How to Create Beautiful Cover Art for Books Digitally
How practice you lot design a book cover? The quick respond is: hire a professional.
While indie authors piece of work with a limited budget, one surface area where you lot tin can't beget to do it yourself is the cover pattern. Your book will exist competing against thousands of similarly priced books — about all of which will have professionally designed covers. You may save money upfront by creating your ain jacket design on Photoshop, but you will lose out in the long run both in book sales and in your personal brand equally an author.
In this post, we'll show you how to find the correct designer and get the best results for your book. And if you're interested to know how much it'll cost, our infographic on cover design includes averages taken from our marketplace — and you might be surprised by how affordable it tin can be.
If you're ready to curl, here's how to blueprint a book encompass with the help of a professional:
ane. Discover inspiration and ideas for your cover
Merely because you're working with a professional person doesn't mean that you go out all the creative work to them. This is your book, after all, and it helps to come up to the designer with some articulate ideas of what you lot might want.
Remember that the embrace is the first medium of communication between your book and the target market (aka the people who are likely to purchase the kind of title you're writing). To create a comprehend that sells, you demand to know what visual cues your potential readers respond to — meaning you should take inspiration from other successful books in your genre.
Research top-selling books in your niche or genre
Publishers are always trying to communicate to their target market that this book right hither is the one for them, so if yous look at bestselling titles in a sure genre, y'all'll likely notice recurring visual styles and motifs. In particular, here are a few things to go along your eye out for every bit y'all analyze book covers in your niche:
Visual motifs. Are there certain types of images that crop up again and once more? For example, in 2020, we found that l% of covers across all Fantasy categories had a representation of a grapheme. This would suggest that having a graphic symbol on the cover is a trend and a genre indicator.
Of course, information technology helps to understand what book designs are working outside of your niche besides — while yous want to indicate your genre through the cover design, you don't want to be too married to overused tropes and clichés.
Blueprint techniques. Even though authors won't need to know exactly how the volume jacket "sausage" is fabricated, understanding the three main pattern techniques tin can help you brand informed decisions regarding cost and style.
- Stock epitome manipulation. This is where designers find, license, combine, and augment images (often photos) from image libraries like Shutterstock.
- Illustrations. Not all cover designers are illustrators — but many are. They can either pen new designs on a digital tablet or combine licensed illustrations from image libraries.
- Original photography. Possibly the most expensive option, as it requires commissioning a lensman, stylist, and studio space specifically for the cover.
These techniques are bundled in full general order of cost.
As you lot become familiar with publishing pattern, you'll notice that certain genres will lean heavily into a single pattern style. For instance, illustrated covers are mutual to Literary Fiction and cozy mysteries while thrillers volition rely heavily on stock images. Due to the high cost of original photography, they only regularly feature on the covers of celebrity memoirs.
Typography. The words on your comprehend are vital. As with everything else on the jacket, they should communicate the tone and content of your volume — on summit of being legible! See how the bestsellers are doing this: do they use serif fonts? Does the title dominate the cover (as is the current trend in psychological thrillers)?
One time you have a good grasp of what'southward out in that location in the market, your next step will exist to find a designer who'southward able to work towards those industry trends while too delivering something unique and tailored to your volume.
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ii. Find a cover designer with the right experience
It'southward now easier than ever to find someone willing to design your book cover, what with online talent marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork. Just unlike Reedsy, they're more than or less open up to anyone, meaning y'all're unlikely to find a designer well-versed in the book market place at that place. All the professionals you can connect with on Reedsy take been asked to present a provable track record of their experience — many have worked at major presses, peradventure on some of your favorite books, so you know yous're in skillful hands.
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Regardless of where you expect for your designers, here are iv tips to aid you lot shortlist suitable candidates:
Browse through their portfolio to approximate their visual styles
Design is a visual medium — so if y'all don't like how a designer'southward output looks, and then in that location's no bespeak going whatever farther. This is why y'all should get-go cheque out a designer'south portfolio (on their website or freelancer profile), where they show off their range and best work.
As nosotros previously mentioned, not all designers are illustrators. Unless their profile specifically states otherwise, you tin can assume that they did not create every element of the cover from scratch.
Seek out relevant experience
Very oft, what you're paying for is a designer's feel. Though hiring the designer with the most number of years under their belt won't guarantee you the best results. What you lot should actually look for is someone with experience in and passion for your specific genre: a professional who designed jackets for Malcolm Gladwell's bestselling nonfiction titles might non be the perfect fit for your cozy mystery.
On Reedsy, authors can search for designers past the genres listed in their profiles. Every freelancer on our marketplace tin select 3 'specialty' genres, and then the most relevant profiles volition always float to the top.
If a designer has worked at a publishing firm, they may list their job history and their responsibilities. If they're self-employed (every bit most freelance designers are) they should give an indication of the types of authors they've worked with.
See what their previous clients have to say
When was the last time anyone bought something online without looking at the reviews? Before you commit to working with a cover designer, it's always wise to meet what their previous clients call up about them. Look for insights on:
- Their advice fashion;
- What their process is like;
- How proactive they are in offering ideas and concepts;
- Whether their clients are delighted with the results — or merely satisfied.
A designer'south ain professional person website will probably only feature ruby-picked positive reviews, so it's best to turn to a freelance marketplace to see some unbiased feedback. At Reedsy, every designer's review is from a verified client that has worked with them through our platform.
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Once you lot've found a designer (or made a shortlist of suitable candidates), information technology's fourth dimension to make a connection.
3. Create a brief that will get designers excited
Before you and your prospective designer can come to an agreement, they'll need to know a bit near your project. That's where the projection brief (or request) comes in.
Brand a designer want to piece of work with you
Only as yous want a designer who's competent and passionate about this cover art, the designer wants a communicative and collaborative author who appreciates their work. As such, a skillful brief doesn't just describe the book in stunning detail, information technology's likewise your first (and often only) take a chance to pitch yourself every bit a collaborator.
"I worked in advert for xviii years so I can odour it in the air when I know I'grand heading into a mire of endless demands," says illustrator and designer Chuck Regan. "I know who'south going to get the blame when their book does not sell because of a embrace they didn't similar.
"Ultimately, my decision to work for an author is based on a sliding scale. What'southward the discipline matter? How much detail is required? What'due south the timescale? And how much fun do I think it volition exist to render the cover?"
Important information to include
To aid the designer amend empathise you lot and your projection, y'all should look to include some or all of the post-obit:
Your book's title and short synopsis. Unless your book is very short, the cover design will likely not read the whole thing. Your synopsis should therefore give them a strong thought of what information technology's about.
Your genre and target audition. As we've said many times already, your cover design volition exist in the context of the other books in your genre. If your designer knows who your title is aimed at, they'll know precisely what's needed.
Format. Paperbacks, hardcovers, and ebooks all require different things from a designer. Ebooks only need a front encompass; paperbacks too need a spine and dorsum cover pattern; while hardback books take flaps to argue with. If you know your book's trim size (dimensions), then at present's a good time to share that.
Design inspiration. This is where you can deploy all that work you lot did in Step one! Past sharing the covers you discovered during your research, the designer can begin to run across what you want in terms of aesthetics.
Deadline. Good designers may be booked up a few months in advance, so send them your requests overnice and early. That manner, yous can be flexible with your borderline and take a better chance of snagging your showtime-selection designer.
With this data, a designer should be able to provide you with a quote and a project timeline. Depending on your designer's flexibility, you tin can negotiate anything from the number of initial concepts and revisions they deliver to your payment schedule.
four. Pick your favorite concept and give feedback
Though every collaboration is different, virtually designers volition provide you with a few initial concepts to choose from. For case, when author Niyati Tamaskar hired Reedsy designer Asya Blue to create a encompass for her memoir Unafraid, the original cursory suggested using a peacock feather every bit the primal paradigm. Blue returned with three mockups that played into this feather motif.
Equally information technology turned out, Niyati didn't go for whatsoever of these options. Instead, her designer suggested a unlike approach based on her conversations with the author — this resulted in a final design that Niyati was delighted with.
Tip: While it's helpful to provide examples of your inspirations, you will usually get the best result if you aren't too prescriptive in your cursory. Allow your designer bring their ideas to the tabular array.
Provide specific feedback
Once your designer returns with their initial concepts, you need to exist able to tell them which details you like and why. Perhaps yous like the imagery in one version but the typography in some other: this is useful feedback that tin can guide the next iterations of the pattern.
Your agreement with the designer will likely country the number of blueprint rounds your embrace volition receive, so y'all won't have the luxury of endless tweaks and redesigns. This is why it's and then important to be very clear nigh what you like and what you don't like.
Test out the concepts with real readers
If you want to exist really methodical virtually picking a concept, you could test the designs out in the real earth. A few years agone, we ran an experiment with two concurrent ad campaigns on Facebook. Each campaign was identical except for the cover pattern featured in the spot. Past tracking how many people saw and clicked on each ad, we could tell which concept was objectively improve at doing its chore — which was to sell the book.
If you wish to use this arroyo to choose between concepts, mention this to your designer in your cursory. This will ensure that they tin program for a testing period during the design procedure and that they tin license any images yous wish to examination.
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Once you lot've settled on a concept, it'southward time to get into the nitty-gritty.
5. Tweak and refine your final blueprint
Now that y'all're in the domicile stretch, don't lose rail of your goal! The devil is in the details, and there will exist plenty of details for you to pore over. While your designer is all-time placed to lead the final stages of the design, they volition seek out your personal preference on elements like typefaces and the specific color palette.
When finalizing his cover for Life in the Loop , for instance, Reedsy designer Jason Anscomb presented the author with a number of suitable color options to choose from.
Bear on base with a phone call
At whatever indicate during the collaboration, it can exist helpful to jump on a call and talk things through with your designer. A quick conversation over Zoom or Skype — can frequently smooth out whatever reservations or misunderstandings you may be experiencing. The designer tin can even share their screen and talk you through their concepts and adjustments.
Receive your final formats
Once you have both agreed on the final design, it's and so up to the designer to deliver your files in a format that is compatible with your online retailers and impress-on-demand vendors.
Depending on what y'all've agreed on, they might send you a multifariousness of pattern formats to be used on digital ads, social media updates, or on your website. Even if you lot're not press concrete copies of your book, your designer can create appealing mockups that you can use to promote your book!
Annabel Brandon 's digital-only pattern has been composited into this photo. Looks pretty real, right?
And in that location you have it: your very own professionally designed book comprehend. It'south fix to striking the shelves and attract readers with its undeniable good looks and all-important genre indicators!
For more assist using your cover to attract new readers, brand sure y'all download our free ebook, How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market place.
Want to learn more? Download our full infographic on Book Comprehend Design.
Source: https://blog.reedsy.com/book-cover-design/