As a blog for writers and editors that generally focuses on how words are put together in a text, we don’t usually discuss much about book cover design, unless we’re talking about back covers and what goes on them. But today, let’s talk about front cover design.
I recently stumbled on Book Brush, and I have found it to be very useful and user friendly for a new author who is looking for easy-to-use and inexpensive software to help them design their own book covers and make their own social media and other marketing images for book promotion. This is not a paid nor affiliate promotion; I’m just telling y’all about a tool I like that I thought you might also like.
First, Consider Hiring a Professional Book Cover Designer
So, most of the time, I will tell you that hiring a professional is worth it, for a number of reasons.
I understand why many people will choose to design their own book cover rather than hire a professional. Generally, the biggest concern for a self-published author is budget, and professional graphic designers and book cover design packages aren’t always budget friendly.
If you have the option to hire a professional, you might consider it for the following reasons and evaluate them based on some of these criteria. If you are going to move forward with designing your own book cover, realize that you, as your own designer, will be held to the same standards as these professionals. Readers will expect a professional-looking cover, no matter whether the book had a huge team putting it together or was a one-person job.
If you want to hire a professional and you’re working with SRD Editing Services on your manuscript edit, we can recommend several high-quality, experienced, and talented book cover designers. Please just ask!
Reasons to hire a professional book cover designer
- First Impressions Matter: Your book cover is often the first thing potential readers see. A professional cover makes a positive lasting impression, increasing the likelihood that readers will look closer.
- Genre Expectations: Professional designers are familiar with genre conventions and understand what visual elements are effective for different types of books. They can create a cover that aligns with the expectations of your target audience. This can contribute to better marketability and reader engagement.
- Eye-Catching Design: Designers have the skills to create visually appealing and engaging covers that stand out in a crowded market. They know how to use color, typography, and imagery to capture attention and convey the essence of your book.
- Technical Expertise: Professional designers have the technical expertise to create covers that meet industry standards for resolution, color accuracy, and print quality. This is crucial for both digital and print formats.
- Saves Time and Frustration: Designing a cover involves various technical and creative aspects. Hiring a professional allows you to focus on writing and other aspects of publishing while ensuring that your cover is in capable hands.
But, if you are up for the challenge, you feel like you might have a little fun with your book cover design, and/or you are looking to save money with a less-expensive option than hiring a professional, BookBrush might be realistic option for you.
A Little About Book Brush
Book Brush is a platform that provides tools for authors and publishers to create eye-catching graphics and promotional materials for their books. It is designed to help authors with marketing by offering a user-friendly way to create professional-looking images for book covers, social media posts, advertisements, and other promotional materials.
They offer customizable templates, a ton of book-related graphics, and the ability to add text and other elements to create eye-catching book cover designs. The website (no app) aims to simplify the process of creating promotional materials for authors who may not have graphic design expertise.
So sign up for free and check them out!
What to Consider when Designing a Book Cover
Designing a compelling book cover is crucial for grabbing readers’ attention and conveying your book’s genre, central themes, style, and the experience of reading it. (No pressure though!)
When designing your own book covers, here are some best practices to keep in mind:
- Understand Your Genre:
- Different genres have distinct visual conventions. Research successful book covers in your genre (“Shop your comps”) to understand common design elements and colors.
- Eye-Catching Typography:
- Use clear, legible fonts for the title and author name. Ensure the text is large enough to read even in thumbnail size but proportional to the overall imagery on your cover and of the same “mood” as your book’s central themes. Experiment with fonts that match your tone and genre.
- Balanced Composition:
- Create a visually balanced book cover design by placing elements strategically. Consider the rule of thirds, where important elements are placed along the intersections of an invisible grid.
- High-Quality Imagery:
- Use high-resolution images to maintain quality, especially for print covers. Images should be relevant to the book’s content and convey the mood or theme effectively. See below for more about stock images, but whenever possible, try to use unique images that you created yourself or that you have permission from the artist to use.
- Color Palette:
- Choose a color palette that reflects your book’s mood and genre. Consider color psychology to evoke specific emotions. Ensure the colors are visually appealing and work well together.
- Readable at Thumbnail Size:
- Many readers discover books online, so your cover should be recognizable and readable even in small-size images. Test your design by reducing it to thumbnail size to ensure it remains effective.
- Test with Your Target Audience:
- Before finalizing a cover, gather feedback from your target audience. You can use social media, author forums, or beta readers to get opinions on different design options.
Remember that a book cover is a powerful marketing tool, and investing time and effort into its design is an essential part of the overall book publishing process.
Want to read more about fonts?
Check out these two articles to learn more about what fonts are recommended for different book genres, both for book cover design and for the interior text.
Book Cover Design Tip: Use Stock Photos with the Right License
Without getting into too much detail about copyright law and intellectual property rights, (go research it for yourself), it is important to say that if you’ll be using artwork for your book cover, it should either be artwork that you created yourself (including a photo you took yourself), or an image that you have permission from the artist, photographer, etc. to use.
If you don’t have a picture to use for your book cover design, you can’t just do an online search and download/screenshot whatever image you’d like to use and then cut-and-paste it into place. That’s in violation of the law. Instead, you can check for stock photos or artwork of the image you’d like to use. If the licensing rights include commercial publishing, you can use it for the cover of your book without having to seek additional permissions. Some images you might have to pay to obtain the licensing, and others you might be able to download for free. Some you can use “with attribution,” meaning you have to name the artist for the cover image on the copyright page or other public places.
Here, I have put together a list of some platforms that I have personally used where you can find stock images for your book cover design and other marketing needs:
- Pixabay: Pixabay provides a wide range of free images, vectors, and illustrations. It’s important to check the licensing terms for each image, as not all content is free for commercial use without attribution.
- Pexels: Pexels is another platform that offers high-quality, free stock photos for commercial use. It’s important to review the licensing details for each image.
- Adobe Stock: Adobe Stock is a premium stock photo service with a vast collection of high-quality images. While some images are free, many require a purchase or subscription. Make sure to review the licensing options.
- Shutterstock: Shutterstock is a popular stock photo site with a vast selection of images. It is a paid platform, and you need to purchase a license for each image you use.
- iStock: iStock is another paid stock photo site owned by Getty Images. It offers a variety of high-quality images, illustrations, and videos for purchase.
- Depositphotos: Depositphotos provides a range of stock photos, vectors, and videos. It operates on a credit-based system, where you purchase credits to download images.
In fact–spoiler–I may use one or more of these for the images for my blog. Although some images are my own or I have permission, a lot of them are stock images.
When it comes to using images or other content that you personally do not own, it never hurts to speak with legal counsel and seek professional advice on copyright law, intellectual property rights and protections, and licensing specifics.
Easy Book Cover Design Software: Book Brush
So I’m no graphic designer. But I have had to learn how to do some basic work in graphic design programs. Designing your own book cover is no joke. For some people who are visual artists and who pick up computer interfacing quickly, graphic design may come naturally and be a piece of cake. For me, I was glad when I found Book Brush and could actually use their tool in an easy and intuitive way.
The templates help with shortcutting to genre specifications and expectations, and the user-friendly tools make things like font choice and placement (and color specs) simple and straightforward.
And the price is right too. For less than what you would pay a professional book cover designer for a single project, you get a package with Book Brush that allows you to create and publish multiple covers. Overall, I think this is an excellent publishing tool that self-publishing authors should invest in if it’s the right choice for them and their publishing journey.
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