People Will Judge a Book by its Cover!

The title of this post should have been ‘People Will Judge Pick a Book by its Cover’.

Picture this: you’re standing inside a book store. You are here to buy a specific book. However, as our brains are designed, we tend to browse through the bookshelves and pick and see other interesting books that catches our eye.

Gotcha: covers do matter!

Writing is one thing and being able to reach our readers is another.

Although, we can hire an expert designer to design our book covers, there are certain basics that if we get right, it can give us far better edge and results than nothing at all.

These elements are important that NEEDS a place on any ebook’s cover: (mostly applicable for non-fiction, but fiction titles can also follow and apply these pointers)

• Book’s title (preferably, with legible and readable font)

• Subtitle - short, crisp, to the point

• Author’s name

• Cover image, or color combinations

• Optional: starburst / medallion / info circle - (whatever it’s called)

• Optional: one-line quote or review from any other known author/celebrity.

But, how about the ideation process itself?

How do we know how the eye-catching book cover can stand out?

These pointers have helped me out:

• Keeping it simple.

  • A simple elegant, minimalistic cover is far better than one that shows almost its first chapter on the cover itself.

  • Add an image or an icon that subtly amplifies what the book is about. No need of carving out every detail of it. Just an image or icon, which at first look conveys the book’s idea. I followed this principle while designing one of my first books (The Backdoor in Your Blog) for a nich audience back in 2017.

• Create curiosity.

  • The cover elements like title, subtitle, image or icon, are useful resources to create curiosity for readers. Don’t take them lightly.

• Test often.

  • With platforms like Amazon KDP, especially with eBooks, it is easy to change the book covers. Use that opportunity to change and test different covers. Even better, if you have your community of reader-base already established poll them and ask which cover they like (by showing them your different cover designs)

  • How often to test and change book covers depends on your sales. The key here is if a cover brings in good amount of sales, don’t touch it, unless you have a better idea, update, or feedback to improvize.

Writing these days, is not a one time thingy. It’s important to keep writing not only to reach more people but also to be in touch with this wonderful art.

Happy writing! Happy designing!

Until next time,

Arun Sarathy