Why Your Book Needs a Professional Cover Design
Book covers matter. They are the first impression readers have of a book, whether online or in a bookstore. Picture yourself scrolling through lists of books available for sale online. You’ve probably done this recently. You pay attention to key pieces of information like the title, the author, the price, shipping options, ratings… but you’ll also notice the cover. Perhaps the cover will be the first thing you see.
Most people let their opinion of a book’s cover determine their overall feelings on a book. If they have a low opinion of the cover design, it could hurt the chances of someone picking up your book and negatively impact your sales. One study found that 79% of people say the cover plays a decisive role in whether or not they’ll purchase a book.
The design of a book is especially important for self-publishing authors. Some people believe that self-published books are low quality because their cover designs appear amateur or cheap. There is even a Tumblr feed dedicated to bad self-published book cover designs. This means that self-publishers aren’t just combating a culture that judges books based on their covers, but judges books produced outside the traditional publishing industry even more harshly.
Where a low quality cover can hurt you, a high quality design can help you by conveying a sense of credibility and making a good first impression. By investing in great, professionally designed cover art, you’re improving your chances of getting people to read your work.
Good graphic designers understand that cover art has to be individual enough that it stands out among the millions of other books available online and in stores, accurately represents the book and interests the reader enough to pick it up. It also needs to convince readers that they will like it. A fantasy novel, for example, needs a cover that fits with the fantasy genre and will attract the eye of those who like fantasy without being clichéd or unoriginal.
So whether you’re going to design your book cover yourself or hire a professional to do it, remember how much the cover matters. Consider paying for cover art an investment in book sales.