Now that your manuscript is 100 percent complete, and perhaps you've decided to self publish, you're going to need to slap a cover on that novel. And while some writers hire another person to design their book's artwork, there's no reason you can't give it a go by yourself!
That being said, here are:
That being said, here are:
1. Reflect The Core Of Your Book
This is a pretty straight forward one, but no matter what road you take - colorful, complex and intricate, abstract and artistic or just straight minimalist - you need to make sure you capture the essence of your book or its title. People need to look at your cover in one shot and intuitively know, or at least have some idea, what your work is about, along with the tone of story.
For some books, such as The Hunger Games, this can be a very simple yet effective symbol - such as the Mocking Jay pin. For Harry Potter it can be colorful illustrations of the titular character, reenacting an important scene in the book.
Either way, boil down your entire novel to its core and find a way to reflect it in your cover.
For some books, such as The Hunger Games, this can be a very simple yet effective symbol - such as the Mocking Jay pin. For Harry Potter it can be colorful illustrations of the titular character, reenacting an important scene in the book.
Either way, boil down your entire novel to its core and find a way to reflect it in your cover.
2. Make It Pop
Your cover, just like your writing, is a direct representation of you. If no care was put into your cover, people will assume that no care was put into your writing. And you've gone too far, writing this awesomely perfect story to cap it off with some mediocre artwork.
Just remember, it's the whole package people are looking to buy - an opportunity to submerge themselves in the worlds you've created! So by a having a great cover, great spine, and even great page formatting and chapter headings, you are ensuring your readers will get the FULL experience.
And now that my rant on why great cover design is important, my tip is you make it really pop. Grab the reader's attention and make 100 percent clear your book's tone and feel. If it's an adventure book, make your reader feel peril. If it's a romance book, make it steamy! And no matter what the genre, make your cover not only eye catching but impossible to look away from. People need to be submerged in your story before they even READ it.
Also big text is key. I did a cover originally with weak text before realizing what every best selling book (among all the other books) had in common.
BIG. HUGE. TEXT.
People love to read text (I don't know why) Also make sure your FONT reflects your story. I don't care if you have to browse a million fonts on sites such as dafont.com but find the RIGHT font. (Also make sure your font is royalty free or you've at least paid for the rights.) But if the font speaks to you, do whatever you can to USE it. Nobody wants to see Helvetica, Comic Sans, or Jokewood on your cover.
Especially Jokewood.
3. Be Creative
Just like your writing, you taking the effort to design a cover is an opportunity to let your creative juices flow!
And if you're having trouble, just study the covers of some of your favorite books. What works for them? What don't you like? What catches your eye?
There are endless ways to tackle the cover. They can be illustrated like Harry Potter, or very minimalist such as Nelson DeMille's The Quest or the books in his John Corey Series. I, myself, used a photograph of the main character Kaie and edited in Death Angels falling from the sky around her. (And keep in mind you can do just about anything in photoshop!)
Either way, don't hold back on your vision!
And if you're having trouble, just study the covers of some of your favorite books. What works for them? What don't you like? What catches your eye?
There are endless ways to tackle the cover. They can be illustrated like Harry Potter, or very minimalist such as Nelson DeMille's The Quest or the books in his John Corey Series. I, myself, used a photograph of the main character Kaie and edited in Death Angels falling from the sky around her. (And keep in mind you can do just about anything in photoshop!)
Either way, don't hold back on your vision!
4. Brainstorm With Friends
Anytime I need an idea, I always find brainstorming with a friend helps me figure out a solution I'd never have come up with on my own. So bounce a few cover ideas back and forth until you come up with the perfect one!
Also, they'll be sure to give you honest and objective feedback if the cover is no good, or if they really love it!
Also, they'll be sure to give you honest and objective feedback if the cover is no good, or if they really love it!
5. Make It High Quality
Just how I discussed about making it pop, make sure the quality of your cover is of the highest standards. Make sure it not only represents your story, and you as an author, but that you take care to illustrate it as nicely and professionally as possible.
If it is a photo, don't use a cheap camera. I recommend using at least some sort of SLR with a nice lens. Also, when uploading it, be sure it has a resolution of at least 300 dpi.
Like I said, quality is key and if people see a high quality cover they'll have less doubts about buying your high quality book.
If it is a photo, don't use a cheap camera. I recommend using at least some sort of SLR with a nice lens. Also, when uploading it, be sure it has a resolution of at least 300 dpi.
Like I said, quality is key and if people see a high quality cover they'll have less doubts about buying your high quality book.