Your cover sells your book, so don’t make these 4 mistakes.

I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a “perfect” book cover because you can’t compare a fantasy cover to a romance or nonfiction business book cover. Design will vary by genre and size, but I think there are some elements that make or break a book cover that are worth talking about.

1. Illegible titles

Choosing a Latin title is one thing. Over-designing is another. If you can’t read the book title, it won’t hook a reader or catch their eye. I think most book covers today use big, bold fonts and if they don’t, they’re at least readable.

I find this mistake common for children’s book authors who design their own covers. They like to go overboard with the design, and then make the title fancy when it doesn’t need to be. Being able to read the title on a book cover is a must!

With Please Return to the Lands of Luxury on the left, you can barely see the words “Please Return to” because they’re placed in the nametag. “Lands” and “Luxury” are really the only words that are big and clear enough to read from afar.

With The Ultimate Knowledge Book for Curious Minds in the centre, the designer has put a white frame around the letters. This isn’t necessarily a faux pas, but the title isn’t big enough to be readable, nor is the author’s name.

With Whinnies on the Wind 1 on the right, “Whinnies” is strangely the only legible word. The font and size isn’t necessarily a problem, but it’s wavy and not straight, which makes the rest of the title look off. The subtitle is also nowhere near the title and isn’t large enough.

2. Title is too small

Some examples above also fall into this bucket. Title size may not be an issue if the author’s a celebrity because the cover might be the giveaway, but for everyone else, people will likely be buying your book online vs. at a bookstore.

If your title is too small, it won’t be seen on a mobile device and you don’t want that to be the reason you don’t make a sale.

You can probably read these two titles fine, but House of Leaves on the left is borderline too small, and IMO, kinda boring.

Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act on the right works for him because he’s a music producer and the cover looks like a really simple design of a record (or is it a target? An eye? Open to interpretation, I suppose). All the music readers will know the book by the design, but for a debut author, the title in the upper right corner wouldn’t cut it online.

3. Overdesigned cover

It’s almost better to have a super simple design than a cover that is over designed. Again, fantasy and romance come to mind here as these are typically genres where a one-colour background isn’t common. I don’t think there’s a problem with getting really creative with a cover, but again, you’ve got to make sure the title (and author name) are the first things people read when they see it.

Here are two examples of gorgeously designed covers that, IMO, get in the way of us reading the title.

With Problematic Summer Romance, the tilted placement at the bottom inside a torn notebook page as a checklist (see what a mouthful that is?) doesn’t make it clear enough that it’s the title. It might have worked for me if it wasn’t tilted, on a notebook page, or in a checklist.

Kingdom of Flesh and Fire gives me GOT vibes and I actually love the design. Love it! But the black title and author name are lost in the fine detail of the design. I think if the designer had made the letters thicker, it might have worked, but I know old style letters aren’t thick like more modern fonts are.

4. Underutilized back cover space

What I experienced at the Vancouver International Publishing Conference back in June is that you can have really compelling covers, but if you flip to the back and there’s a lot of unused space, it’s a bit of a let down. The back is typically reserved for the book description and/or endorsements, but when there’s a less-than-substantial description and then the barcode, it leaves something to the imagination.

Is that strategic on the part of the author/publisher? Maybe. But IMO leaving too much space on the back is a lost opportunity to build more credibility. A short author bio can help to boost the author’s authority if it’s their first book, and you might even have space for a photo.

It’s not so much the description that’s the problem in this example. This is a classic fiction book that brings the design elements from the front cover to the back, but THAT’S IT. No mention of the author bio nor the accolades the book has received. Lost opportunity!

Again, maybe most Americans know this book and what’s on the back won’t make a big difference in whether someone buys a copy, but I never want to see a first-time author with a back cover that looks like this!

Need a book coach, ghostwriter, editor, or formatter to help you publish your book so you can get it in the hands of readers? Read more about my services here and contact me if you’re ready to begin!