Where Do You Start With Cover Design?
Getting to see your book’s cover for the first time is such a massive milestone for a writer. But how do you get to that amazing moment? Where do you even start?l What are the things you should avoid? Let’s talk about it!
COVER COMPARISON AND MOOD BOARDS
A great place to start when you’re taking your first steps in your cover design journey is to check out other books that are doing well in your genre. What design elements seem to be popular in the marketplace? Is there a particular color palette that your genre seems to be gravitating toward? Or perhaps a particular style? Are there classics in your genre that have been repackaged? What design choices did they make for a modern reader?
Pull together a few covers that you really enjoy, and figure out what elements drew you to them. The more you can articulate your preferences and your vision to your designer, the faster they’ll be able to draft a cover you love!
But finding the right words can be tough, so if you’re struggling to explain the vibe of your book or the general aesthetic you’d like your cover to have, pull together a mood board! Put up color palettes that you think represent your book and work well in your genre, include images that remind you of your book and that might work on your cover in some way, and add any other words, images, or colors that make you think of your book.
Talking through your mood board with your designer will help you explain what you’re looking for a bit better, and provide some visual aids when you can’t find the right words to articulate your vision.
TALK TO OTHER WRITERS
Take advantage of the expertise of other writers in your community! What pitfalls did they run into? What did they wish they knew before they started? What were the questions they were glad they asked? Do they have any advice about ways to communicate ideas to a cover designer? Talking to other writers you know who have gone through the process will help you avoid potential pitfalls and maybe help you understand the process a bit better.
IDENTIFY ELEMENTS TO SHOW ON A COVER
A great place to start brainstorming is thinking of elements from your book that you can highlight. If your book is a series, maybe there is an image or a general vibe that you can carry through on every cover. (For the Lord of the Rings trilogy, there’s a ring; the Twilight series had the red, black, and white covers. Even if your book is a standalone, consider whether you have a visual element that would make sense for the front cover, or if there’s a vibe or color scheme that would match the tone of your book.
Don’t be afraid to throw out a couple of different ideas because even if you and your designer end up going in a different direction, those ideas and the insight into your book will help your designer understand it and what you think is important to showcase.
CONSIDER ALL THE ANGLES
Remember when you’re thinking about what would make a good cover that your book will exist in a variety of spaces. A white cover might really fit your aesthetic but might sort of melt into the background on an Amazon page. When you’re thinking about a hard copy, a white cover is far more likely to get scuffs or marks on it that could not only be a problem for how a book looks on a reader’s shelf, but a scuffed-up book on a bookstore bookshelf might drive readers away.
How does your cover look on a black-and-white e-reader? How does it look on a phone? Remember that books exist in a lot of different spaces these days, so consider as many as possible when designing and picking a cover. Using free resources like DIY Book Covers can help you see your cover in all of those different spaces.
DON’T DO IT ALONE!
Covers are so incredibly important to the success of your book, so it’s not a space in which you want to try to cut corners. We all have budgets, and sometimes money is tight, but if you have the resources to hire a cover designer, you’ll find that it’s so worth it. Not sure what you need from a designer or even where to start with the cover design process? Let us help! At SPS, we can talk about your cover needs and pair you with an awesome designer who can give you the cover of your dreams.