COVER YOURSELF - One of your biggest sales tools is your book’s cover. Did you know that if someone sees your book on the shelf, you have less than 30 seconds to sell it?
One of your biggest sales tools is your book’s cover. Did you know that if someone sees your book on the shelf, you have less than 30 seconds to sell it? Remember, too, that your book cover will not only be on your book, but it will also more than likely grace most or all of your marketing materials as well, and a heavily funded PR campaign cannot make up for a poorly designed book cover.

If you’re stumped for cover ideas, try spending an afternoon perusing books in your genre at a bookstore, and decide what works and what does not. Then have a cover designed that fits your audience. Also, remember when titling your book, it’s all about the “WIIFM” factor, or “what’s in it for me.” Your audience will want to know why they should buy your book instead of someone else’s, and I find more often than not that authors designing their covers often want to incorporate symbols or hidden messages. This is usually a very bad idea, mostly because the only person who will get it is the author. You don’t want a cover you have to explain to your audience unless you plan on hand-selling every copy of your book. In fact, you want a cover that’s so self-explanatory that even someone who isn’t reading the book will get it. That’s why I suggest that while the author should offer suggestions to the cover designer, they should never be the one to do the final design. Why? Because,!
honestly, you want someone who’s never read your book to design the cover. Your reader won’t read the book before they buy it; the cover needs to explain itself.

My graphic designer, Leeza Hernandez-Stetzler of ConkerTree Design, has done several marketing pieces for me as well as assisted with several cover designs. Hernandez-Stelzer says, “Think about color and shade: Rich golds work well with saturated blues; deep green and ivory have a very sophisticated business-like feel, and navy works well with ivory also. Purples and mid-tone blues have a more spiritual or meditative tone while sage green is calming, and so is lavender; rustic earth tones give a feeling of warmth and comfort. Soft pinks and pastels are good for romance or softer-type subjects, whereas hot pinks and deep purples have a bit more spice. Grays tend to be more subdued, sometimes bordering on depressive.
Black has a more serious association, which is good when used in books that offer information and business, like ‘how-to’s and advice.”

She does caution, however, to use the boldness of bright red with care, because if you use too much of it, the effect will be lost. A touch of red, however, tailored with black and white, makes a very powerful statement. Just make sure your book has the content to back it up. When it comes to red, Hernandez-Stelzer says, “Think ‘Schindler’s List,’ where the entire movie is filmed in black and white except that one scene where the little girl runs across the screen and she is dressed in red. How powerful was that? Would you remember the scene if she were dressed in blue, or if the movie was color? Probably not.”
Here are some cover tips to help you create an outstanding cover for your book:

Front cover
- Contrast is important. Draw attention to your book by using a lighter background with darker-color type, or vice versa. Also, avoid choosing a color for your title that blends into the background.
- Don’t use all caps; it can give a very angry impression. Instead, use both upper- and lowercase letters.
- As a rule of thumb, the title should be visible from about 12 feet away

Back cover
- The back cover should list the benefits of the book. Promise health, wealth, entertainment, or a better life. Make it catchy and thought-provoking.
- If you’re fortunate enough to have garnered preproduction blurbs or endorsements from reviewers or specialists in your topic, Don’t overuse them.

Spine
- Make sure that your name and the title of the book are prominent and easy to read.
- Don’t use a complicated font. Keep it simple and easy to read.

BONUS! Interested in getting your cover evaluated? We’re running a SUPER cover eval special… for only $50 we’ll take a look at your cover and tell you whether it works or doesn’t and what you can do to make it better! This offer is good ONLY for the first 15 readers who respond to this offer. Send an email to: mailto:penny@amarketingexpert.com and write “book cover offer” in the subject line.

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