Cover
I don’t design covers. I did a few for non-fiction clients, but usually I receive artwork from a graphic artist, almost always just the front cover. I apply the words to the cover: title, author and back cover copy. If the graphic artist specializes in book covers and knows the KDP specifications as well as I do, I get a full cover that is ready to be uploaded.
There is a lot of material online about book covers. Much of this advice is genre specific. Certain genres tend to utilize specific colors, fonts and image characteristics. If you’ve written a genre piece, go to Barnes and Noble or search online for books like yours to see what others are doing.
Covers are more important than ever. Back in the day when I went to Borders to buy a book (I still miss Borders!) I would cruise the aisles and see mostly spines. If a title caught my eye (don’t discard the importance of an intriguing title) I’d pull the book out and look at the cover. At this point, most of the books went right back to the shelf and I wouldn’t even get to the material on the back cover. The front cover failed to do its job.
Online you do not see spines. You see the front cover. While I still maintain the title is important, I think the cover is more so.
If you’re artistic and can work with images on a computer, go for it. Go online and find the KDP specifications for the cover. The rules are precise and KDP will not publish your book if you break them. If you’re not comfortable with this, hire an experienced graphic artist.
This is very important: the printed look of your cover is not as significant as the online version! Your online version must be easy to read at a very small size since it will often be displayed as a thumbnail, which is usually only 1.25” wide and 2” tall. You must be able to easily read the title (see why I recommended you keep the title short?) and author when the cover is that small. You may need high-contrast colors to achieve this. Shop for books on Amazon and look at the sections labeled “Frequently bought together” or “Products related to this item” to see what I mean. Your book won’t appear in these areas until you have some sales, but when it does you want it to both stand out in the list and be readable.
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