Book Cover Design

Probably the single most important promotional item the author has is the book cover. Indeed, people do judge a book by its cover. If it isn’t compelling, they probably won’t look inside. The look of the cover should be consistent with the contents of the book. If the book is on a serious subject, a brightly colored, happy cover won’t be appropriate and will take away from the credibility of the author and the message.

To the professional eye, it is clear which books are professionally done versus those done by first-time self-published authors. A poorly packaged book might have chapter titles in all caps, be overpriced, and not have an index. It might be poorly titled or not focused. A book may be well written with a myriad of important things to say yet be packaged in a way that is not likely to sell.

One of the keys to finding the right designer is to look at books you love and pick out several to use as samples. If you can, find the designer or look for the graphic artists whose designs fit the looks you love. There are hundreds of gifted designers, but it is absolutely imperative that you find one who has substantial book cover experience.

If possible, get bids from three designers. You will need to give them much of the information you developed in your publishing and marketing plans so they can do their best work in developing the perfect cover for you. Ideally, that would be the one that matches not only your publishing specifications (trim size, and the like) but also your positioning and platform.

Analyze each quote you get back in terms of how they charge, what you get, how long they will take to do the work, and most important, who owns the work. Additionally, you want to be clear on how payments are made for the work and what will happen if you want to terminate your agreement with him or her. Typically, the designer will want at least 30 percent to get started, another payment after the design is selected, and a final payment when the artwork (usually as an electronic file) is delivered to you and/or your printer. Be sure you get several designs to choose from and at least two to three rounds of edits on them so that the one you choose is fine-tuned. Preferably, you also want to own the design so that you can use it everywhere you wish. Some designers insist on owning their own designs, and you may need to pay a licensing fee in this case in order to use the designs on items other than your book.

You can expect to spend at least $1500 for a cover design, and more if original artwork must be created or photographs purchased.

The front cover is truly a work of art. The brand created in the cover design can be carried over to all your other marketing pieces. If you are working with a traditional publisher, you may have some input about the design, but the publisher will have the final word.

Many book covers use type as the only design element, with no other graphics or illustrations. The copy on a front cover should be sparse but draw the reader’s interest enough so that he or she turns the book over to read the copy on the back.

You will use the cover on all your marketing materials, so be sure you get a high-resolution Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG) file from your designer—at least 300 dots per inch (DPI) resolution—to have ready for print publications.

The spine of the cover is often overlooked or designed as an afterthought. This is a mistake—just go into any bookstore and see how books are shelved. In about 90 percent of them, all you can see is the spine, which must have the title, author’s name, and publisher. It is important that the title (and if famous, the author’s name) be bold enough to stand out from all the other books surrounding it.

The average bookstore browser, if intrigued enough by the spine to pull your book off the shelf, will spend several seconds looking at the front cover and then maybe an additional ten seconds reading the back cover. Your back cover must make your entire sales pitch in those ten seconds. Displaying important testimonials, quick information about the book’s contents, and some information on the author are what the reader is looking for here. Make it easy to find what is most important first. Don’t make the reader work hard to find reasons to buy the book.

Most back covers have four elements to them:

1.   Across the top and down the top third of the cover are as many inspiring testimonials from important, influential, and name-recognized people as you can fit in. Usually, there will be at least two and as many as four.

2.   There is a synopsis of the critical, not-to-be-missed core messages of your book. Be able to tell readers in fifty words or less what they need to know—much like an elevator speech you might give as you network for your business.

3.   There is a short, to-the-point bio of maybe five sentences—just enough to establish your credentials as an expert in your field or to include something else that qualifies you to write this book. So if you’ve got work to do to establish those credentials, this is the time to do it.

4.   There is a photo of the author—a picture that says “Wow! That person is a real pro—and approachable too.” If you don’t like the picture of the person on your cover, then do what’s needed to become that person now. You want this picture to be your best you.

Focusing on these elements, you can begin to see how the ones surrounding your book must come together to result in a successful publication. They comprise you, your message, and your audience.

Tanyab 08:23, 5 December 2008 (UTC) | www.publishing-store.com