How to Make Sure Your Book Cover is Successful

At some point, all independent authors will face a choice of what to do about their book cover. If they work with a designer, they usually have a handful of various cover concepts to choose from. This gives the author the chance to select the best choice. But selecting the best choice is easier said than done. If you don’t have a background in graphic design, how are you to make an educated choice?

Moreover, what if you don’t like any of the options your designer gives you? Would you be able to articulate why the covers don’t work with the book you’ve written? Would you be able to give your designer feedback to make a cover that’s more in line with your vision?

While it’s the job of book designers to suggest the best options based on market trends and design theory, I believe it’s important for all authors to understand a few basic elements of cover design. If authors can make informed choices when a designer presents them with options–if they can articulate what is working in a book cover and why–they are much more likely to end up with a book cover that serves their book, and thus more likely to have a successful book cover that is appealing to their target audience.

In this spirit, I’ve put together a quick worksheet/checklist that I’m giving away for free:
How to Make Sure Your Book Cover is Successful: A checklist for busy authors

Inside this guide you’ll learn:

• What a successful book cover should do
• Find checklists to help refine your book’s cover or discover what your cover should look like
• A bonus list of key terms to help demystify the world of book design

If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the ideas in this worksheet, feel free to reach out! I love to talk shop.

And if you find this worksheet helpful, please consider signing up for my email newsletter so you can get more tools like this in the future!