One of the big tenets of Indie writing guru J.A. Konrath is a professional book cover is worth its weight in gold. I couldn’t agree more. Besides the book being recommended by a friend, a stunning cover is one of the top reasons someone buys your title over the rest. Readers need to see your cover (sometimes only in a thumbnail size) and feel drawn to it. They need to look at a slew of books and pick yours above the rest. Otherwise your book, no matter how brilliant it is, will be passed over time and time again.
Let’s take a look at a few examples. To preface, I hold no ill-will toward any books presented here. Nor am I affiliated with either author. I am only using the covers as examples.
To the right you will see exhibit A. This is a book available for sale currently on Amazon. When you look at this cover, what strikes you? Would you think that this author spent a lot of time designing a cover trying to get the aspect ratio correct? Would you assume that this author might have spent the same amount of time trying to correct plot holes in her manuscript?
Let’s take a look at a few examples. To preface, I hold no ill-will toward any books presented here. Nor am I affiliated with either author. I am only using the covers as examples.
To the right you will see exhibit A. This is a book available for sale currently on Amazon. When you look at this cover, what strikes you? Would you think that this author spent a lot of time designing a cover trying to get the aspect ratio correct? Would you assume that this author might have spent the same amount of time trying to correct plot holes in her manuscript?
Exhibit B is a self-published title hailing at a steep $6.99 price tag on Amazon. At first look, I would think this book is about a giant on the swim team. It again has some of the same issues as above in that it conveys a cheeply put together product. This is not the message you want to send, people. You've toiled for months, maybe years on your book. Don't blow it by slapping some stock photo into a Word document and calling it a day. Lazy cover art makes readers think you are selling a lazily written book. First impressions matter.
Now to exhibit C. The book below is also for sale on Amazon and it is the same price as the book A and half the cost of book B. Now, if you were interesting in buying a book and these three were sitting side by side, which do you think you'd drop $2.99 on? This cover is compelling. It draws me in. I know instantly what genre the book is and I
Now to exhibit C. The book below is also for sale on Amazon and it is the same price as the book A and half the cost of book B. Now, if you were interesting in buying a book and these three were sitting side by side, which do you think you'd drop $2.99 on? This cover is compelling. It draws me in. I know instantly what genre the book is and I
have an idea of what it will be about. It also tells me its author has spent considerable time and probably some money on making this the best quality cover it can be, which leads me to assume she did the same with her content.
So, if you are pondering your own book cover, here are some elements to consider.
1. Does it look professional? Would someone immediately categorize it as "self-published" just by looking at it?
2. Will the image hold up when shrunken down to a thumbnail?
3. Does the picture convey the genre, age group and tone you are going for?
4. Is there a gut reaction to the image? Will your readers be drawn toward the book because of it?
5. Is it legible? Does the title and author stand out from the image?
If you've gotten my drift sufficiently, I think you'll conclude that it is worth spending some money on a cover. It doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg, however. You can purchase a quality cover for around $300. The amount of sales your cover will bring you should make up that much and more.
What about you? What do you think makes a good cover?
So, if you are pondering your own book cover, here are some elements to consider.
1. Does it look professional? Would someone immediately categorize it as "self-published" just by looking at it?
2. Will the image hold up when shrunken down to a thumbnail?
3. Does the picture convey the genre, age group and tone you are going for?
4. Is there a gut reaction to the image? Will your readers be drawn toward the book because of it?
5. Is it legible? Does the title and author stand out from the image?
If you've gotten my drift sufficiently, I think you'll conclude that it is worth spending some money on a cover. It doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg, however. You can purchase a quality cover for around $300. The amount of sales your cover will bring you should make up that much and more.
What about you? What do you think makes a good cover?
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