I know the saying is “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but can we really help it? I can’t. Recently, I posted on my Writers Anonymous page an article with the worst (but oh so funny) book covers. Here’s the link in case you’ve missed it. It’s a must see.
So…you’ve just written a great book, so why in the world would you settle for a mediocre cover? Your cover should emblematize your book. It should be a window onto your story. It should grab passersby’s attention and suck in your potential readers. Here are some covers I find attractive. I haven’t read the books they enclose, but I certainly would like to own them…and read them.
Before working on mine with the fabulously talented Christian Fuenfausen, I’d come up with rough drafts in my mind of what my cover should look like. The end result wasn’t even close to those drafts. We went through six rounds of edits over the course of a month to come up with the clouds, the raindrops and the different scripts to embody my three main characters.
Are you in the process of creating your book cover? Here’s some advice:
– make a list of all the most important things inside your story.
– make a list of your favorite book covers. I did this on Pinterest on my board Covered.
– if you want to use pictures or illustrations, here’s a great database.
Now enjoy the process, because it’s so much fun. And if it’s not, then you’re doing something wrong.