OK Book with Great Cover Trumps Great Book with OK Cover
(Excerpted from The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living, by Peter Bowerman. Fanove, 2006. www.wellfedsp.com).
I recently got a copy of a self-published book from a friend who was understandably excited about her new baby, but it so looked like a self-published book. This has always mystified me: how is it, given that we’re absolutely surrounded with examples of beautifully produced books, that self-publishers still keep coming up with crummy-looking covers? Why, after investing so much time and effort into the writing of their books, do so many authors stop short of the finish line?
The title of this article, sadly enough, is pretty true. Given the same amount of marketing, a great cover (and that includes a great title as well…) on a middling book will probably do better than a great book with an average cover. That may seem bizarre or certainly not fair, but it is what it is, and as such, we have no excuse for not addressing that reality.
It is categorically impossible to overstate the importance of a good cover. Remember: approximately 150,000+ books get published in any given year. Those people considering your title for review, distribution, or purchase will be looking for reasons to cull the herd. The cover is the easiest place to start.
FYI, book distributors send their salespeople out to bookstores with suitcases full of, not books, but covers! They can’t lug around dozens of books, so many of the buying decisions are made based solely on covers. Contrary to the old adage, every day, and by the industry people who truly matter, books are indeed judged by their covers.
Hire a professional designer. Don’t use your cousin who’s artistic, and don’t let your printer’s design department handle it. Most of the covers I’ve seen done by in-house designers at printing companies look cheesy and amateurish. Can you barter services with a graphic designer? I traded writing for design services with a professional graphic designer who needed copy for her web site and marketing materials.
Study the Best
How do you make sure your cover is good? Simple. Got a Barnes & Noble or Borders in the neighborhood? Visit one with your graphic designer, camp out in front of the shelves covering your genre, and look for the cover designs and titles that catch your eye. Note the professionalism that goes into them. Figure out why they appeal to you, and try to capture what works.
Understand this: non-creative (graphically speaking) folks like authors (that’d be you and me…) simply aren’t good judges of what’s a good cover design and what isn’t – an assertion supported by the mountain of really bad book covers out there. So, make sure you always check with the ultimate arbiter of those aesthetics – your local bookstore.
In talks I give on self-publishing, I’ll say, “If you choose to ignore everything else in this talk, heed this: take the time and invest the money to create a cover that would have an impartial observer be totally unaware that it’s a self-published effort. A cover so good that when they do find out it’s self-published, they’re amazed.” And understand that doing that will not be some huge triumph. It will simply elevate your book, at least in appearance (which, sad to say, is more than half the game), to a level of parity with all your conventionally published competition out there.
Artwork for All Reasons
Once your designer has created your cover, ask him or her to generate a variety of iterations of the image: large, small, hi-resolution (for print publications), low-resolution (for web-based publications), and even black and white. When it comes time to promote your book on other sites, if you’re able to send them the right size artwork, it makes their job a lot easier.
Once you have them in hand, load high- and low-resolution versions onto your web site in your Media Resources section (see mine at http://www.wellfedsp.com/media.html) as downloads, and always mention this fact in your correspondence to the media crowd. If you have a front cover blurb on your book, for clarity’s sake, lose it for these smaller images.
If it takes much more than a few mouse clicks for a reporter or a reviewer to get the information they need for a story, it might not happen. It’s all about making it as easy as possible for these folks to do business with you. And of course, the easier it is…All Together Now…The More Likely They Are To Do It!
Money-Saving Cover Strategies
A professionally designed cover can easily run to $1500-2500+. If you simply don’t have bucks like that, here are a few lower cost alternatives. Find a local art or trade school that teaches graphic design, contact the teacher(s), and ask who their most talented students are. Young people starting out are always looking for opportunities to build their “book” (portfolio) with real-world projects, and this fact, coupled with their lack of experience, understandably means they command far lower rates. In these cases, it’s even more important to do the bookstore thing with them.
Another option is to tap some of the online job sites such as www.guru.com, www.elance.com, and others. These can be good places to find inexpensive creative resources and almost all will have online portfolios available for viewing.
Given the critical importance of a cover, I don’t recommend these as first choices – but if the budget won’t accommodate springing for an established pro, it’s still a better alternative than using that marginally talented cousin or your printer’s cookie-cutter cover designer. Did I mention your book cover is important?
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Got a book in you? Can’t land a publisher? Why not do it yourself, and make a living from it? Sound good? Then, check out the free report on self-publishing at www.wellfedsp.com, the home of the 2006 release The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living. Author Peter Bowerman is known for the award-winning (and self-published) Well-Fed Writer titles (on the lucrative field of commercial freelancing), which have provided him with a full-time living for over five years. (www.wellfedwriter.com).
Last 5 posts by Peter Bowerman
- The #1 Most Powerful Book Marketing Strategy of Them All - September 20th, 2009
- Reviewing Your Ethics - August 25th, 2008
- Eight Reasons Why Self-Publishers Fail (And How to Easily Avoid Them!) - April 17th, 2008
- Seven Steps to a More Readable Book - February 5th, 2007
- What’s on the Back of Your Book? - January 3rd, 2007
March 8th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
You might add… if the writers are also artists they should not do their own covers.
Every parent in a baby beauty contest thinks theirs will win. Unfortunately, and I can say this as a pediatric nurse who has seen a lot of babies, even as they are born, there are a lot of ugly babies. The Judges need to think the baby is beautiful to have a winner.
In this case, the judges are the people who buy the book.
As an artist who gets several thousands for my art, I will hire out a lot of work like this because it is so hard to be objective about my own baby.
And your suggestion on hiring a student is right on. I wanted to produce a video commercial incorporating my art work. Without the help of a universtiy student, my baby would not have won an Honorable Mention in an international contest.
Thanks for the great information you provided.
March 8th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
As someone who’s been a designer and helped many misguided authors as a publishing consultant, I would only add that it’s best to get not just a graphic designer, but one who’s experienced with book covers.
Book covers are a unique animal, as are other forms of design, and I’ve seen experienced graphic designers not get them right. It’s the same as a printer not necessarily being a book printer.
That said, a good graphic designer can certainly learn the nuances of cover design — but a designer who’s done them before (and well) is a better choice.
Good piece, Peter — and I’m enjoying your book. I’m recommending it in my seminars.
March 8th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I agree a great cover is very important. But in the end it all comes down to how are you going to sell your book. A great cover is not going to sell a book if you do not have a way to sell it. A great cover does enhance a book so when you do figure out how to sell it, you are ready.
I respect what Jonathan Steele above had to say, but I do believe some writers/artist can do their own covers. I did the art, writing and cover design for my children’s book, Ned Visits New York.
I think I did a damn good job with it. In the first month my book came out, I sold over 1200 books. My cover did not just happen I did what Mr. Bowerman recommend, I went to my local book stores and studied children’s book covers.
If you want to see how I did my cover, you can see it on my web site at: http://www.KipKids.com
March 9th, 2007 at 5:56 am
Hello Peter
Thanks for a great article. Oh I’ve been waiting for someone to say it! You wonder about why self -published books look so crummy?
Well, I am a professional Graphic designer and Illustrator with MANY bookcovers in my portfolio. I can tell you there is a great art to bookcovers. It simply is not that easy! I think it is one of the most specialised disciplines in Graphics.You have to capture the essence of a book plus the “look” has to be current, but timeless! And you have to know typography. I know it looks deceptively easy. Also – with the advent of desktop publishing, good graphic design principles and typographical know-how have gone for a loop. People are so used to seeing bad design that it has become the norm. I am not trying to keep DTP exclusive to designers at all – just that good graphic design is not that easy. The other point is: if you have seen the covers in the affordable software kits for e-books and self-publishing you will no longer wonder. It makes me cringe, but that is the standard of cover design most folks are exposed to. They see other books like that and it becomes the measure.
I’m afraid that we are going to see more and more bad covers because the self-publishing wave (which is fantastic thanks to new tech) is only just starting. But I think by just naming the problem you might have started an awareness!
Cheers
Anneke
March 9th, 2007 at 5:59 am
You give some real good, thought-provoking advice here on cover design. Much obliged.
March 9th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Thanks Bob!
Appreciate your taking the time to write. Glad you enjoyed it.
PB
Thanks Andrew!
Appreciate your taking the time to write. Glad you enjoyed it. And yes, ideally, someone would hire a book cover designer, though I’ve seen folks touting themselves as such, but their work isn’t very goo, and certainly not as good as a mainstream graphic designer! The bar is so low out there on covers that at least going with a good GD will be a HUGE improvement. I am recommending more book cover designers lately, b/c it IS a real specialty, and if someone has the bucks, that IS their best bet. Thanks SO much for recommending my work. Sincerely appreciate it. I wish you the best.
PB
Thanks Kip!
Appreciate your taking the time to write. Can’t argue with you that marketing is absolutely critical, but your job of marketing will be SO much easier if your cover is good. It’s not an either/or. You HAVE to get both right, and the cover is the absolute easiest one to get right (not necessarily the least expensive to get right, but the easiest), so there’s no excuse not to. And kudos for your success, but you are absolutely the exception, not the rule, and I don’t for a second believe that most authors CAN or SHOULD do their own covers. Continued success with your book!
PB
Hi Anneke,
I agree with all you say! (See my note to Andrew above). And I also agree that we’ll be seeing a lot more bad covers out there as time goes on. But hopefully with books like mine out there, they’ll be looking for people like you and Andrew and other talented practitioners of the craft rather than trying to get by on the cheap. Thanks for writing!
PB
March 12th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Peter, I self-published my poetry book, but sadly, I think my cover may have contributed to the low sales. I designed it myself on the computer instead of investing in a professional.
March 13th, 2007 at 10:25 am
We started by hiring an “in house” cover guy and his cover designs were definately not adequate. Tried someone else. Failed again. Bought the MIcrosoft Publisher Program just to try and see if I could do better. Once I came up with something close we turned it over to a professional and used Istock for the photos. Our professional really made the difference. We get comments all the time on how good the book looks and I was especially impressed with the changes the designer made to the back of the book- things I never would’ve dreamed of
vickie smith
arkessentialspublishing.com
home of Confessions of a Butcher-eat steak on a hamburger budget and save$$$
March 16th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Hi Peter,
Nice job on this! I am a professional Account Executive and a budding author. I am not at all worried about my ability to drive sales of my book once I publish it, since this is what I’ve done daily for almost 2 decades. But your insight into the underpinnings of self-publishing will undoubtedly prove to be one of the best investments I make into this project. Please look for my book order later today.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
As a start-up traditional publisher of fiction, we have the same problems you have all described. We tried some graphic artists but that didn’t result in a book cover — just a nice graphic piece. We also learned that a telephone discussion was much more successful than email/written word for communicating the character of the book and what we wanted. We also consider what the cover will look like as a thumbnail on Amazon.
March 21st, 2007 at 3:55 am
Peter,
Thank you for this timely information. I’m was in the process of hiring a book cover designer for my forthcoming book:
‘Notes From the MotherShip~Naked Invisibles.’
I attempted to hire a graphic designer from Guru.com, which by the way is a great resource. But, your stress of the importance of the look of the cover had me square up the extra bucks to hire a true book cover designer with a great reputation! Thanks!
My book’s publication is September 2007!
March 21st, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Glad it helped you see the light..
You’re right, guru.com can be a good resource for low-cost creatives, but only if you simply don’t have the $ to hire a real pro. Good luck with your book!
PB
April 21st, 2007 at 3:57 pm
I agree….book covers sell books, especially the books of a relatively unknown wrtier. Writers really want their writing to make the sale, but unfortunately a poorly designed cover may never lure the reader. Many graphic designers do not know much about books, but I think credit must be given for their ability to get the reader’s attention, and create an artistic concept that connects well with the book. With a little input from the writer you will be amazed at what can be accomplished. I know a cartoonist with a master’s degree in English Literature, and a self proclaimed bibliophile. He is relatively new to creating book covers, but his ideas are really great. He is very affordable, but the best part is he really works well with the writers and gives so much of himself. When I say cartoonist, that’s his main job, but the guy can create just about anything. He’s good at writing copy too. I do not have all of his contact info, but his website is http://www.GreatCartooning.com His name is Kelly Croy. He is very easy to work with and has great ideas. He’ll be happy to send you a free quote.
April 21st, 2007 at 10:46 pm
I’m a book cover designer and I wanted to add that the best cover designer in the world won’t be able to do a good job if the project manager takes control and has no idea what he or she is doing. Essentially, whoever hires a designer is “the boss” and it’s painful when, no matter how politely you point out problems or make suggestions, “the boss” insists his book cover be set using Comic Sans, Times, Helvetica and a really cool picture he took of his neighbor’s dog.
Feel my pain.
April 30th, 2008 at 11:17 am
New in this venture, I appreciate all the comments. I’d like to add a few of my own from the hours of research I’ve been doing on this subject. Make a plan. An overall plan. Where will your money best be spent?
1. A cover will help sell a book ONLY if the book is on the bookshelf. If it is an internet marketing technique, sales copy is far more important. Plus, getting that book on to a bookshelf is not an easy task. So you may need to decide what is your overall goal. Making money? Probably won’t happen (I didn’t say never) without the internet. Getting into bookstores, doing book signings, and overall interaction with the public? Go the traditional route. (Some authors would dry up without this. The love to be involved with their readers.) You need to decided what you want? Everyone is different. Don’t get your ideas from one source.
2. Rear cover is just as important as the front cover, and again, for the sales copy, not the ‘good looks’. Pictures grap the attention, but words sell! Be sure the book cover artist is not just about pretty pictures. I’ve seen many beautiful books, that didn’t make very many sales.
3. If you are low budget, start the design yourself and submit it to be ‘fixed up’ by a book cover professional. They may come up with a completely different design, but the ground work helps save time, because often artist get inspired by what they see. (I know, some want to start from scratch.)
4. Research, research, research. Look into every avenue before getting started!!! You can’t learn enough. Learn about your target market, learn about your competitors, learn about the companies you think you want to hire.
It gets back to deciding what you want, how much you can spend. Great books can have lossy covers and make a lot of money. Lossy books, won’t sell very many, even with a good cover!
Angela
June 2nd, 2008 at 5:34 am
This is some of the most excellent advice I have heard for self-publishers. There are so many books I see as a reviewer that have less than great covers on top of excellent stories. I always wonder how much further they could go with an excellent cover.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:13 pm
This is very interesting. I am a first time published author, with lots to learn.
June 3rd, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I agree that covers are really important. People are very visual and the cover is like the first ‘date’ between a reader and a book. Covers do sell books–I know because I’ve bought books based on their covers… of course, whether or not the book lives up to its potential is another story.
June 4th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Hi Grace,
Thanks for the note and yes, there IS a lot to self-publishing. But what I’ve found is that so much of it is logical if you think about it. Write a book people will want to read. Make it as high-quality a physical product as possible to make it stand out amongst the competition. Understand how distracted the average consumer is today and craft messages that speak directly to him or her. Deliver superior customer service.
And the main thrust of this post (and the accompanying comments) speaks to the idea of superior physical production of your book. Bottom line, it just makes sense to hire creative professionals to ensure a superior outcome. Realize that the big publishers are doing just that and if you want to have even a chance of competing on the same playing field with them, you need to do the same.
I wish you the bet as you move forward with your own self-publishing adventure. Just know that there are plenty of good tools (and yes, a few I’ve created…) to help you along the journey.
Peter