​It was a bookseller, Marie Moser from the Edinburgh Bookshop in the Bruntsfield area in Edinburgh, who first gave me a serious lesson in the importance of book covers. Marie’s background, she once told me, is really in marketing and retail rather than in publishing, so her interest is in selling books. That mights sound rather obvious for a bookseller, but what it means is that she wants books in her shop that will clear the shelves and won’t hang around.
 
Assuming the buyer hasn’t come in to buy or order a specific book, bookshops can be a bit of a jungle. Your book has to get noticed by a potential customer, and it’s got a big advantage if it’s been given a special place on a table instore. If you stand and watch in any bookshop, you’ll see the same little routine happening all around you: the customer browses, is drawn to the front cover of a book, then immediately turns over to read the blurb on the back to see what the book’s about. All the time, Marie pointed out, the customer is subliminally feeling the book’s surface, too; the author has to feel that the book will sit well in the hand. Finally, only at the end, the customer will flick through the book randomly to see if the font looks nice, the paper feels nice, to see if the print is large enough, and to see if the book is the right length. If you, the author, are a new, unfamiliar writer, the potential customer will be more likely to take a chance on your book if it isn’t too long.
 
If the customer puts the book back at any stage, you’ve lost them. End of story.
 
So the front cover must be good. However, so too must the spine, because most books sit upright, end-on on a shelf, especially if they’re not on special promotion. If your book is in the general bookshelves standing upright, spine-outwards, the customer will only choose your book either if (a) they’re actually looking for it, or (b) they’re browsing generally and looking for something – anything – different, perhaps as a present for a friend, even for themselves.
 
If you’re an unknown author, your name is never going to be a draw. That means for the great majority of struggling writers it’s the title that counts – it’s got to catch the eye, be a bit different, if possible look a bit different. Once you’ve made it, your name becomes the draw, and the author’s name becomes the bigger thing on the cover; the latest title by Kate Atkinson or Ian Rankin, that sort of thing. But until you’re a superstar, learn your place in the scheme of things, I’m afraid.
 
Here at Comely Bank Publishing we do create some covers (and we’re not bad) but most writers come to us with some pre-conceived idea of what their book should look like on the outside – and why not? If that happens, though, it’s usually better if the author works with an independent professional cover designer who might well have specialist skills and experience to make the author’s dreams come true. I’d recommend that you listen to any professional designers: they know what works and what doesn’t, and there’s little point in paying someone for advice then not heeding it.
 
In the meantime, here are the covers of some of Comely Bank Publishing’s current titles, plus a sneak preview of a forthcoming publication, Roland Tye’s Weekender. Judge for yourself which works best. There's no right answer, by the way.

The first in a series of posts by Gordon Lawrie offering a few tips for writers.

One of the great sayings in publishing is, “You do judge a book by its cover.” In fact, a good book, well-written, can be completely undermined by a poor or inapproriate cover, and all yout good work goes to waste. On the other hand, a really well-designed cover can attract a reader’s attention and their curiosity to look inside. Then it’s over to you, the author, to make sure that reader isn’t disappointed.
 
Over the next few weeks I’m going to share some thoughts in a series of posts covering the design of covers, and what you, the author can do to help. Even if you eventually decide to go for a professional book cover designer, it’s still a good idea to know what you’re really looking for – you can’t expect designers just to guess.
 
The first thing to consider is size. We deal in fiction, and I’m assuming that as a self-publisher you’d want your book published immediately as a paperback. (Hardbacks are a special case, generally.) I’d suggest that you’re looking at either the ‘B-Trade’ paperback size 129mm wide x 198mm tall, or the slightly bigger ‘Demy’ – pronounced “dehm-eye” – which is around 138mm wide x 229mm. I certainly wouldn’t suggest anything larger, and booksellers would probably be reluctant to stock something that didn’t sit easily on their shelves with other books. Avoid any attempts by printers to get you to print on A5; it looks amateurish.
 
Which of these two sizes you choose is up to you. In theory, a slightly larger page can hold more type, but in practice it can look wrong if you don’t increase the font size to match. All that you end up with is a book that’s bigger and heavier (and therefore costs more to post).
 
However, you need to consider your readership, too: is yours the sort of story with readers who might like larger print, or perhaps it’s a book aimed at a reader who might prefer something easily placed in a bag or a coat pocket? It’s a matter of judgement. I’d certainly consider Demy for younger readers, but nothing’s set in stone.
 
Finally, any ebook will simply have the portrait image you first imagined. On the other hand, remember that printed books have rear covers and spines, too, so your total print cover will actually be a landscape picture. And that’s where the fun starts...
 
(Watch out for the next instalment coming soon.)