A good book cover designer is creative, knows basic design principles, and knows what the target audience wants.
They also have excellent communication skills to collaborate effectively with authors and publishers.
Additionally, they stay up-to-date with trends in book cover design and are proficient in industry-standard design software.
A book’s cover is often the first thing that catches a reader’s eye and can decide whether or not they choose to pick it up. But what makes a great book cover?
Is it the design, the colors, the typography, or something else?
This blog post will examine the elements that make a book cover stand out and explore why they are so important.
In many books, a great book cover design is simple, easy to read, sticks out, and conveys the writer’s essence and thoughts.
I believe it mainly draws your attention while also giving you a general understanding of the books’ subjects.
Do you know the qualities of a talented book cover artist?
Yes, some qualities of a talented book cover artist include creativity, attention to detail, an understanding of design principles, the ability to communicate a book’s themes visually, and the skill to create a cover that stands out and attracts potential readers.
So, let’s get to it. I’m going to say something that sounds contentious. It can even seem completely absurd.
You may experience offense.
But please be patient with me. Just give me a minute. Since I want you to sell more books, even if we have been instructed not to judge a book by its cover, your book cover is one of the crucial elements in playing in reality.
Why You Should Understand Book Covers
There are three essential ideas you must understand:
1. People will assess your book based on its cover, which is a positive thing
We all evaluate books based on their covers.
The physical ability to stop us nearly does not exist. People are visual beings. As our defining sense, vision helps us navigate the world.
Because color and form physically penetrate the brain at the speed of light, humans may be instantaneously contacted, engaged, and moved by these visual cues. The design has that kind of power.
The fact that people evaluate a book by its cover is excellent news. Without judgment, they may not purchase or read it, indicating that they are not interested.
Can you picture browsing a bookshop if the only thing printed on the covers was the title? That would make choosing which books to purchase much more challenging.
People will assess your book based on its cover and decide if they want to purchase it. It’s an opportunity to attract readers and connect with those who need to read your book.
2. Avoid designing your book cover.
Do you make your beer when you desire a bottle?
Do you make your clothes when you need a new coat?
When you need a fresh bar of soap, do you create it yourself?
No. You purchase such items from manufacturers who are professionals in creating them.
The same is true with book covers. You shouldn’t create your book cover. Your book cover should be made by a professional if you want a professional appearance.
Even though homebrewing beer is simple, most people don’t do it for the same reason.
Similarly, no one wears handmade garments, even though they are simple to manufacture and inferior to alternatives created by professionals.
The only difference between beer, jackets, and book covers is that some people mistakenly believe they can design them.
I think it remarkable that so many authors also consider themselves designers. I’m not sure whether it’s because design software is enjoyable to use or because the excellent design has a deceptively simple quality that masks its complexity, but let me be very clear about this
3. There are books with objectively excellent and bad covers.
Designing a book cover is not wholly subjective. A competent designer can discern the difference between excellent and evil book covers.
Considering that a book cover is a work of art with a purpose:
The purpose of book covers is to represent textual material visually.
A superb cover convinces a member of your target audience that they “need to read it” by clarifying why the book is essential to them (or at least raises their interest enough to want to learn more). It needs to make your readers understand why they should read your book.
Guidelines for Hiring a Book Cover Designer
You’re prepared to choose a reputable book cover designer and employ them now that you know what function a cover performs and why a professional book cover is necessary.
Wait a minute.
Poor communication between book designers and writers is the main issue. They never seem to agree on anything since the author has no concept of what they want or has hazy, unclear cover ideas.
You may prevent this issue by completing some preparation before hiring a book cover designer. This will not only provide a superior cover, but it may also enable you to reduce your costs significantly.
1. Examine several book covers, both within and outside your profession.
Get a sense of other books in your region and maybe borrow some ideas from them as a starting point.
Search on Amazon Books in the category that your book belongs in. Then, look for more creative book names on Pinterest if you like.
Finally, look to Bookcoverarchive.com for the most significant, cutting-edge titles if you desire a classic.
You’ll be surprised by how similar book covers in your category are if you spend some time looking at several of them. That is typical.
Use some of these clichés without feeling guilty; they’re there for a purpose, and they’ll be helpful to you. It is advantageous for readers to recognize your work as belonging to the genre you intend.
To acquire inspiration, it’s also crucial to look at the literature on various subjects. You don’t have to follow the conventions of other psychology books just because your book is about psychology; you may borrow some concepts from business, self-help, or even fiction books.
Additionally, there is no shame in drawing inspiration from your favorite novels. Excellent design and art don’t just happen by magic. They must originate from a source of inspiration.
2. Select a few covers that have components of what you desire.
Save a few instances of the bodies you like or that have components as you browse through the hundreds of corpses.
Why you’re doing this should be clear: you need to communicate your desires to your Designer (not just try to describe them).
Send the URLs or photos to your Designer after saving them. Given that an image may convey a million words, you may save time and money using one instead of the other.
Also, since designers interpret the world visually, it is essential to demonstrate your points.
3. Choose products or other works of art that reflect your style
Never simply focus on the covers. Draw inspiration from any picture you can discover comparable to the one you desire for your book cover, including logos, websites, artwork, images, and so on.
Do not forget that design is all around us. Do you like the Apple logo’s crisp, airy simplicity? Or do you like Android’s outrageous black and green playfulness?
You are simply making a collage—some people refer to it as a mood board—of visual ideas and inspiration that might assist your Designer in figuring out how to communicate your book’s content to your audience effectively.
How Can I Find a Designer of Book Covers?
Book cover designers may be hired in many different areas.
We’ll categorize them according to price, with the more expensive items always being the best. Designers may charge up to $2000 for their services since their books SELL; therefore, you get what you pay for.
1. An independent creator
The best choice is usually to work with a freelance book cover designer. However, many of the world’s top book cover designers, who often collaborate with significant publishing firms, are available for independent work.
These folks may be located in a few different ways. A great choice is Reedsy. But unfortunately, the freelancing marketplace is made especially for writers.
The alternative is to look for book designers on sites with a broader selection of designs, such as Behance or Dribbble. Although they can take a while to answer and are hard to reach, the quality is excellent.
The best approach is to check the interior of your favorite books to find out who created the cover.
Then, search for their name on Google; you’ll often discover their design website and be able to get in touch with them there.
2. 99Designs
99Designs (and similar websites like Crowdspring) might be helpful when looking for quality designs.
- You upload a thorough brief on 99Designs with all the technical requirements and selected visual samples, and when their designers have reviewed it, they post their work.
- Then, many designers use your instructions to create a cover, which they submit for your approval. If you don’t like any of the concepts, you may pick the winning Designer to assume the mantle from or, if you want, receive a hassle-free full refund.
A terrific initial choice to see whether a great cover would be worth the money to you is 99Designs.
You may view the designs, get some inspiration, and perhaps locate a fantastic body. If not, no damage is done, and you may start again with the other alternatives.
We advise participating in the $499 Silver contest. The better designers on the site avoid the lower-end disputes, and the higher-end ones don’t appear to attract much higher quality (and tend to get fewer submissions).
3. Upwork
A freelancing network like Upwork would be the next rung on the quality ladder. Although Upwork’s general quality is not great, some excellent designers exist.
You will be able to discover the ideal individual on one of these websites, but be prepared to take your time. Most job postings get dozens, if not hundreds, of answers, and designers often include a link to their online portfolio.
You should eliminate anybody who has received more than a few unfavorable evaluations and then devote all your screening time to evaluating the candidates’ portfolios.
Compare the book covers you liked when researching on Amazon side by side. Do they seem to be of comparable caliber? Ask a buddy familiar with the fundamentals of the design if you are unsure.
The only thing that provides you a realistic impression of their work’s quality is their portfolio.
You’ll probably like their future work if you enjoy their prior work. All other information is marketing.
4. Fiverr
The marketplace Fiverr offers services for $5 or less. For instance, Fiverr has a ton of book cover designers, but virtually all of them produce dreadful work.
Although friends have successfully located a few sound designers, I have never utilized Fiverr for cover design.
A fresh designer will often do excellent work, get several 5-star evaluations, and then go to another website where they can charge more than $5 for their services.
Consider it in this manner. Why would someone labor for $5 each cover if they have any ability for design?
How Do You Collaborate with Your Book Cover Artist?
After choosing a designer and settling on pricing, your cover concept will be discussed.
1. Arrange the first phone or video call.
Plan a phone or video chat for your very first interaction. It’s challenging to interact with strangers through email, particularly when discussing ethereal ideas like design.
2. Before the call, provide them with the covers and logos you liked.
Send them a cover design brief before the call. This should incorporate all of your favorite book covers, your desired symbols and images, and any other pieces you put together.
Do this at least one day beforehand. Designers like having time to process ideas and visuals.
3. Describe how you think.
When you get them on the line, explain what you were thinking:
Start by describing your readership aim.
Then, describe the aspects of each cover that you like and hate.
Discuss the emotion you want your cover to evoke.
Talk about the messages you want to communicate to your audience.
If possible, talk about the feelings you want the reader to have when they view the cover.
The cover designer will perform better if you give them additional context for your ideas.
4. Request a minimum of three mockups.
It ought to be standard practice for competent book cover artists. They’ll create many concepts and provide you with at least three distinct zones.
5. Comment positively on the mockups.
When you get the mockups back, if one immediately stands out to you, excellent! If so, provide detailed comments and input to help it get there, and you’re done.
It’s OK if you don’t like any of the covers. Call the Designer again and, while being courteous, be as detailed as you can about what you would want to change.
It is not necessary to express resentment or anger at the cover artist. They aren’t in your brain, so it’s OK if their mockups don’t match your vision. But you’ll succeed if you’re more structured and explicit in your explanation.
How Can You Tell If Your Book Cover Is Good?
Here are some queries to ask after you have, or believe you have, a cover to see whether it’s working for you:
1. Is it distinctive?
It is essential. Print it out and place it across the room so you can examine it from all sides.
Consider all the many ways people could see it—on a screen, in a bookshop, etc.—and make sure it shines out in each one. Do you understand the title? Is the picture clear?
give-to-get
Examine it as a thumbnail as well. Does your cover still appear decent when reduced to a thumbnail size? The majority of your readers will view it on Amazon as a little picture in that way.
Does it have a distinct focus?
Decide on a central theme for the cover; nothing is more crucial than this. Your book has a main theme, and that theme should be reflected throughout the body.
Therefore, you must have a single component that dominates the cover and controls the vast majority of space, focus, and attention.
Please don’t assume your cover is a billboard; every inch of it must be covered with the most noticeable phrases.
For the type to be legible, there has to be the right amount of space around it. Equally significant to what is on your cover is what is not.
A good designer will know the ideal font size for author names, blurbs, and subtitles. Requesting that they be more substantial will lessen your design’s effect.
3. Does it make clear what the book is about and who it is intended for?
Not only should your book stand out, but your audience should be able to tell right away:
The broad category of your book
the overall theme or emphasis, and
An impression of the book’s perspective or tone
A genuinely outstanding book somehow catches the book’s essence in some fundamental, maybe unexpected manner.
However, avoid feeling as if it must depict a scene, an aspect, or the book’s topic (no one will know it is correct until after reading it anyway).
4. Did you exhaust all of your options?
Some writers waste much too much time looking for the ideal cover. Usually, this happens as a means to get their publication trepidations out throughout the cover design process.
Since it represents the bulk of the publishing process’ creative effort, many individuals are concerned about what will happen after it is over.
So, believing they are improving their cover, they push their Designer through round after round modifications.
Both of them are damaging their cover design by fleeing their anxieties. So instead, ask your cover designer, the sole reliable source of information, when they think your cover is finished.
5. Did you make a courageous decision?
We consistently see that when we provide an author with three mockups, they will choose one that is not ideal, one that is good, and one that is excellent.
The author must virtually always exercise courage in making a fantastic decision. It will take an unconventional stance in your industry, make a contentious claim, or be unusual in a manner that will make you somewhat uneasy.
I’d estimate that only 25% of writers make a courageous decision.
The courageous decision isn’t always necessary, but it’s nearly always the better one (if there is a bold choice available). So observe yourself if this occurs to you.
While the safe option is not incorrect, it will prevent your book from standing out or receiving the attention it deserves. It will because it was a brave decision.
Here is one approach to consider bravery if you are unclear about what it means:
The courageous decision expresses what everyone is thinking while remaining silent. People will remember the cover with the spirit.
Because a stranger on Facebook doesn’t like the color blue, you’ve worked too hard on authoring your book to give it mediocre cover art.
6. AVOID USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO POST FOR REVIEWS.
Social media polling is the ideal approach to ensure you choose the average (or worse) cover.
When asked which cover they prefer, the ordinary prospective reader will adopt a herd mentality and choose the title that most closely resembles the product that dominates your
market. They choose the most popular design because, to them, being famous equals being accepted. True, appearing like a disaster is preferable to blending in, but the cover game is about BEING MEMORABLE.
Beyond that, not everyone will find a decent book cover appealing.
It is intended to be appealing to the book’s intended readership. High school acquaintances, in-laws, and the man you met at a convention three years ago are among your 2500 Facebook pals. They are not your book’s intended audience.
Just what do I address while creating a book cover?
It’s never been simpler to create a book cover.
1. What will my target audience find appealing?
Think about how you wrote your novel for a specific audience; you should apply similar principles to your book cover design so that readers can connect with it immediately.
Then, think about the fonts, compositional techniques, and graphics your viewers will find appealing.
For instance, representations relating to the advantages of exercise may draw readers to a book on personal health and nutrition, giving the reader the impression that they, too, may achieve their goals if they purchase the book.
If you’re writing a book on government or economics, another example would be to include a picture of a government building or cutting-edge vector graphics.
Finally, doing market research is an excellent method to get started. Check to see what sells and what doesn’t in your category. It doesn’t necessarily include plagiarizing the ideas of other writers but rather having a sense of what interests readers.
2. What kind of visuals would best convey my story?
The process of selecting a picture for your cover might be complicated. The most significant images you may employ on your body are photographic, artistic, or vector-based.
Fictional books have greater freedom to be abstract and expressive, but non-fiction books have less room to experiment with imagery since it is much more literal.
However, both might fit under either group. Keep your choices open for various styles since you will know better than anybody what kind of artwork will express the tone you want to portray.
Illustration may inspire the reader to imagine whole new worlds. Look into your neighborhood library’s most popular and least popular visual styles.
3. What would distinguish my book from others in its genre?
Your book should seem comparable to others in its category to appeal to your target audience since people will be drawn to your cover.
But you want to stand out from the other books on the shelf; you don’t want to blend in. Designing your body to be the size of a thumbnail can help you stand out even from a distance.
4. What kind of author representation do I want?
It’s a great chance to showcase your originality since your reader will be more familiar with your book cover than the first paragraph.
As the author, you will have a lifelong connection with your body, so you must be comfortable with its message and tone.
5. What font design do I wish to employ?
You need to make sure that every last aspect is ideal since your book cover design will be a blend of several factors.
Since of this, the typeface you choose is essential because it not only provides information about the genre or subject matter of your book but also elevates it above other covers with poorly chosen typography in terms of professionalism.
Instead of selecting a typeface that is bland in terms of aesthetics and serves merely the functional aim of being readable, choose one that adds excitement to your surface or enhances its feel.
What makes a best-selling book cover?
The cover of a best-selling book usually has images that catch the eye, clear and bold type, and a design that shows the genre and tone of the book.
Additionally, it should stand out among other books in its category and attract the attention of potential readers.
Many purchase choices when it comes to books begin with the cover.
Designers need to convey the substance of a narrative while enticing prospective readers with an original design that stands out.
There are many aspects to consider, with over 80% of consumers admitting that book covers influence their purchasing choice.
What styles appeal to readers of your genre?
What can you do to make your book unique?
A strong following can only be gained with a strong cover, while a bad one will drive away many readers.
How can you create an excellent book cover?
To create an excellent book cover, consider the genre and tone of the book, choose a strong visual image or design, use complementary colors and fonts, and ensure that the title and author name are easy to read.
It’s also helpful to research best practices and get feedback from others before finalizing the design.
Don’t judge a book by its cover is solid advice for life, but not for writers who are about to embark on one of the most thrilling and intimidating phases of publication: book cover design.
We evaluate books by their covers as readers while perusing bookshelves (or scrolling online in these times of social alienation).
Almost usually, the book’s cover is what draws our attention and persuades us to pick it up or click on it to discover more about it.
Therefore, having a distinctive surface that stands out from the competition is crucial. Your book’s body must correctly depict its contents and place it firmly within its category.
It may be frustrating and confusing for readers to buy a book under pretenses due to an unsuitable cover.
Do authors choose their book covers?
Regarding booking covers in general, writers can rely on their publisher’s ability to produce a body that will result in sales—and that’s what book covers are all about.
How much are book covers made by artists payable?
The price of an artist’s book cover can vary depending on the complexity of the design, the artist’s experience, and the intended use of the piece of art.
Some artists charge a flat fee, while others charge by the hour. It’s best to research and compare different artists and their pricing structures to find the best fit for your needs and budget.
For Album Cover Designers, the average yearly income is $45,700.
For Album Cover Designers, the compensation range is between $33,000 and $66,000.
At the outset of a project, a fee is usually agreed upon between the label, manager, artist, or whoever is paying for the work.