“You can’t tell a book by its cover.” But, we do – all the time. The cover is super-important and is the first contact with the book when you pick it up. Covers signal genre, but the good ones do more than that. They give face to a book’s personality. They create excitement and anticipation. A cover has the power to communicate the book’s genre, tone, and theme, as well as to pique the reader’s interest. A well-designed cover can also make a book stand out in a crowded marketplace, and can help to establish the author’s brand. A book’s cover and its content should be inextricably linked.
Here’s the reaction to the cover of MUTINY from my middle daughter (age 47) yesterday:
- She picks up the book and looks at the cover, commenting, “I love the color” and “it looks really interesting.”
- She reads the back cover and adds, “So, the outcome shocks everyone. I want to know more.”
So, she’s hooked. Meanwhile, my cover designer has changed the spine width to make it fit better. But this led to another issue – the title is too close to the margins. So, I need to wait for the revised cover before uploading it to Amazon for the final version. Once this is done I can order more copies for the book launch :-).
Despite this setback of a few days, the Kindle orders are coming in from readers keen to get a head-start on MUTINY.
Just another exciting day in the life of a self-published author.