Taking the time to write a cover design brief will really benefit your book in the long run, as we saw in my last blog post, where we considered why you need a design brief and how to plan for it. In this week’s blog post, we are staying with the cover design theme and taking a look at what you need to include in it, as well as some things to avoid. This is not an exact guide – there are some elements you might not need and some others you do want to include that aren’t listed. However, many things in this list are the bare essentials that your designer will need to get started.
What to Include
Book details
One of those essentials is the basic book details, such as title and author. Without these, the designer can’t put them on your book cover so readers know what they are buying! Don’t worry though – your chosen designer will ask for this sort of thing. Another thing that you have to give in your cover design brief is what format you will be using. There are different requirements for paperback and hardback books and very different ones for ebooks! Even if you just have an ebook, you still need to decide what platforms (e.g., Amazon, Kobo) you will be selling it on, as different platforms may have different requirements. Audiobooks can be different again, as they usually just have a single image.
Genre
Another key thing to include is your book’s genre. This is vital to ensure that your book’s cover design matches the story within and does not mislead potential buyers. A good design should attract new readers that enjoy that genre, so you want to make sure that they are getting the book they expected. Your designer will most likely know what is standard for each genre and be able to plan your cover to reflect this. However, if your book is in a niche genre, you may need to provide information to your designer for them to create the perfect cover. If you can, send them links to books in your niche so they can use these as a starting point.
Description
It is also a good idea to include the book’s description. You can start by just having the blurb, but it is best to add to this, as your blurb presumably doesn’t give a full summary! Add an author’s description as well, highlighting key plot elements that you might like to see on the cover. If you do choose a particular scene, you’ll want it to be from earlier in the book rather than later – avoid giving away any plot twists or the ending. If you have a particular place or character that you would like on the cover, include a detailed description so that the designer can create them as you imagined, i.e. architecture style or clothes.
Preferences
Make sure you also say if there is anything specific you want on the cover. You have a few choices with cover design. Firstly, you can just give your designer all of the details above, such as the title, genre, book format, and a basic description. The designer can then come up with something to represent your book. Alternatively, you can pick exactly what you want, while still giving all of the details above for background information. If you do this, ensure you still leave some room for your designer’s creativity – this is part of what you are hiring them for! Another option is to present a few different ideas for the cover, letting your designer pick what they think would work best.
Audience
It is also helpful if you include details of your intended audience. Ask yourself questions to make sure you have a description of your ideal reader. For example, what age range do they fall in? What gender are they? What is their background? What sort of issues and problems that your characters face do you expect readers to be able to relate to? Once you have this description, condense it into a few sentences and share it with your designer. They can then use this to ensure that their cover design will appeal to this target audience and maximise sales.
Back Cover Details
As well as all the basics from the front cover such as the title and author, you will also need to include details of what belongs on the back cover. For example, your blurb will probably go here, unless it is inside the dust jacket flap. You may also decide to have a tagline, author bio or reviews here.
Author Details
If you have already established a brand as an author, you will need to give any details of this to the designer. For example, if you have a signature that goes on the front cover or a logo, make sure you send these to your designer. Alternatively, you might just have a particular style of cover that you want them to stick to.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this helps you to write your cover design brief. In my next blog post, we will be looking at how to cut your book’s word count, so come back in two weeks for that!
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