7 Super Helpful Book Cover Design Tips to Remember

If you are trying to design a book cover, there are some things to know that can help. Click here for some book cover design tips.

 

7 Super Helpful Book Cover Design Tips to Remember

As an author, you already know that the pen is mightier than the sword. But did you know that people are realizing this more in recent years as book publication numbers are headed off the charts?

Sales rose almost 11% in 2017 alone, and since then the publishing industry has spiked even further.

To be competitive as an independent author in this market, you’re going to want to have a flawless cover design that is sure to draw in readers. Here, we’re going to give you seven book cover design tips that are sure to make your novel a bestseller.

1. Know What You Want

Before you can get started on creating your book cover, you need to know what styles you like. It’s important to look up different potential book cover styles and decide which one you like best. Do you want a face on your cover or do you want to show off the setting? Do you want mysterious silhouettes or shadows? The possibilities are limitless.

2. Make It Fit Your Book

No matter what style you choose for your cover, it’s important that you represent your book adequately. Make sure that your cover sets the tone for the text inside- you don’t want a romance book with a horror-looking cover. Make sure that the design you choose reflects the way readers will feel when picking up your work.

3. Do Your Research

It’s also crucial to look into what other authors in your genre are doing. Specifically look at the covers of the authors that have seen success in independent publishing. Ask yourself if there’s a common thread tying these author’s covers together. This will give you an idea about what readers want to see and what covers draw them in.

4. Look at Market Trends

While you probably know what authors are popular within your genre- heck, you probably have read a ton of their work!- analyzing market trends can give you clearer insight as to what books are selling well. There are tons of tools out there that you can use to do keyword searches and look into what people are buying, so there’s no reason not to go the extra mile!

5. Target Your Audience

You already know your target audience: the readers for your book’s genre. When designing a cover, make sure that it appeals to those people specifically. A fantasy novel should have a cover similar to those that fantasy fans have already shown interest in.

You don’t want to focus on drawing in readers from other genres- if your book does well, that will happen naturally. Focus on existing readers of your genre.

6. Get the Right Software

Using the right software to create your book cover is crucial to making it look professional. If you don’t use programs specifically designed for this such as Adobe, you’ll have a really difficult time making it interesting and appealing. You don’t want shoddy looking designs or clearly photo-shopped images, and designing within the right software will prevent this.

7. Use Awesome Effects

While you don’t want your image to be obviously photo-shopped, you’re going to want to use effects on your covers to give them a unique flair. Use stock photos (you don’t want any copyright issues) and add filters such as fog, light, or shine to make them stand out.

More Book Cover Design Tips

People have likely always told you not to judge a book by it’s cover. Still, we all do it, and this means it’s crucial to have a great cover design for you novel. Now that you know seven of the best book cover design tips, check out the ‘creative design‘ tab on our page to learn more about graphic design.

Good luck!