It stands to reason that writers want to create an appealing cover that draws the eye. Cover art can make or break a book especially if the author isn’t well-known. What kind of front cover will grab the reader’s attention? What kind of cover art should a book display? A lot depends on the genre of the book itself.
Here’s what I’ve discovered in researching this
topic:
The cover should be appropriate to the type of book. A basic question to ask: is the book going to be sold on the shelf of a bookstore or is it going to be available only online? Is the novel going to be a hardcover, trade, paperback, e-book or audio—possibly all of these?
With hardcover
fiction books, as with all others, the cover needs to fit the genre, be
attractive, while the title should be easy to read and intriguing. Cover art
needs to play fair with readers so that they don’t feel cheated when they
select a book.
Paperbacks need
simplicity in covers. The artwork should also support the title and the genre. E-book
covers shouldn’t be too fussy or busy either. The old saying “less is more”
works best for a book cover that’s displayed online. A short title with a
large, easily readable font and bright contrasting colors shows up well on the
computer screen. Avoid covers that are complicated and hard to read. Plain,
simple graphics are preferable.
In summary:
What are the qualities of good cover art?
We can read the title and author and all subheadings with
ease.
The image doesn't interfere with the written information.
The book cover is memorable:
simple yet vivid and pleasing to the eye.
The theme is expressed by the image and in
keeping with the genre of the book.
The bottom line for good book covers is that
they make you want to read what's inside.
My
editor at Luminosity informed me that
THE LOST LADY, my new novel, has gone live for pre-order on Amazon. Take a look at how it's presented! You can tell me what you think of the book cover. I would appreciate your thoughts.
