We've all heard the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover". Some of us are better at that than others - I know I struggle with it! The thing is, when you see a book with an disorganized or unfitting cover, it signifies to us as readers that the material INSIDE the book might not be good. None of us want to waste time reading a book that isn't well-written, so we usually move along, pick up the next book, and read the summary. (Another post on summaries coming next week.)
Book covers are more important than you may realize. It's the first impression your reader gets: before the summary, before the reviews, before the first page. They have the power to convince someone to read the story, and they have the power to deter anyone from peeking inside.
As authors, we need to be very aware of this, especially since many of us self-published writers design our own covers. I know that many of us are writers, and that doesn't mean we're equally talented in cover-designing, but that's where friends come in! Getting advice from someone close to you about your designs is great - but always ask an outsider, someone who's not super close to you, to get a variety of responses. Adjust your cover design as suggested...even if you HATE their advice. It's always worth a shot! And you might not end up using the cover they recommended, but being able to look at it and view a bookshelf through their eyes is helpful to understanding your target audience.
When it comes to covers, get creative!
If you like more of a minimalistic design, go for it! Minimalism is easy to perfect, given time and the right tools.
If you prefer a busy cover to signify the story inside, you can always use graphic design to make your cover, but sitting down and drawing with pencils or markers is a great way to get your creativity flowing. Some cover photographers actually incorporate nature and real-life items into their clients' covers - using wood letters to spell the title and author name, and setting them up with a beautiful background of the beach or of a nighttime sky.
One thing to remember is not to steal other people's work without permission. That would include pictures of people (apart from stock photos), or someone's cover outline. Use sources that are reliable (like NASA for backgrounds of stars).
A definite NO for me is when there are too many colors on a book. A helpful tip is to pick three or four main colors (or less), and to go with that. Make sure the colors relate to each other in some way. For example, a picture of a forest with a pink font for the title is probably not your best choice! Whites, greys and blacks are always best for titles (but rules are meant to be broken!), and if the background is too busy for any of those colors to show up clearly, try layering. Put black or white down first, then duplicate it and do the other color, leaving some margin around one side (like a 3D effect, but it looks more professional).
My final tip is that simple fonts are the way to go! As we all know, don't use Comic Sans (the forbidden font). Right behind in the list of font no-nos is Papyrus, commonly found on Apple devices. Times New Roman is old-fashioned, but if your book is a historical novel, it might be perfect! Find out what works for YOU and what story YOU want to tell with your cover. It's a reader's first glance, remember: make it count!
That's all for this week on The Write Stuff, and I'll see you guys next Thursday for a post regarding summaries to keep up with the trend of first impressions! Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
The Write Stuff Author
