Maggie Thom – Why Book Covers are So Important

Why Book Covers are So Important

by Maggie Thom

Whether you’re book is a paperback or an ebook the book cover is almost as important as the amazing story you’ve written. Some would say that as an ebook it has to be even more enticing and engaging to attract attention through the bombardment of all that is on the internet. People are visual and make judgements very fast and move on very quickly, so your book cover needs to grab their attention long enough for them to check out what your novel is about. It is the first impression they have about your book.

Another way to think about the cover is to think of it as the window to your book. So what is the view telling people? If your book is a gentle, cozy kind of book you don’t want fire on the front. The same holds true if you book is about wars or murder. You’re probably not going to have a picture of a beautiful flower on the front, unless it has blood dripping from it or it is gripped in the hands of a dead person. What you put on the cover really needs to reflect what’s inside. People are not only going to determine if they like the cover but whether it is a type of book that they would like to read. So it has to be eye catching but tell a story of its own.

If you’re writing romances than you are more likely to have one or two people on the front. What they are doing and the level of undress should be determined to some degree by how explicit your book is.

If you’re writing suspense or mystery, then you want there to be some mystery, some intrigue on the front – maybe a weapon, a dead body, someone hiding.

If you are writing fantasy than you want something that shows that the people are different or the world is different.

Each genre of book is going to require that there be something a bit different on the cover. It gets a little tricky when your book crosses over several genres but it just may mean you have to include a few more elements in your cover.

Not only does the picture matter but so do the colors. If it is a cozy, warm hearted story than you probably don’t want black or browns or super bright reds or oranges. Softer colors would go with the softer story. If it’s a swashbuckling tale than you are going to want blacks, whites, grays, browns with maybe some splashes of color. So really think about whether your story is dark like horrors or light, like a love story and does it have a happy ending.

There really are a lot of factors to consider in creating your book cover. It needs to entice, to draw people in, to make them curious as to what is inside. Really the front of the book is the packaging. So make it attractive and tempting. Make sure the cover appeals to you but that it is also conveying your story. Ask some of your friends or people who’ve read your book if they feel that the picture goes with the story that you’ve created. There are some amazing book covers out there, make sure yours stands out in the crowd.

What appeals to you on a book cover?

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Genre – Suspense

Rating – PG13

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Website http://www.maggiethom.com/