Choosing The Right Book Cover For Your Manuscript

You’ve heard the saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover”, and felt that your book cover doesn’t matter and only the content does. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but every voracious reader judges a book by its cover, which is why choosing the right book cover for your manuscript should be of serious concern to you, especially when you’re making it into an Ebook or displaying in prints. Except of course you want your book lying on the shelve for years without being touched by anyone, you should read this article to the end.

Choosing a book cover for your manuscript shouldn’t be something you just decide overnight. I’ve seen a couple of authors selecting certain book cover designs for their book only because it caught their fancy, but what about your readers, do you consider them before making a decision on the design of your book cover? If the primary purpose of a book cover is to “entice potential readers to buy the book” then your book cover ought to be an inspirer for your readers, and not an expirer for them.

Your book cover markets your book and helps create a burning desire in potential readers to look further into what your book has to offer. Hence, to enable you choose the right book cover for your manuscript, you need to do a thorough brainstorming to help you achieve your aim. Since your book cover encapsulates the whole content in your book, you’ll want to consider:

#Font: Font style plays a significant role in your book cover design. You don’t want to end up selecting a font that makes some letters almost invisible to read.

#Colour: Selecting a colour for your book cover could be a daunting task; almost as much as the writing, since it helps your readers connect to the overall theme of the book. One pro tip you should always note is that using contrasting colours “between bright and tint shades” helps your book stand out not just on the shelve, but in search engines.

#Image: Images on book covers portray great meaning. Using a white or black man’s image on your book might present an idea of racial bias to your readers, even when you don’t have that in mind, and as such discourage potential readers. You might also be faced with deciding to use your own image as the author or a model’s image. Finally, you also have to decide if whatever image you chose appears in full or facials only.

#Object: it’s really important that whatever object you chose to sit on your book cover relates significantly to the theme of your book.  You don’t want your readers to have a different perception of the topic you’re selling to them.

#Size: While many authors may not seem to be bothered with the size of their book, it is really important to put this into consideration. Some readers might prefer a pocket-friendly sized book, while some may not. Whichever way, you should do some research about books in a similar genre as yours to find the perfect size for your book.

With the above brainstorming ideas, you won’t only end up choosing the right book cover for your manuscripts, you’ll also make your book stand out amongst others.