Judging a Book by Its Cover -- OWFI 2019
Your book cover has one job, and that's to entice a reader to either click on your eBook or pick up your print copy to read your blurb. And that's it. It needs to convey a lot of information in a short time, and generate interest and curiosity with the ultimate goal of hooking a reader and reeling in that sale.
With millions of books out there, how is your cover ever going to do that?
First, let's look at what your cover needs to tell a reader:
1. It has to convey the genre
2. It needs to set the tone
3. It should give the viewer a glimpse of the story
In the top row of the samples below, each cover has a man (or face of a man) on the cover, but each sets a different tone. That change in tone is even more obvious in the books in the second row. Each has a dog(s), but they are obviously very different books. Because of the colors, fonts, and other design elements, there is no doubt about the genres of each of those. The same goes for the third row. There we have women in all three covers, but even at a glance, the stories are obviously very different. And again on the last row: each cover has water, each cover is created in shades of blue, but each cover is very, very different in feel.
Look again at each of the rows above and remember what a good cover does...
Do each of the covers give you an idea of the genre? Do they create a certain feel and give you a taste for the story you expect to find inside?
If so, then I've done my job well.
The term "don't judge a book by its cover" does NOT apply to book covers.
If you have mere seconds to entice a reader to give your story a try and you have a bad book cover, what do you think the chances are that you're going to make that sale? As I mentioned above, they have millions of books to choose from. Give them a reason to stop on yours.
So what makes a book cover less than appealing? Let's look at four things:
1. Bad or poor quality images
2. Poor typography
3. Poor layout
4. A cover that says absolutely nothing about your story
Does your cover lack a hook?
Are the fonts and colors genre appropriate?
Is the overall appearance of the cover pleasing to the eye?
Do you love your cover and feel proud to show it to potential readers?
If you said no to ANY of those questions or if your book has any of the four qualities of a bad cover design, you need to change it. Whether you do that yourself or have it done is up to you, but the last thing you want to do is have your #1 selling feature falling short.
The good news is that covers can be changed. If you want to create your own cover, there is nothing standing in your way. (resource links and information). There are also a ton of designers out there at every price point with most offering both premade options and custom designs. So whether you do it yourself or have it done, there is absolutely no reason to find your book on a "worst dressed" list.
The transformation of my own book cover...