Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Some Things to Consider when Designing a Cover

We’ve had a lot of great posts here at The Prosers on cover design and the importance of having a great cover.   Having a great cover is especially important in self-publishing because it is one way to set a book apart from the other self-published books.  Maybe I’m a little harsh, but if the cover looks amateurish, I suspect the story may also be amateurish, but if the author puts the time or money into creating a professional looking cover, I imagine that he/she put as much care into crafting the story, and I’m more willing to give the story a try.

I really think of all the things that can be done to promote a novel, having an amazing cover is the most important.  I know we shouldn’t “judge a book by its cover,” but honestly, I do, and I don’t think I’m alone.  So in those crucial seconds when a reader decides whether or not to try a book, an intriguing cover just might be the difference between a sale or no sale.

I’m not really artistically inclined, and if I ever chose to self-publish, I’d probably hire someone to help me design my cover, so I’m not sure if I’m the best to give advice on designing a cover.  But when I looked through covers to write this post, I started seeing some trends.  Then I read this blog post the Seduction of Romance-Novel Design on designing romance covers, and I realized how much thought goes into designing a cover.   Designing a cover is as much an art as writing the book, and if there are tools and tricks for us writers, there must be tools and tricks for cover designers as well.

Perhaps the most important part of cover design is the signal to the reader what kind of story is being told, that includes indicating the genre and as well as other aspects of the story.    In the blog post on designing romance covers, Claire Brown who designs covers for Hachette Publishing Group made this comment on the constraints of romance novel covers.

“The (cover) design of the romance genre is driven by sales, but the formula works. ‘There are constraints in how much we can deviate without alienating the reader,’ Brown says. ‘Familiarity in typeface and painterly style reassures the reader that this book is what you think it is going to be, and you are going to love it.’”

I think that is a great quote and just emphasizes that there a psychology to developing covers, that we readers are somewhat programmed to look for familiar things on the covers that indicate that this is a book within our genre of interest that will appeal to us.

Now as I said earlier, I noticed a few patterns when I was shifting through covers.  I think these patterns, which are sometimes broken, help indicate what kind of story is being told and genre of the novel.  Too many times I’ve seen nice looking covers of self-published books that look like the wrong genre.  For example:  I once saw a cover of a boy petting a black lab in a pastoral setting.  I imagined the story was going to something along the lines of Where the Red Fern Grows or Old Yeller, but the story was about a post-apocalyptic world.  I did not get any indication of sci-fi or speculative elements from that cover.

So to help self-publishers design covers that match their genre and find their intended audiences, here are some things to consider in designing a book cover.

1.     Type setting.  As mentioned in the earlier quote, familiar typeface is important to indicate genre.  The romance genre tends to have elegant sweeping fonts whereas dystopias have more of a clean computer-generated looking font.  Clearly, the use of different fonts and typeface can help indicate the genre of the story.

Bet you can guess the genre just from the typeface


2. Color schemes.  The use of colors tends to (not always) indicate genre.  I know that there are exceptions, but I saw some colors combinations used more frequently in some genres versus others.  I think that the color scheme can help indicate genre.   

I saw more brown, blue, and green color schemes in second world fantasy novels, and more black, white, and red in paranormal romance.  As a reader of both of these genres these color patterns work.  Second world fantasy novels are usual set in a pre-industrial world, so earth tones really work for giving that feel, while paranoramal romances are all about passion and danger, so a more dramatic and passionate colors fit perfectly for that genre.

Graceling has a green and brown (gold-ish) color scheme whereas Everneath has black, white, and red.


The Demon King has brown, blue, and green while New Moon has black, red , and white.


3.  Graphic.  I like how Trisha summarized Chip Kidd’s TED talk in her post last week

A cover can only do so much.  As Chip Kidd said in a TED Talk, ‘A book cover is a distillation.’  It has to condense the story down and summarize with a single glance.  If it's done well, it will pull the reader into the book.

The graphic is very essential to that distillation of the story.   Having the right image, one that really represents the story being told is very crucial to the entire cover.  I think it is important to get it right.  Close enough doesn’t cut it.  If you can't find that perfect image from available, already existing art that you can purchase the rights to, you may have to pay an artist to design one for you.  I know that can be expensive, but if you really believe in your story, you might have to invest a little money to give it the best shot at being successful.

I love the cover of the novel Sheena may be publishing soon.  It is amazing.  The girl with the half-human half-dragon face perfectly depicts the story being told, and I think that this awesome cover will definitely make her novel more successful.  I know I’m eager to buy it.

Awesome cover.  It makes me want to read the book.

So for all you writers either toying with the idea of self-publishing or already in the process, my not so expert advice is to look at the covers of all your favorite books in the genre you wish to be publish.  Look at the typeface, the color scheme, and the graphics, and try to emulate that style while staying true to the story you have written.  I think that is the best chance to appeal to the readers who will love your book.

Good luck!!!

~MaryAnn

19 comments:

  1. This is apropos for me. Just yesterday, I sent my book blurb to the graphic designer who does my covers.

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    1. Congrats on getting a new book out there. :) Hope this was helpful.

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  2. I have seen a lot of self-published book covers that were just... not... good... and then found out that the writer's brother/niece/friend/neighbor did the cover, because he or she is a *really good artist.* But a really good artist is not the same as a really good book cover designer. A colored pencil cross-hatched drawing might not be what you want for that dystopian.

    I agree that Sheena's got a great cover there! (When can I be handing my moneys to the Amazon and downloading this book, Sheena, hmmm?)

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    1. P.S. I do hope Sheena knows I'm kidding about pressuring her :)

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    2. @Sarah, I agree. A good artist won't necessarily be a good book designer. It's like assuming that a great freelance journalist will write a great novel. Sure the journalist has good writing skills, but there is more to writing a novel than knowing how to write. Same thing for cover design, it is an art form in and of itself, and while someone might be naturally good at, most likely they need to develop some skills even if they are a great artist.

      @Sheena, yay!!!

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  3. Yeah! Someone else who admits they buy by the cover! I'm a big cover shopper and I can only agree with this post. Actually, that's one reason the new Rowling book hasn't grabbed my interest at all - the cover is awful, so I find myself assuming the book will be too (although this probably isn't true.)

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    1. I knew I wasn't alone. :)

      Yeah, I agree about the cover or Rowling's new book. It doesn't appeal to me either. Traditionally published books sometimes gets the cover wrong too IMO, but everyone is different. The cover I hate may be the cover someone else loves. But traditionally published books at least look professional (most of the time. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I can't think of any).

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  4. Another layer to the cover world is that as a published author, you are a brand and you can further that identification through the style of your covers. I've done my own covers and even my wife can tell that they have a certain look to them... not the same but like siblings.

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    1. That is an excellent point that I didn't think about. But now that you mentioned it, I do think that is an important aspect of cover design to keep your readers buying more once you found your audience.

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  5. I agree that covers are important. It is like a present if it is attractive that I more want to open it. I liked all your examples except New Moons. It is a nice picture, but I don't get how it relates to the story. In fact, my sister gave me Twilight to borrow and I am a little out of trends. It was before the movies. I had no idea what kind of book I was reading, which actually did make it more interesting.

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    1. The New Moon cover didn't relate to the story. IMO, it relied entirely on a romantic image and dramatic color to signal genre. That is exactly why I chose it.

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    2. Okay then good choice it is a nice looking cover. I guess it kind of looks like the flower is bleeding, which is interesting and kind of romanatic.

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    3. (cover designer piping in here)

      That's the thing though. At that point, no one is buying the book cover. They're buying the story and the author regardless of what is inside. I seriously think she could have had a plain black cover with the title and her name and it wouldn't have made much of a difference at all.

      I do have to say that I don't think people buy books because of the cover. I think they investigate books because of the cover. The cover is what leads people to pick it up (or click for more info) and read the back blurb, maybe open to the first page (or click "look inside"). Then it's the story that actually sells the book. A compelling book cover combined with a killer back cover blurb is a combination that can't be beat.

      ...until you're a multi NYT Best seller author and then you can just put your name on the cover with a pretty picture, a minuscule title, and no back blurb at all and know that everyone's gonna buy it anyway! Which is what I HOPE happens to every single author I design for. It would sure make my job easier ;)

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    4. Great points Renee. Most people bought New Moon because they read Twilight. I still like something on the cover other than the authors name, but some authors do have the power to sell books by their name alone.

      Yeah, I should have clarified that a great cover will encourage me to take a closer look. I never buy a book just because of the cover. The story and writing does matter, but a nice cover will make that book stand out against the masses.

      Thanks for piping in. :)

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  6. I loved your examples, and I am totally with you when it comes to book covers. I've read enough books with poorly (or cheaply) designed covers to know I should avoid them. I don't think I've ever noticed how important font, and even color scheme, was to a cover, though. Great observations! Also, I was probably a little too excited to see myself quoted in your blog. You made my day. :)

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    1. Thanks Trisha. I'm glad I made your day. But really the quote was quite brilliant which is why I used it.

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  7. I've purchased books, judging their quality from their cover and was sorely disappointed more than once. So I stopped buying them this way and starting going through them, trying to see what the author's voice feels like. To me, that is the most important part of the book; if the author feels out of synch with me, then I have nothing to do with that story. So no, I don't judge the book by its cover. Eye-candy doesn't work for me and nothing good ever comes from following the person that holds a candy at you.

    The cover of my recently published e-book (I was tempted to post a link but since this is someone else's blog, I don't think this would be very nice of me) is not great but it is the first one I did by myself and it certainly beats the cover of a novel I published through a real publisher. I think it's important to have a low starting point so you have room to improve. After all, a plateau is a boring place to be.

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    1. I totally see your point, and I don't solely buy a book based on the cover. I read the description (blurb?) and the first chapter if available before I buy it. But a nice cover increases the chances of getting a closer look from me.

      For what it's worth, I like your cover, and I have no issues about you posting a link to it. :)

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