How to Design a Book Cover That Actually Sells

The book without the right cover design often does not get the chance. It does not matter how well-written your book is and how diligent your editor is. You will get success when you craft a compelling book cover design. This blog breaks down the anatomy of a great book cover and provides strategies to design a book cover.

Book cover design is the most important step of the self-publishing process. This step has the most impact on the marketing of the book. If you want success with your book publishing, you need to handle this process with care.

The Anatomy Of A Good Book Cover

It is the most popular saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but it is a misleading cliché in publishing that most readers actually do. A good cover design will sell the book on its own, while a bad one will sink the most wonderful written story. Things can get tricky: a book cover that quietly doesn’t fit your particular book can create serious problems.

A book cover must be designed for its niche; otherwise, it may attract the wrong readers and hold back your book’s success. Whether you are designing your own cover or hiring a book cover designers, it is crucial to know your genre and design accordingly.

What A Great Book Cover Looks Like?

One of the biggest mistakes authors often make is design a book cover with an artistic sensibility rather than a commercial one. A book cover is not the expression of your artist soul but a marketing tool to get the audience to click on it. The audience is not any readers, but the right ones.

Your book cover should be simple or striking instead of ornate or subtle. The idea of designing a book cover is not to convey every element of your story, but at least you need to tell what the book is about.

Tips To Craft A Compelling Book Cover

Let’s talk about creating a compelling book cover with the following smart tips and strategies, and drive your book sales.

1.     Choose Your Main Image

Authors often think about scenes and characters when choosing the cover image, but the job of the cover is to tell readers that the book is for them. You should pick a strong central image to engage the readers. Instead of telling the whole plot on the cover, stick to one focal point.

2.     Pick A Clear And Bold Scheme

It is time to choose the right color scheme. If you are confused about the colors, the safest choice is to choose the simple one. Choosing bold red on a white background is much better than a swirl of six different colors. Picking a rainbow or a single bland shade is not the right choice. Use one main hue with a contrasting accent.

3.     Craft A Perfect Font

Fonts are easy to get the genre and type of your book right, and if not, they will lead readers in the wrong direction. Choosing fonts that may look good is not enough without considering genre implications. Pick a main font that screams your genre and a simple secondary font for the author name and subtitle.

4.     Create Background Layers

This is the complex step where you have everything, including font, image, and color scheme, but how can you layer them professionally and aesthetically? Ensure the focal point, title text, and background are layered effectively for the cover. Don’t just set everything in a single layer in a disjointed manner. Choose a blurry or darkened textured gradient background, blend the edges of your character and object to match the background, and place the text at the top with a contrasting color.

5.     Test Your Cover For Thumbnail Size

A self-publishing cover works differently from a traditional publishing cover. The size of the traditional book cover is often large in bookstores. It is ideal to shrink your cover design to around 100px wide.

6.     Ask For Feedback

If you cannot evaluate your book cover illustration by yourself, then you need external help. Showing your cover to your family is not enough. You may ignore a friend who says, by looking at your cover, whether it is thrilling or romantic, but that is a fatal mistake. Send your cover to people who read your genre, and if they are uncertain, listen to them.

Dos And Don’ts For Cover Design

Here are the most common dos and don’ts of the book cover design that you should be aware of.

●       Do

• Compile both the swipe file of genre and sub-genre, and analyze which one works.
• Choose bold colors that match your genre (one hue with one accent).
• Get real feedback before finalizing your cover.
• Use a single focal point that makes your book easy to recognize.
• Blend the layers with consistent lighting.

●       Don’t

• Overcrowding the cover with every detail of the plot.
• Picking fancy fonts that vanish at small sizes.
• Ignoring the feedback from potential readers who say it looks off-genre.
• Using multiple colors can overwhelm the reader.
• Skipping the thumbnail test, which is the first thing readers notice.

How To Brief A Cover Designer

If you are hiring a professional designer for your book cover, you should provide a brief with the following tips.

• Book Details: Title, sub-title, author name, genre, and sub-genre.
• Target Audience: Define who will buy the book for a marketing-driven approach.
• Summary or Tone: A brief synopsis with 2-3 lines of hook for story essence.
• Visual Direction: Mention specific imagery, symbols, and color palettes.
• Comparable Title: Provide 3-5 examples of the book cover that fit your genre.
• Technical Specification: Must define which one you want, whether ebook or print wit printable requirements like trim size.

1.     How to choose the right images for your book cover?

It is ideal to choose an image that reflects the mood and key scene of the story rather than the complete, detailed plot, ensuring it looks cohesive rather than a disjointed collage.

2.     Should I focus on trends of a book cover?

Fully focusing on and following trends for your book cover is not a wise choice, as it can make your book look dated quickly. It is better to signal your genre.

3.     How can I know that my cover works?

You can first test your book cover by asking your target audience for feedback. You can also run an A/B test to see whether your cover works.

Final Thoughts

Designing a book cover can be intimidating, but if you follow the right strategies and guidelines, it can be rewarding. You need to avoid some blunders to make your book stand out and drive more sales. The anatomy to design a book cover which is good looking is that readers pick the book which make them interested through the cover. A great book cover features a simple yet focused image and background, with a font that is relevant to the book.

To craft a compelling book, choose a right main image, not a detailed plot; use a clear, bold color palette of one main hue with contrast; and choose a perfect font that matches your genre. Create background layers, test your thumbnail size, and ask for feedback from potential readers.

Follow the dos and don’ts for designing the right book cover design for the success. If you are choosing a designer, describe each elements and specifications carefully.