Yes, You Can Judge a Book By Its Cover (And Your Readers Will Too)
We’ve all heard the old adage about judging outward appearances so many times, and it is good advice—when judging people. When it comes to actual books, like it or not, it’s the first way we judge them. Just today I was in an awesome local bookstore here in San Diego called Warwick’s doing a special Bonus episode for my new podcast, The Premise, on what’s hot in books right now. And guess what? I walked around judging books by their covers! Yep, your design choices are so important. There’s a lot that goes into the design process for an outstanding book cover, so here are some things to consider before you start making decisions.
We Judge with Our Eyes
Call it an evolutionary impulse or human nature, but we’re drawn to the visual—it’s hardwired in us. Our eyes make judgments even before our brains catch up. This is why packaging is so important in products. This is why logos can make or break brands. And, my friends, your book cover is the packaging and logo for your story. So having a great, eye-catching and relevant book cover is essential!
What Do You Want Your Book Cover to Say to Your Audience?
Well, we know the title is important, right? The title says so much in such little space, so choose a good one. But as important as the title, are the right font, colors, images and their placement on your cover. So, what do all these things together say to your potential readers?
Does it convey the genre?
In order for your cover to grab the right audience and compel to pick up your book, and hopefully, purchase it, it needs to be reflective of its genre. You may like the look of dark tones, specific fonts, and certain images, but do they fit your romance novel? In other words, if it’s a romance you may want to use warm tones and fonts like Sabon, which is popular for the genre. If you’ve written a thriller then those dark tones may work perfectly. And a common font for thrillers is the recognizable and eye-catching Garamond. Of course, you don’t have to use these exact examples, but you get my point. All these elements create a sense of mood and style that tell your reader what to expect.
(Psst… If you’re lost on colors and their meanings, read my post on that HERE)
Does it speak to the tone?
Speaking of mood and style, Tone is also important to consider. Thrillers can be fun or dark, and Romances can be well, romantic. Or silly, or even involve werewolves and vampires. Not every romance is a Harlequin and not every thriller is a Grisham novel, so conveying tone is important.
Now, the tone is demonstrated through all the same elements that genre is but can tend to focus in more precise detail on those elements. The tone can be conveyed directly with your cover layout and the images you choose. Did you write an irreverent historical dramedy (I’m just throwing these sub-genres out there folks)? Well, show that in the main image or layout. Tweak the title placement, showcase an off-kilter design, feature a comedic scene, or use a known historical image in a new way (make sure you have permission, please).
There’s a lot more that goes into it and the devil is in the details as they say, but that’s for the design experts to worry about. What you need to consider, besides the above, when making those final decisions on your cover is how does it make YOU feel? Do you get the sense that your book’s tone, genre and subject matter are correctly conveyed? You know best. You wrote it after all. And one of the cool things about being human is that certain colors, fonts, and designs all convey a sort of universal message. If your cover feels right to you, it will likely feel right to the audience you’re trying to reach as well.
And last but not least…
Quality is so, so, so important!
You don’t want your self-published book to look that way. Quality is important! You want the feel and the weight and even surface finish to read as quality. Whether you want a glossy hard-cover for your spy novel, a matte finish for your memoir, or a simple paperback for your How-To book, you want it to look professionally done. You want that ISBN in the right place, as well as the genre and human readable-price. You want the back cover to be the standard format (no matter how tempting it may be to choose otherwise) and you want the spine to look just as good. These are all things your professional book designer will know how to do for you. Or they should anyway. So choose wisely. Come to them with your ideas, but let them do their magic. That’s what you’re paying them for.
Your cover is just as important, if not more so, as the story itself. You may have written a high-quality, engaging and important book, but if your cover is bad, looks unprofessional, or conveys the wrong message, it may never sell. Which is so sad to think about, isn’t it? So, don’t let your hard work and inspiration be for nothing. Make sure your book gets the cover it deserves so it can reach the right audience and sell the way it should.
Still a bit lost?
Well, here’s my advice: Get yourself to the nearest bookstore or library. Then go find books within your genre, subject, or style and look at those covers. What do you like about them? What don’t you? How did they make you feel? Take notes on this and save them for when you have that design meeting. It will be so helpful, and they’ll probably ask you to do that for your brief anyway, so you’ll be a step ahead in the game and feeling confident.
And, if you are looking for professional help, my company, Monkey C Media, offers award-winning book cover designs and websites. Normally I don’t like to be salesy, but finding a professional design team for your book (your baby) is challenging and can be overwhelming. We’d love to help.
Do you have a favorite book cover?
Have you come across any book covers that drew you in lately and made you want to pick it up and learn more? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section. Here’s one I picked up today: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. Can’t wait to read it. Would this cover draw you in? Here’s the description:
What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?
One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them are a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured veteran returning from Afghanistan, a business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor.
Edward’s story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a part of himself has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery—one that will lead him to the answers of some of life’s most profound questions: When you’ve lost everything, how do you find the strength to put one foot in front of the other? How do you learn to feel safe again? How do you find meaning in your life?
Dear Edward is at once a transcendent coming-of-age story, a multidimensional portrait of an unforgettable cast of characters, and a breathtaking illustration of all the ways a broken heart learns to love again.
