My Number One Tip for Do-it-Yourself Book Cover Designers

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by Joel Friedlander, www.TheBookDesigner.com

Book cover design, at its best, is an amazing commercial art. The best book designers continue to amaze and surprise us with their graphic design prowess.

But indie authors, write and publish their own books, can get started by knowing the worst mistakes to avoid.

Here’s my number 1 tip for do-it-yourself cover designers:

Establish a principal focus for the cover—Nothing is more important. Your book is about something, and the cover ought to reflect that one idea clearly.

One element that takes control, that commands the overwhelming majority of attention, of space, of emphasis on the cover. Don’t fall into the trap of loading up your cover with too many elements, 3 or 4 photos, illustrations, maps, “floating” ticket stubs.

You could think of your book cover like a billboard, trying to catch the attention of browsers as they speed by. Billboards usually have 6 words or less. You have to “get it” at 60 miles per hour, in 3 to 5 seconds.

A book cover ought to do the same thing. At a glance your prospect ought to know;

the genre of your book,
the general subject matter or focus, and
some idea of the tone or “ambiance” of the book.

Is it a thriller? A software manual? A memoir of your time in Fiji? Your ideas on reform of the monetary system? Each of these books needs a cover that tells at a glance what the book is about.