Once you have decided that you will be self-publishing your book, you will need to start thinking about the cover design for it, in particular, what art or design you plan to have on the front cover. This blog post will take a look at why the cover art for your book is so important, as well as some ways that you can do this yourself if you choose to. If you instead decide to hire a professional designer, we will be looking at this option in my next blog post.
Why is Cover Art Important?
Think about why you have chosen what new books you will buy. Maybe they’re from an author you know and like, or maybe a friend recommended them to you, but finding books other than these is harder. How do you decide where to start? Well, there is a good chance that you first decided to look at a book based on its cover. This is the way most of us explore new books, even once we have chosen a particular category or are looking at recommendations made by an online seller – we still look at the cover first.
Cover art is what initially attracts a potential buyer to your book. If the book cover is appealing enough for them to pick it up, you can then make sure you have a compelling blurb to persuade them to buy it. You can read more about writing a blurb in my blog post here.
Cover art is also what lets us know what a book is about. Look at other books in your genre to get a better idea of this. What things do they have in common? What sort of colours and images do they use? You will notice that books in the crime genre, especially grittier ones, tend to be in dark greys and blacks, whereas romance books use softer colours.
Similarly, different genres are associated with different fonts, so it is worth considering what is normal for your genre and sticking to this. Doing all of this makes it more likely that you will attract potential buyers that like your genre.
Research
Once you have thought a bit about what sort of cover art you might like, it is time to start research into what sort of cover will sell best. This means doing what is stated above and looking at other books in your genre to decide what the expected look is for your book. Gather together some books from authors in your genre that you enjoy reading and sell well and consider what makes them work.
Again, what sort of colours and fonts seem to be the most common? You will probably find that crime fiction uses bold, blocky fonts, whereas historical fiction is more likely to have a loopy font that looks like handwriting. What is the artwork like? Is it an illustration or a photograph? Take notes of all this so that you know what is expected for your genre.
Detailed Plan
Once you have your notes ready, try to make these into a plan of what you would like on the cover of your book. Make this as detailed as possible, so that when you come to do it you will know exactly what you need to do.
However, do make sure that your cover isn’t just a copy of all the others in your genre. You want it to have something that directly relates to your book. This might be a drawing of a location or a photo that represents your protagonist – something that the reader will recognise once they have read the book. You will also want to think about how your name is written, as this usually remains the same across all of a particular author’s books.
DIY Options
Word
One possibility for making your own cover is actually Word, surprising though this might seem! It has decent functionality for adding photos or images, creating text boxes, and changing the font. You can also make sure everything lines up exactly as you want it by using the ruler or turning gridlines on in the View menu at the top.
However, one drawback of Word is that you will probably need to convert it to a different file format for the printer. Check what types of file they accept and look into whether conversion is possible before you start creating the cover in Word.
Canva
Canva is another great option if you want to design your own cover. It’s very easy to use and looks professional, making it a good choice if you don’t have much design experience. They even have a free Design School that you can use to start you off.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this helps you get started on your cover art. Next time, we will be considering hiring a professional designer, so come back then if you’re still undecided!
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I never knew Word was something people could actually use to design their covers. Canva is an amazing resource for sure. Thanks for these suggestions!
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Glad you found them useful!
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