As a book publicist and book marketer I cannot caution authors enough – do not underestimate the importance of a book cover’s design. Not only do potential book buyers judge a book by its cover but so do members of the media. Many reporters receive dozens of books every day! Do you really think they read the book flap and your pitch? Ha! Here are some important items to … [Read more...]
33 Ways to Design Your Book Cover
Your book cover is like a highway billboard. How’s that? It’s simple. Just as people are driving past a billboard at 70 MPH, shoppers in a book store are walking by your book sitting on shelf at the same relevant speed. Like a billboard, if you first don’t catch their attention you’ll never deliver the message. http://www.book-marketing-expert.com Billboards use images to … [Read more...]
Find the Right Graphic for Your Ebook Cover
The cover forms readers’ first impression of your ebook, and the cover graphic can make or break your ebook. People decide in seconds whether or not they’re interested in a book. Whether in the bookstore or online that gives them about enough time to scan the title and graphics, which makes both critically important in the buying decision. Graphics that are both attention … [Read more...]
Between the Covers of Your Nonfiction Book
There is more to a nonfiction book than a catchy cover and table of contents … much more. Wherever you are in the process of writing your book, if the chapters contain your message, everything else you write must attract, inform, clarify, or sell. COVERS Front cover: If the book is a hardback, it will have a book jacket; if it is a soft cover, the cover will contain the same … [Read more...]
Create Effective Back Covers
The content and business information on a book’s back cover will determine whether a store will sell the book and whether someone will buy it. Knowing the basics required for a back cover are essential for getting your book the attention it deserves. After the front cover, which grabbed the customer’s eye and got him or her to pick up your book, the back cover is the most … [Read more...]
How to Create Book Covers That Sell
Nothing is more important than an effective book cover to sell a book. The front cover must stand out to get people’s attention within a second or the sale may be lost. Here are a few key points to make sure your cover has what it takes to sell your book. As important as it is to write the best book possible (quality will lead to word-of-mouth sales), the book may never … [Read more...]
Choosing Your Book’s Size
Choosing what size to make your book can be simple or difficult depending on the kind of book you are writing. Most importantly, you need to consider what your readers will want and what size will make your book sell. What size should your book be? Both beginning and longtime authors have to make this decision with each book, and depending on the kind of book, it can be an … [Read more...]
Your Book Cover: What Kind of First Impression Does it Make?
I was just reading a blog where a lady said she was ashamed to admit she tends to ignore books with amateurish covers even though she suspects some of the stories inside those covers might be pretty good. As a book cover designer I can tell you no one should feel guilty about judging a book by its cover. Why? Because humans are, by nature, extremely … [Read more...]
Eight Tips for Better Book Cover Design
As a design educator, I'm often asked to critique book covers. The most common stumbling block is typography. Here are some simple tips for designers and do-it-yourselfers. 1. Title text often tends to crowd the space. Ideally it should either sit comfortably within the cover and have some breathing room, or alternatively, it should expand past the margins altogether and … [Read more...]
How Not to Drive Your Book Designer Crazy
Many authors have plans for how they want their books to look, but just as too many cooks in the kitchen can ruin a meal, so too much detail and an author’s attempts to micromanage the process can create confusion in designing a book. When authors finish their books, they may have ideas for how they want their books to look; however, too often authors either over-communicate … [Read more...]