Book covers are more than mere protectors of the content inside a book. They are an important tool that attracts the audience, engages them, and drives your book sales. Many authors often regret not paying well-deserved attention to this aspect.
Whether you have just started writing your manuscript or have hired an editor to give the final touches to your book, it is never too late or too early for you to start working on your book cover, leading to the promising success of your book.
If you are not sure how to create a brilliant book cover, here are some of the best tips to consider.
- Understand Your Audience
Researching your audience and getting to know their preferences is something that cannot be overlooked at any step of making your creative decisions. When you are considering publishing a book that resonates with the interests of your audience, keeping their preferences in mind is a given.
Similarly, before creating a brilliant book cover, you must learn more about what draws your audience in. It is important for you to take some time to look at other books in the genre and see what makes their covers stand out. Of course, being unique can play a crucial role in ensuring the success of your book cover, but you can also use other masterpieces to get inspired.
- Grab the Viewer’s Attention
Once you know about the interests of your readers, figuring out what must be done next does not remain to be the biggest of your problems. Now that you understand the preferences of your audience, you must look into ways to make your book cover eye-catching.
While creating your book cover, you must put your best efforts into ensuring that it is eye-catching with the usage of bold colors and intriguing typography. A great book cover can stand out among the crowd and capture the attention of the right audience.
- Create a Balance
Every author wants to ensure that their book cover is eye-catching and stands out among the crowd. Even with the best intentions, authors often end up making regrettable choices when it comes to choosing the right book cover for their books.
Overuse or the wrong combination of striking imagery, exaggerated typography, and several other elements can make your book cover look crowded at times. It is best to seek ways to create a balance in this aspect to ensure that your audience resonates with your efforts.
- Pay Attention to the Spine
Unfortunately, book spines are often overlooked while designing book covers. Book cover spines are often the first thing seen by potential readers when they step into a physical bookstore. It instantly tells the reader about the genre and topic of your book.
The spine of your book cover can become a motivator for readers to pick your book up, among several other factors. While the spine of your cover may not be that important for your books when sold online, using the same font and design elements from the front cover can help you ensure consistency.
- Hire a Professional
One of the biggest favors you can do for yourself is to seek the services of book cover artists for hire. These professionals are masters of creating brilliant book covers for authors seeking ways to boost the potential of their books.
These professionals can not only provide you with the best options for book covers to resonate with your audience but also help you save time and energy. They understand the interests of your audience better than anyone else and can help you adhere to them through your book cover.
- Use High-Quality Images
Another important factor that plays a significant role in ensuring the success of your book cover is the usage of high-quality images. If your book cover includes images, using high-quality images is a non-negotiable aspect.
Using low-quality images can undermine the potential of your book and may never be able to create an interesting presence in the eyes of the readers. The importance of high-quality images on your book cover cannot be undermined.
If you are struggling with finding the best-quality images for your book covers, you can consider using stock images or hiring a professional photographer to get the job done.
- Pick the Right Font
The font you choose for your book also plays a crucial role in attracting the right audience. Choosing the right font for your book cover is a decision that takes a lot of time and consideration. It is best not to rush it while finalizing a decision.
If you feel this aspect to be challenging, you are not alone. Several authors and book cover designers struggle with this aspect. You can consider asking a professional book cover designer for help in this matter. They can help you convey the essence of your book without compromising the legibility of the text.
- Seek Feedback
It is never a bad idea to ask friends, family members, and buddies from your writing circle to provide their valued feedback on your book cover. Their comments can help you improve your book cover and bring out the best in it.
Another great way to bring out the best in your book cover is to test it with your target audience. You can create a survey to learn what your audience thinks about your book cover. Their opinions can also help you bring out the best in your work.
- Broaden Your Horizons
While there is no harm in using other famous books from the genre as inspiration for your book covers, you must never steal ideas from your competitors. Being unique can play a crucial role in winning the hearts of your target audience.
You must create a balance between being unique and meeting the expectations of your target audience. This way, you can give your readers what they want while ensuring that they never lose the element of excitement as they pick your book from an aisle.
Lily James