The visual design of a book's cover, which is arguably the single most important marketing tool an author has.
Cover design is the process of creating the visual presentation of a book's exterior, including typography, imagery, color palette, and layout. It's not just about making something pretty. A great cover instantly communicates genre, tone, and audience, telling potential readers 'this book is for you' before they read a single word. Whether you're working with a professional designer or a publisher's art department, the cover is where storytelling meets marketing.
Readers really do judge books by their covers. In a bookstore or on an online retailer's page, your cover has about two seconds to catch someone's attention and communicate what kind of book this is. A romance novel that looks like a thriller will attract the wrong readers and repel the right ones. Getting this right can mean the difference between a book that sells and one that gets scrolled past.
Francis Cugat's iconic cover of disembodied eyes over a night cityscape was painted before the novel was finished. Fitzgerald loved it so much he said he'd 'written it into the book.'
The stark, unsettling typography and wisp of hair became instantly recognizable, spawning a wave of domestic thriller covers with bold sans-serif type.
The mockingjay pin design became a cultural symbol far beyond the book, showing how a strong cover image can transcend its original purpose.
Unless you have genuine graphic design experience, invest in a professional cover designer. A bad cover actively hurts sales. Many freelance designers offer premade covers at affordable prices if budget is tight.
Study the top-selling books in your genre. Your cover needs to signal to readers that it belongs on the same shelf. Save your artistic vision for the prose inside.
Remember that most readers first see your cover as a thumbnail on a screen. Keep the design clean, the title legible, and the central image bold enough to read at small sizes.
Invest in unique artwork or high-quality, less commonly used images. Readers in tight-knit genre communities absolutely notice recycled cover art.
Browse the top 20 bestsellers in your target genre on any major book retailer. Screenshot or save five covers that catch your eye and five that don't. For each group, write down what specific design elements (color, typography, imagery, layout) make them work or fail. Use your findings to write a one-paragraph cover brief describing what your ideal cover would look like.