• Concept and Creation
    • Purpose
    • Ideas
    • Research
    • Writing
    • Illustrating
    • Editing & Proofreading
  • Genres
    • Business
    • Children’s
    • Crime
    • History
    • Poetry
  • Publication Options
    • Self-Publishing
    • Submit to a Literary Agent
    • Submit to Publishers
    • Wordcatcher Submissions
  • Production
    • Formats & Editions
    • Typesetting
    • Publishing Essentials
    • Production
    • Printing
  • Getting Books to Readers
    • Distribution
    • Marketing Principles
    • Social Media Marketing
    • Internet Marketing
    • Sales
    • Events
  • Author Development
  • Speaker Bureau
  • Partners
  • Products & Services
  • Courses
    authorhub.infoauthorhub.info
  • 0
    • Concept and Creation
      • Purpose
      • Ideas
      • Research
      • Writing
      • Illustrating
      • Editing & Proofreading
    • Genres
      • Business
      • Children’s
      • Crime
      • History
      • Poetry
    • Publication Options
      • Self-Publishing
      • Submit to a Literary Agent
      • Submit to Publishers
      • Wordcatcher Submissions
    • Production
      • Formats & Editions
      • Typesetting
      • Publishing Essentials
      • Production
      • Printing
    • Getting Books to Readers
      • Distribution
      • Marketing Principles
      • Social Media Marketing
      • Internet Marketing
      • Sales
      • Events
    • Author Development
    • Speaker Bureau
    • Partners
    • Products & Services
    • Courses

      07-Cover Design

      Components of a Professionally-Designed Book Cover

      • Posted by authorhub.info
      • Categories 07-Cover Design
      Professional Cover Design

      Front

      Stand out, but don’t stick out like a sore thumb

      Elements need to be well-chosen for your genre and relevant to your readers. The objective is to belong in your genre. Standing out from the crowd doesn’t always equate to selling more books. Do some general searches of books in your genre and get a feel for the types of books that sell well and the common themes, colours, fonts, etc. You might have a beautifully designed cover, but if it doesn’t fit in the genre you won’t sell many.

      Typefaces

      Your choice of font has a huge impact on how we read words. Chose carefully and be prepared to take your time to get this right. Avoid well-worn, common typefaces such as Times and Arial, and avoid Comic Sans too – it’s something of a joke in the industry that this is the calling card of the novice cover designer. If typography is your main visual imagery (common in business books, for example) you need to pay careful attention to spacing between characters. Be prepared to design this typography and not accept the standard way text appears when you type.

      Images

      The images you use need to fit in the genre. Yes, you can see the message is being repeated because it’s essential that images don’t conflict with what your target audience expects. They must obviously be within your rights to use on a commercial project. “I got it off the internet, so it must be free to use,” isn’t a legal defence. Unless you have permission in writing, don’t use it. Images need to be high enough resolution to print clearly, and unless blurry is part of your design, look for clean images to work with.

      Words

      The text on your front cover will normally be succinctly written – if you can say it in four words instead of five, do so.

      • Title (essential)
      • Sub-title (if there is one)
      • Series title (optional, if there is is one)
      • Author name (essential)
      • Quote, review, or endorsement (optional, but a useful element in the design of a cover)
      • Tagline (optional, but on some genres it’s almost a requisite)

      That’s a lot of information to pack into a small space, so look at other books in your genre (successful ones) and see how they have designed their covers, and which elements from the above they employ.

      Branding

      Some publishers put their logo on the front cover, and this might be a mandatory element.

      Spine

      The spine normally carries the following elements:

      • Title
      • Sub-title (optional)
      • Series title (less likely)
      • Author
      • Publisher logo
      • Imagery complimenting front cover (optional and best done on thicker spines where the visual element is obvious)
      • Background colour

      Back

      The back cover is often neglected. Now Amazon and other retailers preview this on its listings it’s worth designing it with care. The elements you might expect to see are:

      Essential

      • Description (also known as blurb)
      • Genre (which shelf does it go on in a bookshop)
      • Price in at least one currency (the one where the ISBN originates is most logical)
      • Barcode for the ISBN

      Optional

      • Author bio and/or photo
      • Secondary barcode for price
      • Further graphic elements
      • Publisher branding
      • Social media / web links

      Tag:advice, book cover, cover, design, tips

      • Share:
      author avatar
      authorhub.info

      Previous post

      Types of Publisher
      10 June 2020

      Next post

      Types of Research
      10 June 2020

      You may also like

      Top 3 Tips for Authors Who Want to Create Fantastic Book Covers | Q&A with David Norrington
      6 January, 2021

      In this Q&A video, David Norrington, Managing Director of Wordcatcher Publishing, explains his top three tips for authors who want to create fantastic book covers. 1. Pay for it Unless you’re a book designer yourself, you should always get a …

      submit article
      Submit an Article
      1 July, 2020

      Leave A Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Search

      Categories

      • 01-Purpose
      • 02-Ideas
      • 03-Research
      • 04-Illustrating
      • 04-Writing
      • 05-Editing & Proofreading
      • 06-Self-publishing
      • 06-Submit to a Literary Agent
      • 06-Submit to Publishers
      • 06-Submit to Wordcatcher
      • 07-Cover Design
      • 08-Editions
      • 09-Typesetting
      • 10-Publishing Essentials
      • 11-Printing
      • 11-Production
      • 12-Distribution
      • 13-Marketing Principles
      • 13-Online Marketing
      • 13-Social Media Marketing
      • 14-Sales
      • 15-Events
      • 16-Author Development
      • Business
      • Children's
      • Crime
      • Genres
      • History
      • News
      • Poetry
      • Speaker Bureau
      • Writing Tips

      Latest Courses

      Why Are You Writing this Book? Knowing Will Save You Time and Money

      Why Are You Writing this Book? Knowing Will Save You Time and Money

      Free
      How and Why to Write an Effective Author Bio

      How and Why to Write an Effective Author Bio

      Free
      How to Write a Book Description – Step by Step

      How to Write a Book Description – Step by Step

      Free
      Articles and Information
      Products and Services
      All Courses
      • 01-Purpose (1)
      • 07-Cover Design (1)
      • 14-Sales (1)
      • 16-Author Development (1)

      Wordcatcher Publishing Group Ltd
      16 Waun y Groes Road
      Cardiff
      CF14 4SW

      Company Reg. No. 10913921

      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Submit an Article
      • Join Our Speaker Bureau
      • Order Stock (Existing Authors)
      • Quote for Book Printing
      Menu
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Submit an Article
      • Join Our Speaker Bureau
      • Order Stock (Existing Authors)
      • Quote for Book Printing

      Auxillium Press, Onion Custard Kids, and Wordcatcher Publishing are publishing imprints of Wordcatcher Publishing Group Ltd.
      authorhub.info is a trading name of Wordcatcher Publishing Group Ltd.

      Copyright 2016-20 Wordcatcher Publishing Group Ltd. All rights reserved.

      This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
      Privacy & Cookies Policy

      Privacy Overview

      This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
      Necessary
      Always Enabled

      Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

      Non-necessary

      Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

      SAVE & ACCEPT