Creating Covers for Your Book OR The Curse of the Overstuffed Cover

 

I'm happy to welcome Christina Hamlett as a Guest Blogger once again. If you're considering self-publishing, or have already done so, her post on creating book covers (and backs) will be of interest to you. 

The Curse of the Overstuffed Cover

By Christina Hamlett

Self-publishing has given rise to a new breed of frugal entrepreneur—authors who not only self-edit and self-format their content for upload but who also eschew hiring a professional to design their book cover(s). More often than not, the latter strategy is not a smart idea. Prospective buyers do indeed judge books by what’s on the front and what’s on the back. If it’s amateurish, cluttered, uses unappealing colors or is too obscure to make any sense, who’s to say that what’s inside might not be worth the read.

Book covers themselves did not come into popular use until near the end of the 19th century. Prior to that, they were made of cloth or leather with nothing more than their titles stamped on the front. In the absence of any clues to hint what a book was about, one had to rely on word-of-mouth chatter from acquaintances who had already read it. (“That new Christmas novel by Dickens? What a corker!”) 

The subsequent invention of dust jackets served a two-fold purpose. The first was to protect the binding and, thus, extend the life of the published work. The second was to introduce what we now call “cover art”—an imaginative way to advertise the contents without even having to crack it open. For artists, this opened an exciting new avenue of creative expression. Not only could they work with art departments at publishing houses but those who offered their services as independent contractors could enjoy a status most writers aren’t aware of; specifically, it’s the artist who owns the copyright to the cover, not the author.

In traditional publishing, new authors rarely have a say-so in what their finished product will look like. They must trust in the publisher’s own vision of what type of imagery will sell the book. When you self-publish, you’re the one who dons this hat and becomes tasked with the challenge of designing an exciting and inviting exterior which will cause copies of your work to fly off the shelves. 

“Oh, but how hard can it be?” the DIYers say. “You just get some eye-catching images, add some text and you’re good to go.” Platforms such as Amazon KDP and Draft2Digital even have copy-and-paste templates which take all the guesswork out of aligning art work and ensuring everything stays within the designated margins. My response to the assumption it’s all simple, however, is that unless you’re a photographer skilled at composition, have taken some graphic design classes and have access to the latest photo-editing software programs, your finished product will likely contain the following mistakes.

Mixed Fonts. It’s permissible to mix fonts on a front cover as long as (1) you don’t use more than two and (2) the fonts are compatible with each other. This goes for the back cover as well. I recently judged a cover art competition in which some of the participants used as many as seven different fonts. Not a professional look.

Teensy Margins. If there’s text at the very top, the very bottom and it stretches from the far left edge to the far right edge, it’s just not attractive. This problem can be remedied by scaling down the font size, decreasing the verbiage and adjusting the placement. Speaking of verbiage, authors often err in trying to shoehorn too much synopsis onto the back cover. Ideally, whatever back-cover teaser you use should not exceed 100 words.

Too Much Information. With the exception of the title, subtitle and author name, anything that’s going to be repeated on the back cover doesn’t need to be on the front cover. This includes elements such as a series number, a list of the author’s prior titles and the cover design credit.

Un-Readability. If you put a frou-frou font such as Mistral, French Script, or Lucida Handwriting  over a “busy” background, readers will have to squint to see what it says. Romance authors are especially guilty of this if text is placed over a heroine’s gown that is lace, calico or brocade. Likewise, if it’s an architectural backdrop with lots of doors, windows, turrets and grazing sheep.

I Thought It Was Free. Just because you find an image on the internet doesn’t mean it’s yours to pilfer for your cover. If you want to use existing images, they either have to be in the public domain or you have to have a commercial licensing agreement. (My own favorite source is http://www.123rf.com.) Regarding public domain properties such as old paintings, anyone can use the work without obtaining permission but no one can ever own it. It’s also critical to research whether there are any legal stipulations insofar as how a particular work can be used in a new context.

First Glance. If your cover were a vertical billboard on the freeway and readers were zipping by at 70 mph, could they comfortably read what it said? Likewise, if they’re scrolling through Amazon in search of a new read and saw a thumbnail of your cover, would it entice them to click on it?

All About ME! Non-fiction authors have a fondness for putting their face on the front cover. And the back cover. And inside the book. Unless you’re a recognizable celebrity, too much face-time is a bit of overkill, especially if your life-size face fills the entire cover. 

Yes, Yes, We Know You’re the Author. Lastly, I’d like to see authors stop putting “By So-and-So” on their front covers. Who else’s book would it possibly be? Your author name should also be in a smaller (or different) font than the title of the book to avoid confusion.

Former actress and director Christina Hamlett is an award-winning author whose credits to date include 44 books, 259 stage plays and squillions of articles. She is also a script consultant for stage and screen and a professional ghostwriter. www.authorhamlett.com.