I see thousands of books every day, all day long. There are those ones that automatically grab me. I must have this book just because I like the cover and it was in my preferred genre. I won’t even read the blurb on the back. Then there are the ones that I’ll walk past a dozen times while working, and it’ll continue to catch my eye. Those are the ones I’ll take a minute to read the blurb.
It makes me often wonder how many good books I’ve passed up because I didn’t have enough time and the cover didn’t catch my attention. Sadly, that happens all too often. In the ever-changing, fast world we live in, your cover is your first weapon.
Make it pop
I’ve talked before about color psychology in a recent post. Color Psychology is defined as the study of hues as a determinant of human behavior. This means that when our reptilian brain processes a color, we feel an emotion. It varies from person to person, but if we can see color, we feel it.
Fun fact: The Egyptians and Chinese used colors to heal, a process that is known as chromotherapy
Satyendra Singh did a study to see how color affected marketing. The results were that 70% of people made up their minds in less than 2 minutes. What your book cover looks like plays a huge part in that decision.
Contrast matters, too, and helps the cover pop.
Don’t Crowd
Sometimes too much is just too much. Your cover doesn’t have to be super simple, but don’t overwhelm your reader by having it too busy. Remember: less is more.
Typography
Your font matters. Research what others are doing for the specific genre to see what works and what doesn’t. It might look cool to you, but to those who are trying to figure out the name of your book, it might get frustrating.
Keep it true to genre
This means, in its basics, that you want your readers to tell what sort of genre it is by the cover. You certainly wouldn’t put a murder scene on a romance novel cover.
Size matters
Ask anyone with sight problems: there is almost nothing more frustrating than trying to read something that’s too small. If your reader has to get a magnifying glass to tell what your book’s title is, your font is too small.
Tell us what your favorite book covers are in the comments below!
K. L. Reeder 