Q&A on Self-Publishing (Part 2): Judging a Book by Its Cover

This post continues the previous questions and answers about self-publishing. For more information on self-publishing, listen to Sylvia Hubbard's interview with me on the Michigan Literary Network show. Visit our online author resource center at millerdesignstudio.net/mwn as well.

We've discussed a few aspects of modern print-on-demand self-publishing, but one aspect I've spent little time about is designing your book cover. After you read what I have to say, be sure to read this Writer's Digest article that points out several cover considerations.

Q. What is essential to a book cover?
A. Although every book is different, most book covers require very basic information: on the front, the title and the author; on the spine, the title, author, and publisher; and on the back, a short summary of the book designed to attract readers, a short author bio, the publisher, and the UPC/ISBN information. In addition, of course you want to provide strong images that convey the message of your book.

Q. How should I choose a cover style?
A. Browse the bookstore -- new, not used -- and look at the new releases, particularly in your genre. Book covers change with the times, and it won't take long to detect the patterns that the New York publishers and others are using for their book covers. By no means am I suggesting that you blindly imitate their cover design, but you should be aware of it.
Choose a style that will resonate with your reading audience. For example, if you're writing for men, you won't use soft images of flowers on your cover. Or you shouldn't, anyway!

Q. What are the top 3 things you look for in a book cover?
A. First, I want to know the answers to the big questions about a book -- the title, the author, the subject. So that all should be very clear to anyone reading it. Some big authors with a loyal fan base can get away with hiding that information, but most can't.
Second, I want the book to visually "grab" me. The image doesn't have to be overpowering, but it should be gripping.
Finally, I am looking for unity. Many people work very hard on their front cover and spend little time designing the spine and the back cover -- both very important parts of the book for marketing purposes.