They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover but…come on…we all do. (Note: The original idiom is traced to the novel The Mill on the Floss, written by George Eliot in 1860. In the novel, the reference is to a physical book when the character, Mr. Tulliver, uses it when discussing Daniel Defoe’s The History of the Devil. ) Anyways, whether or not you’re supposed to judge a book (ethically speaking) by it’s cover, at first glance a cover can make or break a readers interest. Does it match genre expectations? Does it look professionally done? These are the quick impressions that a cover can make to a potential reader.
Now, as a self-published author you’re in control of, well, every aspect of the process (unless you hire someone to handle everything) including creating the cover art. I’m not a designer, but I like to think I have a good sense of what looks good and professional. But I wasn’t about to bust out Photoshop or Canva and start haphazardly laying out a cover. I had concepts in mind and I knew what I wanted, I wanted it to be mysterious, but also fit within genre expectations (thriller, sci-fi, technothriller). I skipped the typical silhouetted man/woman on the run with a drone / plane / whatever is after them cover. My story doesn’t have that character. I also wanted a minimalist cover. In the days of over doing it to stand out, things get lost. Keep it simple. I also wanted something a bit more artistic and not something that felt like a bunch of stock photos tossed together. Will this work? No clue. Am I happy with it? Sure am and I’m looking forward to sharing the cover for HOST (coming soon) and all it’s variants. I was lucky enough to have a super talented cousin that jumped at designing the cover, but if I didn’t I certainly would’ve entertained hiring a professional, knowing that that first impression is so important, because, come on….we all judge books by their cover.
Tim and I get into the details of the process, including creating a lookbook (used in film, fashion, design to give direction in stylistic choices, color, etc), and what else to include or look out for when designing a cover in our latest Writer Syndrome episode. Check it out below.
