Designing a book cover.
People do judge a book by its cover. Not only does the front of a novel draw their attention, but the back cover matter needs to pique their interest to the story inside. Most of this blog will address how I decided on the front designs to create the right covers for my novels.
The Front Cover
The beginning of my first novel, Secrets of the Charles, is set along the Charles River in Boston. Although I spent ten years in that area, I had moved to central Florida when I wrote the book. The cover for the book begged for a picture of the Charles. Rather than settle for a stock photo to create the right cover, I decided to let my own eye guide the design. During a trip to New England to visit family, I spent a day in Boston, camera in hand. The end result was a picture that fit the moodiness of the book (and even won an award in a local contest). CreateSpace (the precursor to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing) did not exist when I was ready to publish my first novel. I paid a vanity press publisher and sent them the picture to create the book cover.
When I completed my second novel, Secrets Hide Lies, I was able to use CreateSpace to independently publish, including the book cover. The Amazon publishing platform (now KDP) offers a variety of designs for creating a book cover.
By the time I finished my third book, Grey to Black, my husband had passed away. In tribute to him, I wanted to use a photo from our wedding on the front of the novel. To create the right cover, I decided to hire outside help. Enter Fiverr, a multinational website that offers freelancers for a myriad of business services. The cost is reasonable (under $100), and I found the freelancers are cooperative in meeting the needs of any project. I hired through Fiverr for my next two novel covers and am very pleased with the results. After I gave the freelancers my vision for the cover designs, they found stock artwork to fit the bill.
Another option to create the right cover is to hire a professional business that specializes in designing covers. Although these services are more costly, they are better suited for the writer who needs the expertise to represent the story of the novel on the cover’s artwork.
When researching other means for creating book covers, I found several programs online that will walk authors who are adept at the computer with the design of book covers.
The Back Cover
Creating the back cover matter for a novel is as important as the front. Independently-published authors need to ensure the brief description of the book captures the interest of readers, and is free of any errors. Nothing will kill a potential sale than typos on the cover of a book. If you include a bio on the back cover, my advice is to keep it short.
The bottom line for authors who choose the route of self-publishing, do your research to create the right cover for the novel you spent untold hours writing. Options abound to make sure the outside of your work appeals to buyers.
About the author Susan Boyd: Susan writes cozy mysteries that make good summer-time reads. Her first novel, “Secrets of the Charles”, was a first-place winner of the 2010 Royal Palm Literary Awards. Her third novel, “Grey to Black”, won two Royal Palm Literary Awards. She has recently released her fifth novel, “Secret Vows”.