Cover design: What
sells a book?
A
book cover: the first element of a book a consumer is drawn to whether on a
bookshelf or online, a cover should grab your attention. As book cover design
is so important, and yet overlooked by numerous authors, we decided to ask a
few important questions about design elements which can make or break a book.
We
posed three simple questions:
Is simple better?
Should
you be able to read the title from a few feet away? (When
talking about a book sitting on a bookshelf).
What
catches the consumer’s eye and draws them to a book?
And
got a plethora of unique insights…
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Author and consultant
Hawkeye Richardson (http://www.hawkeyeconsulting.biz/), had these words of wisdom to share on the subject of book
design:
“There
are a number of key questions to ask before designing a book cover. First and
foremost would be – is the book going to be sold through bookstores such as
Barnes and Noble, or will it also/only be sold online, either through a website
or at online stores such as Amazon. The reason this is important is that, when
a book is sold online at a place like Amazon, when someone searches for a
particular book topic and Amazon returns a list of books that meet the
criteria, the cover of the book on the computer display will be about the size
of a --- POSTAGE STAMP!
Because
the cover is so small, ’less is more’ for a book cover that sells on line. A
short title with a large, easily readable font and bright contrasted colors
shows up best on the computer screen. Too many books sold at Amazon, especially
non-fiction books, have covers that are elaborate, busy, and hard to read. The
person is not going to get to hold the book in their hand to be able to see all
the beautiful graphics. On-line, about all that can be read are a few of the
title words. So, for online books, simple is better.
For
books that will be sold through book stores where someone has the opportunity
to ‘scan’ the bookshelf looking for something that catches the eye, simple is still
better. Because most books are stacked on shelves with the binding facing the
aisle, little can be seen except the color and the title. Unless an author has
a following, he/she is unlikely to have the book face toward the aisle with the
whole cover showing. Thus, simple words in as large a font as will fit on the
spine gives the book the best chance.
Obviously,
as with any ‘advertisement,’ the title of a non-fiction book needs to be catchy
and quickly descriptive of what the book is about.
Fiction
novels are a whole different ballgame. The cover needs to fit the genre, be
attractive, and still be easily read. Many book covers for novels feature the
author equally or more than the title of the book. For new fiction authors, an
attractively designed cover can make or break the book.
When
people look at books in a store, and assuming they aren’t looking for a
particular book or author, they will scan a section, pick up books that catch
their eye, look at the cover, and then either flip it over to read the text on
the back, or open the cover (especially hardback books) to read about the book
on the inside of the cover. So, the back of the book and the text inside can be
almost as important as the cover.”
In short, there are many key factors to consider when
designing your book. Just as you would plan your marketing plan around where
your book is distributed, you should also consider where your book is being
sold, online or brick and mortar bookstores.
As online bookstores are becoming the only venue for books
for numerous authors, we thought Richardson’s insights were especially valuable
and thought provoking.
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Michele DeFilippo,
book designer (http://www.1106design.com/), felt
that simple is better when it comes to book design: “A book cover is like a
billboard...it must be understood in just a few seconds. Too many elements can
confuse the buyer and cause them to move on to another title.”
This
designer focuses on one specific design element, a focal point, which draws consumers
into looking at a book: “The book cover in its totality should draw the eye. If
a book cover has a smaller title, but bright areas of color, for instance, it
can be…effective from a distance.
A book cover
can be designed in many ways, but it’s important to have ONE focal point to
draw the eye. This can be either the title or the graphic. It can even be the
overall color of the cover. We look longer at things we haven’t seen before, so
originality is also important.”
----------
Nathan
Lindley, COO of Good Catch Publishing (http://www.goodcatchpublishing.com/)
provided us with 8 great tips to consider when designing your next book cover.
1.
What do you want your book to be or to
represent to your buyer. Your artwork should
communicate that message. Are you the cutting edge? The
state-of-the-art? Avoid classic art in favor of clean lines and simple
design. Are you the classic? The institution? Go
Rembrandt!
2.
Use a non-obvious title that ties in
to your book but in a way that is not immediately apparent. Malcolm Gladwell's blink
and James Frye's A
Million Little Pieces both have titles that make perfect sense in
the context of the books, but without having read them, they are not
immediately apparent. This creates curiosity and get’s people to pick up your
book.
3.
Cover design that backs up the theme of
that title (simple and complicated both work, it’s
really about backing up what the title describes. Blink was very simple
and it should be, it’s a one word title. A Million
Little Pieces was very chaotic, again it should be).
4.
Make sure you put "The best book
I've ever read!" somewhere
on the cover. It doesn’t matter who says it, it can be your
mother, but put a "glory" quote on your cover. I’ve seen
countless books with endorsements by people I’ve never heard of from
organizations I’ve never heard of, but am always impressed that this person is
so impressed!
5.
Don't soft-sell the back-cover text. Tell
your reader why they CAN NOT put this book down, why their lives will never be
the same because of the book they're holding in their hands. Avoid
matter-of-fact statements like "In this book, you will learn X,Y and Z." Instead go for, "By the time you finish
this book, you will be a master of X, your competition will fear you for Y and
your Z will send you to the top of your class! There's never been a book so
important, so earth-shaking as the one you hold in
your hand!" It may sound cheesy, but nothing is worse than to have someone
holding your book and you don't maximize the opportunity!
6.
Make spine text as big as possible. Make
it big and clear and make sure your font is top-to-the-right, so that when the
book is laying face up, it is still ledgable. If
you’ve got a biography, make sure that the name of the subject of your
biography is clearly and largely stated (if you’re writing about Adam Smith,
make sure you use his name on the spine).
7.
For your interior design select your
font, size and spacing according to your audience and your brand. If you are
going for the broad masses, keep your font size big and line spacing wide. This
is far less intimidating to those who aren’t hardcore readers. If you have a
book on maximizing Oracle Software and are appealing to the engineer looking
for the book with the most information (and clearly not afraid of reading large
masses of complicated text) pack it in as tightly as you can get away with!
8.
Maintain your design themes throughout
the book. Keep your title fonts in the headers of the book and subtitle fonts
(if any) where ever you can. This recalls the brand you are trying to instill.
There are many different factors to consider when designing
your next book cover. You have to think about your market, a theme for the
book, and a catchy title (amongst other elements) while trying not to over
think the whole process. It seems as though simple can be better. We suggest
looking through bestseller lists, and going to your local bookstore to peruse
the shelves: you will notice which books stand out to consumers whether they
are forward facing, or if you’re just looking at the spine. Then, go to an
online bookstore, and see if there are any noticeable differences, or
re-occurring themes within genre and bestseller lists.
Simply put: You are competing with millions of other books
on the market, so you have to think carefully about the design of your book
because if consumers aren’t drawn to the cover, they aren’t going to pick up
your title.
