The maxim, “Do not judge a book by its cover” is as old as my time itself. Esssentially, it comes down to how our brains are wired. We’re naturally drawn to bright, vivid colours that stand out from our surroundings. Our brains recognise and respond to these eye-catching colours and make us notice them. Different colours can bring up emotions, memories and even cultural associations. Brands and designers use these connections, carefully selecting colours that will best convey their message and attract the attention of their target audience. (dragonflyai.co/resource/blog)
When your book is drab and unable to communicate the beauty conveyed in its content, It will be misjudged by your target audience and rightly so because you haven’t taken the time to do the due diligence.
Ensuring your book is attractive to the audience is a no-brainer. When you show up to produce a book, you must come prepared. Come with your best expertise guided by the publishing team to ensure that every aspect of that work reflects excellence.
How relishing will you find or enjoy a good meal served on a dirty plate? You wouldn’t dare get close right?
This is the same for a book cover, it must be as beautiful as the content. The prospective buyer or reader must be drawn to the book within seconds and must be compelled to make a purchasing decision before paging through the book. I have bought books solely for their front cover design a few times, just maybe because I am a publisher though. We all love beautiful things, don’t we?
“Do not judge a book by its cover”
Unknown
Factors to consider when picking a book cover for you?
- What the book is about should be clear at first glance.
There is no virtue in mystery when it comes to picking the right back cover design for your book. Sometimes mystifying things could work to your advantage (when it is a mystery book), but most times it doesn’t.
People are in a hurry and, hence, do not have the luxury of time to sit pretty with your mysterious book cover. Simplicity and clarity are the better options when considering your book cover.
2. The genre should be clear from when your prospective buyers set their eyes on the cover.
Whether it’s a novel, an inspirational, an academic or a workbook, make the decision-making process of your prospective buyer easier by equipping them with a cue into your book when they see your back cover.
3. Your book should stand out in all the right ways.
Deploy creativity, uniqueness, excellence and innovative thinking. Churning out a book is a big deal, it’s no mean feat, make sure it stands out tall.
4. Ask others
One good way to get the best book cover is to survey your target audience. Send some book designs to a sample population and ask for their opinion. Aside from that, it gives your target audience a heads-up on your book project, and it also invites them to feel some sense of ownership by contributing to the decision-making process of your book.
The process of writing your book cannot be complete without making the right decision for the book cover, make that decision carefully.
A good book should be judged by its good book cover.