One of the biggest selling points of books is whether or not the book covers look professional. The cover is the first introduction a reader gets to a book. It needs to leave a good impression. If the cover is poorly designed, the reader will suspect that the contents are poor quality as well.

This leaves a conundrum. You’re a writer, not a designer! So how do you make a book cover that shows your book is worthwhile?

Designing a Book Cover

Book covers are a combination of different design elements. To compile them, you’ll most likely need a photo editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop. Consider these elements:

• Photo Selection – This will be what your reader first notices about your book. You’ll want to find something that looks professional, eye-catching, and matches the content of your book. One option is stock photos, which include a selection of photography, illustrations, and vector images. Use only stock photos that are free for commercial use (such as at pixabay.com) or where you can purchase the rights for commercial use (such as at istock.com). Take care, however, if you choose stock photos (especially free ones) to check books in your genre to make sure the photo hasn’t already been used in someone else’s book cover.
• Typography – Typography seems like a little detail on the book cover, but it’s actually one of the most important factors of how professional your book will appear. Poorly selected typography is usually what gives away self-published books. Not just any font will do for the cover of your book. Firstly, select fonts reflective of the mood of your book. Handwritten, or professional? Modern or vintage? If you decide to use more than one font, make sure they look good together and finally choose placement. The typography for your book should be in a spot that’s easy to read, and doesn’t cover any important information on your book cover. Take into account our other typography tips here.
• Embellishments – This is where book cover design starts to get complicated. To make a gorgeous book cover (particularly for fiction) will most likely require photo manipulation and layering different photos on top of each other to provide the desired effect. Adding textured, semi-transparent layers gives a book depth, and adjusting the tone and colors will determine the mood. While not necessary for a book cover (especially nonfiction), embellishments add life and uniqueness to your book, and can liven-up basic stock photos.

Be sure that each element you select represents your book in some way, and that all of the elements blend smoothly together to create one consistent mood for your book. See 10 great examples.

Need a Professional?

Though Alexander’s isn’t a publishing house, we are a printing house, and we have helped authors who self-publish through us design their book covers. If designing a book cover seems complicated or overwhelming, and you want to ensure your cover will look professional, contact us. We love to help!