Readers DO judge a book by its cover, and you only have a split second to make a reader want to click to read more or download a sample.

A well-designed, genre-targeted cover will attract readers and boost your sales. A poorly designed cover that confuses the reader can ruin sales of even the best book.

In my opinion and experience, the two most important things to invest in as an indie author are professional editing and professional cover design, and finding the right designer to work with is an essential part of any author business.

In today's article, book cover designer Jessica Bell walks us through what we need to know when we're choosing a book cover designer.

Know What You Want & Need Before Hiring a Cover Designer

If you’ve decided to outsource the cover design of your book, there are some very important things you need to consider before you shake the hand of your service provider. Today I’m going to talk about what information you’re likely going to have to provide in order to brief a cover designer, but before I do, I’d also like to explain, what I believe to be the fundamentals of book cover design. This information will help you get the most out of your vision, assist in facilitating a smooth author/designer working relationship, and result in a quality product (your book!) that your audience will want to buy and read.

The four most important design factors I live by are:

1. Subtle color combinations.

But if you’re after bold and vibrant colors, please don’t use too many. It hurts the eyes. And sometimes scares readers away. I have often found that the most attractive covers I’ve ever seen use a maximum of three different colors and include black, white, or grey.

Have a look at the covers on the right. Notice how the colors of the text in the first cover are extracted from the image, and how in the second example the black and white compliments the bright bold colors.

2. Less is more.

If there are too many elements in a cover, readers aren’t going to know what to focus on. And if they don’t know what to focus on, they are just going to skim past it. Think of the days when we used to use a cork board. All those bills, and reminders, and notices, all piled on top of each other, pins sticking into multiple pieces of paper. You could not see everything that was on that cork board. And most of the time you didn’t even try to. Don’t scare your potential readers away by trying to fit too much in such a small space.

Take a look at these covers.

Notice how the first one has tried to incorporate too many elements and it looks a cluttered mess (not to mention the highly ambitious color scheme.) And notice how the second one has a lot of space. There is room for the image and text to breathe and it therefore draws the eye.

3. Focus on portraying a particular theme or emotion.

People are attracted to visuals because of the way they make them feel. Which is why you often see TV commercials implementing a narrative that doesn’t seem to have a direct relationship with product.

For example, while I was visiting family in Australia not long ago, I saw an advert that captured my attention. The narrative shifted from scenes in various homes with happy and relaxed families and individuals. Cooking, reading, playing with a baby, a writer content at his desk, etc. All the people in this advert were smiling and at complete ease. In a literal sense, it looked like it was an advertisement for either a furniture store, or a real estate agent. There was no text, until the end, when a bank’s name popped up, along with something very simple about their new easy Internet banking system. What was their message here? Bank with us and you’ll be able to enjoy life completely stress free.

This is what I believe a book cover needs to do. It needs to create an overall ‘feeling’, not by telling readers exactly what’s inside, but by setting a tone that is going make your target audience take notice.

Notice how the covers on the right do not try to tell a story, but rather project a tone.

4. Be careful with your choice of font.

Don’t go overboard with cursive fonts. Sometimes you may be able to find a suitable cursive font that looks excellent. Other times you may be better off finding something that is more ‘classic’. To know what looks good against the backdrop of your cover, however, takes a little bit of trial and error. Don’t be afraid to experiment and compare. Another thing to consider regarding font choice, is that certain fonts mesh well with certain genres. CreativINDIE has an excellent post about this, I suggest you go check it out.

Now try your hand at a little comparative analysis:

Take a look at the following two sets of covers. These are for the same books. Which set of covers do you prefer and why?

Think about the following aspects:

1. What do you like/dislike about the designs?
2. What genre do you think they represent?
3. What time period do you think the books are set?
4. Are the colours appealing?
5. Do you think the positioning of the various elements is aesthetically pleasing to the eye?
6. What do you think of the fonts used? Do you think they are suitable? Why/Why not?
7. Does the cover make you want to take a look at the blurb? Why/why not?

Please keep in mind there are no right and wrong answers here. They are all open to personal taste and interpretation.

On hiring a freelancer to design your book cover:

If you’re keen on hiring a freelance cover designer, take a look at the following questions. As your cover designer will most likely not read your book, answering these questions will help him or her create the best possible cover for you. It will also assist you in honing in on your own vision, spark a few revision ideas, and/or inspire you to think about marketing angles.

a. What is the genre of your book?

b. Who is your target audience?

c. What year is your book set in? What aspects of this era is prominent in your story?

d. What is the setting like? Describe it to the best of your ability. (You may wish to include an excerpt from your book where it is described, too.)

e. Are the protagonists male or female, and what is his/her age and what does he/she look like? (eye colour, hair colour/length/shape, any defining marks like scars or tattoos, etc)

f. What kind of relationship do your protagonists have? Romantic, just friends, siblings, etc. (This is important because you do not want your designer having the protagonists French kissing on your cover if they are siblings.)

g. What are the themes in your book?

h. Do you use any reoccurring symbols in your book? (For example, in one of my books, I use a wilting orange tree to symbolize a gradual breakdown of familial warmth.)

i. What do you want shoppers to feel when they see your covers?

j. What is your vision for the cover? (Most designers will attempt to incorporate an author’s vision, but they don’t always work, so try not to be married to your ideas. Rather, consider your vision and ideas as inspiration for the designer.)

A few last words:

Think about having your eBook cover designed before you send your manuscript for typesetting.

This way you’re able to match the fonts you use for your chapter titles and/or section headings, with the fonts used on the cover. Matching the look of the interior with the cover will ensure you have a professional-looking and cohesive overall design. Then once typesetting is done, you can move onto the paperback cover. (The designer needs to know the page count in order to determine the width of the spine.)

Remember that a book cover designer is always going to do what’s best for your book.

Their reputation is on the line as a designer, as must as yours is an author. So try to go into the collaboration with the understanding that you may not get exactly what you had in mind (especially if they use stock photos), and keep an open mind. You never know, you might end up with a cover 100 times better than you envisioned if you give your designer some creative control. I know that I’ve designed my best covers when the author offered me lots of suggestions and zero limitations.

Also, make sure you take a good look at the designer’s portfolio before you hire them. If you love their work, you’re bound to be compatible.

Do you have any questions about book cover design or hiring a designer? Please leave them below and join the conversation.

Jessica Bell began her career as a graphic designer when she self-published her first book as an author back in 2011. Being the type of person that 100% believes in the phrase ‘if there is a will there is a way,’ she embarked on a self-taught design journey, 1) because she was penniless, and 2) because she’s always loved a creative challenge.

Very soon after her design debut, she started designing covers for author friends as a favor. Until one of her friends told her that she should start a business. She took their advice, and since then she has designed hundreds of covers for indie, traditional, and hybrid authors, many of which have hit bestseller lists, and won awards.

Being an author herself, she fully understands the need to be able to incorporate an author’s vision into their book cover and is sensitive to their needs. She also prides herself on prompt friendly service and an iterative design process.

Learn more at: bit.ly/jbbookcovers

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Investing in professional book cover design is non-negotiable for indie authors who want to make a living with their writing. Readers DO judge a book by its cover, and they won't read your blurb, download a sample or buy now without connecting to your cover somehow.  In short, you're unlikely to sell many books unless you have a great cover design.

In this article, JD Smith outlines her tips for book cover design. Her new book is The Importance of Book Cover Design and Formatting for Self-Published Authors. Jane is also my book cover designer and I highly recommend her.

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There’s a constant debate about the relevance and importance of cover design, whether you’re a self-published author, part of a collective group of authors, an independent press, or even a large publishing house. If you are publishing your book to give away as Christmas presents, or you only expect a few members of your family to buy them, then the cover is as important as you consider it to be.

But if you are a professional writer and you intend to earn a living or be taken seriously in the literary world, then the book cover is as important as the copy editing, the proofreading, the story and the characters.

It is a part of your marketing … and it’s there to attract the right kind of readers.

So let’s assume you already deem a book cover to be important and I don’t need to convert you. How can you make your cover work for you and sell more books?

(1) Target your audience

Your book cover MUST be targeted at the right audience. How do you find out who that audience is?

Research.

Check out the bestselling lists in your genre, whether that’s crime fiction, women’s fiction, young adult etc. Pick out books by authors who you feel write similarly to you, whose readers you know will enjoy the genre you write in, your style, tone, characters.

This is really important. Do you write like Mark Billingham? Then you want to attract his fans. Do you write like Philippa Gregory? Then you want to attract her fans. That’s not to say you want to copy their covers, but you need to have a similar feel, and to present your book with visual clues that scream ‘you enjoyed this bestselling author’s book so you’ll enjoy mine’.

Here are examples of different genres and their respective covers. Let’s take Thursdays in the Park. Having read and watched Game of Thrones, I wouldn't expect Hilary Boyd’s cover to be on the front of a George RR Martin book, would you? That’s an extreme example, but a valid one.

If you’re not targeting the right audience then you’re not only going to miss out on your readership, but you’ll end up targeting readers (if any) who aren’t enthusiastic about your writing, and this will lead to disappointment and negative reviews.

(2) Make sure your cover shouts ‘pick me up and read me'

Bookshops display books with their covers facing the reader. It’s the first thing a reader sees and the reason a customer picks up the book. This can be done with fonts, colors and imagery.

Check out which covers jump out at you in the supermarket or as you’re browsing on Amazon. Take note of what it is about them that makes you want to read them. Is it the image content, or is it the use of vibrant reds and yellows?

(3) Be professional

The expense of editing, proofreading, formatting, cover design, PR and marketing can be all too daunting for an author, particularly someone who is new to independent publishing, whether they have been traditionally published before or not. I won’t tell you that you have to have professional cover design, only that you must take it seriously if you are serious about becoming a professional author and earning a living from your writing.

Below are examples of book covers that have been commissioned by self-published authors, with various budgets, but all below $500/£350.

Can an author have a cover as good as a professional without costing the earth? Yes you can!

Here’s an example of two book covers, one of which was designed by a self-published author, the other by a large publishing house. Can you guess which is which? No? Tawny Stokes is the self-published author.

Finding a good cover designer is obviously key, but there are many out there who can design professional book covers.

(4) Trust your instincts

One mistake I see authors make time and again is designing by committee.

Friends and family are great, they are supportive and keen and want you to be happy and fulfilled in your writing career. They are even excited that you’re publishing a new book. But they aren’t the right people to ask for an opinion unless they are your target market.

You need to ask people who read the kind of books that you write. I wouldn’t dream of asking my husband or my brother what they thought of a bunch of steamy romance novel covers. What appeals to one fan base, won’t appeal to another.

When you ask your readership which cover they prefer, generally speaking they will look long and hard at your cover and critique it. They’ll have an opinion on the model you’ve used, the font size, or the colors. Their opinion isn’t a true test of the power of impulse buying.

Other writers are also a natural source of opinion, however there are a lot of ‘experts’ out there. People who have ‘been in the industry for so many years’, etc. That’s great, and sometimes those people will have very valid opinions, but other times they’ll just regurgitate general industry opinion, such as ‘the title must be as large as possible, until it’s filled the entire cover and you can’t see anything but the title’ – an exaggeration, but you get the idea. The principles behind what they are saying are usually sound, but don’t necessarily apply to every genre, or trend, or what will actually work and sell your book. They just want to sound like they know what they’re talking about.

Trust your own opinion.

Some of the book covers that Jane has designed for me. All different series as you can tell by the branding.

In theory you already read widely in the genre you’re writing so you’ll know what works and what doesn’t. If you’re unsure, change the author name on your cover so it’s not your own, then put it alongside some traditionally published book covers, and ask a group of readers in the genre which covers they like best and why. You’ll soon see a pattern emerge if your cover is never mentioned.

(5) Straplines, quotes and thumbnails

But they won’t be seen in thumbnail, I hear people chorus. No, probably not. So why have them? ‘It needs to work in thumbnail’ is one of the most overused phrases in publishing these days. It’s also one of the least understood.

Not everything on the cover has to be visible when your book is postage stamp size.

This actually depends on your genre and market. Not all markets lean toward the title and author name as being important, for example. You generally need to be able to make out something, whether that’s the image, the title or the author. You’ll rarely be able to make them all out, and you definitely won’t be able to make out a strapline or quote.

So what’s the point of having one? Well for starters, it will be visible if not legible, so a reader will know it’s there. Lots of traditional books have one or the other or both, and so your book can appear more professional. It also gives a subtle indicator that you’ve been endorsed by a big name author, or that the strapline might state that you are a NY Times Bestseller.

(6) Think of the future for your brand

Once you have established a readership you need to keep that readership. Make it easy for readers to find your books when browsing. Ensure the style of each cover in a series is similar, so that readers easily identify with the next release. You as an author can be recognised not just by your name on a cover, but by the way it’s typeset and the overall look and feel of your covers. Make sure marketing materials tie in well and are sympathetic to your cover design so that everything works as one to build your brand.

Only when a reader has picked up the book do they actually read anything, and that includes the back cover blurb that you will have spent hours and hours honing. If the blurb was worth all that effort, then the cover is equally if not more deserving.

JD Smith is an award-winning book cover designer and author of The Importance of Book Cover Design.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jdsmithdesign/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/JDSmith_Design