How Does Your Book Cover Matter to Make Your First Book an Ultimate Hit
As a potential book buyer or reader, the book cover is the first point of contact that you make with a book – even before you open it to get to the inside content. That said, as a newbie author, you must understand the importance of having an appealing book cover.
The cover is the first thing people can see – even before they get to the book’s inside. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to state that the book cover can make or break the sale. Covers should be appealing, exciting, and interesting – but – they should also relate to the content and truly represent what the readers can expect from the inside.
Read on to learn more about the importance of good book covers and why you should hire one of the best book cover illustrators to make your first book an ultimate hit.
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The Cover Can Entice People to Know More
As stated before, the book cover is the first thing people get their eyes and hands on when deciding whether they should or shouldn’t read a book. That said, the book cover can either persuade people to read a book or dissuade them from doing so.
Suppose you have just completed the first manuscript of your book. In that case, you are in the best position to hire a professional book cover designer or illustrator who will then sit down to design the cover according to the content of your book.
Ideally, your book cover should be eye-catching and authentic to the content of the book. The cover should also give the readers a glimpse of what they can expect from the book.
For instance, if your book is a biography about a historical figure, a portrait of the figure should be on the cover so that the potential readers get a visual confirmation of what they are getting into. If you have written a children’s book with a dragon and castle, then your book cover should depict that.
Simply put – a good book cover can make an immense difference to whether your potential reader’s audience will or will not gravitate towards the book, pick it up, and read it.
Essential Elements that Make a Good Book Cover
The following elements can contribute to making a good book cover:
- The cover needs to be visually appealing.
- The cover should be eye-catching and well-designed.
- The cover should be authentic to the content and a true reflection of what is going on inside the book. A reader should be able to get a good idea about the book only by looking at the cover.
- The cover should be according to the target audience. You know that a child’s book cover is different from the cover of a book that is for adults.
For your first book, you might want to hand over the task of designing the book cover to a professional illustrator who knows their job and will actually craft a book cover that will grab the attention of your target readers and eventually help you sell the book.
How does a book cover make the book appealing to potential target readers?
Several reasons make a book with a well-designed cover more appealing to potential target readers. You might have experienced it for yourself – you might have walked between the book racks of a library, and suddenly an eye-catching cover got your attention, and before you knew it – you were taking out the book from the shelf.
This aspect indicates that an eye-catching book cover can be intriguing enough to pique the potential reader’s interest and encourage them to pick up the book and read it.
Additionally, a well-designed book cover can speak a thousand words about the book’s genre and content, making it easier for the readers to decide whether they feel interested enough to read the book.
It doesn’t matter how amazing the content of your book is; you will want to focus on the book cover, as a well-crafted book cover is way better than a boring and plain book cover. So, with an amazing book cover, you are more likely to catch the attention of your target readers.
A poorly executed cover – irrespective of what is inside the book – can do you potentially more damage than you can potentially imagine. Put simply – there are many essentially good reasons to ensure that the book cover is well-designed, relevant, and appealing.
Use the Book Cover to Reflect the Genre & Tone
As an author, you can strategically use the book cover to reflect the tone and genre of the book. For instance, if you have written a short collection of horror stories, you can use the cover to reflect the darkness and moodiness of the thriller collection.
If you have written a romance, you will want to opt for a colorful and bright color as it indicates the romantic genre. Additionally, vibrant colors are often associated with children’s books – whereas – muted toned book covers are linked with adult books.
Book publishers and professional book cover illustrators often integrate font placement and style to convey the tone of the book. For instance, adventure books often contain bold letters on their cover, indicating that the book is packed with action and adventure.
On the contrary, a book that has smaller letters on its cover is often an indicator of a drama. A book with colorful illustrations on its cover is certainly aimed at the younger audience, and a book with a simple, straightforward cover is often an adult book.
Use the Cover to Brand Your Book
If you aim to publish a series of books, then you can use the covers to brand yourself as the series’ author. You will want to integrate a unifying element that symbolizes the series’ main character or theme.
Simply put – you can use the book cover to market the series and thus use the covers for branding purposes. You will want to use colors, imagery, fonts, and other elements to design the cover of your book series.