Designing Your Book Cover
Posted on June 17, 2007
Filed Under Designing Book Covers, Self-Publishing with Lulu |
Should you design your own book cover or have someone else do it for you? This is a critical question because we all judge books by their covers. The biggest and first mistake POD and self-published authors make is trying to design their own covers when they have little or no design knowledge.
To gain a solid grasp of how books are designed, study the books published by the big guns. I’ll provide some examples below.
Now, I’ll show you some examples of poor covers from writers who published through Lulu. You’ll find a multitude of poorly designed covers at any of the other DIY publishing companies and, of course, every POD out there. But since this blog is focused solely on publishing with Lulu, I’ll leave those out.
As a customer browsing on Amazon, I couldn’t read the title because it blended in with the dark background. I won’t comment on the photo because I’d have to see the actual book to gauge its quality. The title should stand out more than the author’s name. Also, he should have used the photograph to separate the title from his name. He could either leave the title (changing the color so it will stand out) at the top and stick his name below the photograph, or vice versa. I felt that the space at the bottom of the cover was under-utilized.
This is one of Lulu’s stock covers. I have no idea how many writers have used this cover template. I’m guessing quite a few. Nothing shouts “amateur” more than a cloned book cover. I’d steer away from them altogether.
I’ve given you some good examples of what makes a good book cover and what doesn’t. With some careful study, patience and practice, you can create a nice cover that will stand out among the other POD books. Study the books on your shelves and in your genre to determine what kinds of fonts and colors they use, how they lay out the text on both sides of the cover and the spine, and how they manipulate their images.
Do not use cheap “artist” software because it won’t be compatible with Lulu’s printer.
If you don’t own Photoshop, Gimp is the free alternative. I’ve never used it, but I’ve heard that it is very similar. Gimp has a book on Amazon that will take you from a rank beginner to a professional. You can also check out the author’s website at http://gimpbook.com for tutorials, if you don’t want to buy the book.
Start brainstorming ideas for your cover about halfway through the completion of your book. Then start experimenting with different layouts and designs. The most important aspect of designing your cover is to convey your book’s message to your readers.
Once you have designed your cover, test it with your potential readers. Last year, I posted two potential covers for my novel on my personal blog to see which one would be received the best by my readers. This turned out to be a great decision because I was able gain valuable feedback. I’ve since added a third book cover, which they liked even better.
The most important thing to remember about designing your book is not to rush the process. Give yourself plenty of time to learn and practice. In the end, you’ll have a POD book that is indistinguishable from a standard trade paperback.
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I think this is going to cause me some heartache. Fortunately, I have an artist who will brainstorm the image to appear on the front cover and a smaller one for the back, but I feel a little nervous about having to put images and wording together.
This is another reason why I think a “test run” is a great idea.
You’ll get there, Karen.
Keep practicing. I’m doing the same right now.