Given our aversion to clichés, Comely Bank Publishing can hardly believe it is about to type these words, but here goes… “You CAN judge a book by its cover”. We speak from bitter experience here.
The discerning reader shouldn’t judge, but he or she does. The psychology of why we pick up a particular book, or click on its image is too complex to explain here, but if you’re a new writer your name in bold letters on the cover isn’t going to be part of the attraction so read on to find out our recommendations for covers.
The discerning reader shouldn’t judge, but he or she does. The psychology of why we pick up a particular book, or click on its image is too complex to explain here, but if you’re a new writer your name in bold letters on the cover isn’t going to be part of the attraction so read on to find out our recommendations for covers.
- The title needs to be big and easy to read. Check out these best-sellers for proof – One Day, Wolf Hall, and The Woman Who Stole My Life. Your book is probably going to be seen a screen first, so that title needs to stand out.
- Pick the one main theme of your book and use it for your cover image. A love story with an element of magic? A swashbuckling historical adventure? A science fiction story about an astronaut?
- Use other book covers to guide you. Look at similar books and genres and how they do it. Young adult and chick lit books have a distinctive and recognisable feel to them.
- Make sure your thumbnail image is readable too. For the same reason as keeping your title big and easy to read – because your book is going to be seen on screen first – applies here too. The cover needs to look clear whatever size it is seen in, and it it’s seen on a mobile device.
- And make sure it looks good in black and white too. Logo designers know this rule, and it applies to book covers as well.
- Use a professional. Not just a professional designer, but a professional book cover designer who has lots of experience. Professional book cover designers look at things differently and can tell you what will work and what won’t when it comes to imagery.
- If you must design your own cover, the following are don’ts – Comic Sans font, your children’s artwork, an image inside a box and clip art.
- Steer away from decorative fonts – they aren’t easy to read, which takes us back to number one above.
- Write a great blurb. Books in book shops need a great blurb – the cover attracts initially and then the potential customer turns to the back of the book to see if he or she wants to read it. Tantalise, intrigue and amuse that person.
- Position appropriately. In the western world, people read left to right and then top to bottom so your elements (main image, title, author, short blurb etc.) should be placed in the appropriate level of importance.
