The cover of a book speaks out loud about the book’s content and has a much larger impact that goes beyond your thoughts. That is why designing a book cover is one of the essential steps in the book publishing process. The very first impression of your book is set by its well-thought-out cover, and your reader first interacts with it to get to know about your book’s content.
As the literature marketplace is already crowded, the book cover can become a potent tool of book marketing to grab the attention of your readership and make an impression that people will never forget. A professional book cover design is not only eye-catching, but it also entices readers to pick up the book and get a sneak peek at its content through the cover graphics. The book cover can lead readers to go through the blurb and purchase the book, ultimately.
A book cover design that is just there and has no relevance to the book can negatively impact your book’s success, regardless of its high-quality content. A compellingly designed cover for your book not only delivers what your book is all about but also symbolizes the genre of the book. It also helps you establish yourself as a brand and a sane author. While designing book covers, one must take care that they are not deceiving readers about what is written in the book. Also, it should appeal to your target readers and be unique from other books in the same category.
Well, we have shed enough light on the importance of book covers. Let’s dive into how to design a compelling book cover that will multiply your book’s sales to infinity.
Understand The Importance Of Book Covers
A book cover is simply your book’s face and plays a pivotal role in forming the perception of readers and setting their expectations. It reflects the story of the book and the range of topics it covers. For example, a dark colored, mystique graphic book cover tells that the book’s story is based on thrill, mystery, and it will be full of surprises.
On the other hand, a bright, rich, and colorful book cover design is the representation of a romantic or humorous theme. All these nuances determine whether a book is attractive to the readers or not. You must understand that the book cover is the front end of your written manuscript.
Book Cover And Its Design Elements
A book cover is a perfect recipe created with basic design elements. It effectively conveys a significant message through artwork. These elements catch the eye immediately and strike the minds. These elements include the following:
Typography
Typography enhances the book cover design and introduces the book’s and author’s names. It sets the tone of the book through fonts.
Illustrations And Images
Illustrations, graphics, and images symbolically represent the book. You can use them for a greater impact in the form of:
- Real photographs
- Drawings
- Sketches
- Hand-drawn illustrations
- Geometric patterns
- Abstract designs
Color Pallet
The color scheme of the book is essential for creating a mood board and garnering all the attention. Colors are responsible for evoking specific sentiments and emotions, and they also portray associations. For instance, books with romantic stories have warm, tone colors. Similarly, dark hues are often used for thriller books, while bright colors are frequently used to design the covers of children’s books.
Design Layout
It is an organized and well-balanced arrangement of various elements on the book cover to ensure that the overall design creates an impact that is desired. It includes the following:
- The book’s name
- The book’s subtitle
- Author’s name
- Images
Get Inspiration From The Bestselling Books In The Same Genre
Before you start designing a book cover, you must analyze the book covers of bestselling books in the same genre. It will help you evaluate how the book covers resonate so well with the target readers that the book becomes a bestselling. Here’s how you can do research and get inspiration:
- Start browsing prevalent online bookstores and note down the top-selling books of the same genre.
- Observe what fonts are used, what color schemes are incorporated, and what type of images and illustrations are used.
- Identify the trends of repetitive designs and typography
- Make your vision broad and keep in mind how these covers convey about the content of the books.
- By outlining various book cover ideas, you’ll get the inspiration for your eBook cover design or print book cover.
This research won’t take much time, but it will generate impeccable new ideas to design a book cover that is appealing to the readers in your genre. It’ll let you create your own book cover that is unique and exclusive.
Outline Book’s Genre and Your Target Readership
You must describe the subject matter and genre of your book. Additionally, you must clearly outline your target readership to create an effective book cover. Why? Because a cover design must represent the book’s content, or else it will be deceiving for the readers. Similarly, keeping in mind your target readers helps you tailor the cover design.
For instance, if your book is for young adults, a cover should have a modern design layout. If your book targets the older age bracket, the book’s design should have classical elements.
Decide between hiring book cover design services or DIY
Now it’s time to decide whether you will hire professional book cover design services or you will do it yourself. You can also hire a creative book cover artist from the talented team of Hemingway Publishers. We tailor our solutions according to your budget and requirements. Our team also knows all the ins and outs and has expertise in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.
If you want to optimize book cover design cost, want it to be high quality and eye-catching, then letting a team of professionals take care of it will be the wisest decision.
Leverage Ready-Made Book Cover Templates
Using book cover templates is the easiest way out, especially if you are on a budget. They are readily available online, and you can use them conveniently. So, why should you use these ready-made book covers?
These templates are cost-effective
These are time-saving
These templates are designed with a standard layout.
P.S.:
While book cover templates provide a lot of convenience and are affordable for self-published authors, their design is basic and mediocre and lacks uniqueness.
Conclusion
A great book cover garners the attention of book lovers right away, and it reflects a professional vibe. We have mentioned all the factors in this blog that you must keep in mind while designing a book cover. We hope this will be helpful for you to design a cover that resonates with readers emotionally and increases your book’s sales.