ahead and call a professional graphic designer. It’s far better to spend a little bit of money now and sell a lot of books later than to do a poor job and sell very few books.