{"id":5706,"date":"2022-02-02T17:36:09","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T17:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/?p=5706"},"modified":"2024-02-07T15:39:07","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T15:39:07","slug":"what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Include in Your Book Cover Design"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re all told not to judge a book by its cover, yet, that\u2019s exactly what we do. It\u2019s simple human nature. As an author, you want people to see your book cover design and decide to jump in and read it.<\/p>\n<p>In one quick glance, your book cover must grab your reader\u2019s attention and tease your story, without giving it away. A well-designed cover is what invites your reader to visit your world, kick their shoes off, and stay awhile. Let\u2019s take a look at the basics of good cover design and how you can work effectively with a professional designer, like the experts at Publish Pros, to get the perfect look for your book cover.<\/p>\n<h2>Creating book covers that pop<\/h2>\n<p>The best way to start designing your book cover is to take a step back and think. Consider your writing process. Do you just jump in and start writing? Or do you think about your characters, your setting, and your audience, and use those as a guide as you create your outline?<\/p>\n<p>The same idea applies to great book covers. You need to do some homework before you even hire your designer. And yes, unless you are extremely experienced in publication design, it is best not to design your own cover.<\/p>\n<h2>Keep your readers in mind<\/h2>\n<p>So, before you start conjuring potential cover designs in your head, think about your book, your genre, and especially, your target audience. What emotions are you trying to convey with your cover? Besides the title, what would entice a reader to cross the bookstore and grab your book off the shelf?<\/p>\n<p>Look at lots of book covers, logos, websites, stock pictures \u2013 even Pinterest boards \u2013 for inspiration. Think about the colors, fonts, styles and imagery that appeal to you. Focus on a few that best capture the elements you really like. Share these visual examples with your designer, so he or she understands your taste and preferences as you work together on your cover, but also be open to ideas from the professional.<\/p>\n<h2>Book covers for series and multiple formats<\/h2>\n<p>Consider whether your book is going to be part of a series, and in which formats you\u2019re offering your book. Hardback covers can vary greatly from paperback or eBook covers, and your designer can help guide your design choices accordingly. If you\u2019re producing a series, you ideally want design elements \u2013 like font, color, or subject image \u2013 that tie your books together, look great in your chosen format(s), and work well across multiple books. In paperback versions, the spine may actually be more important, especially considering the <a href=\"\/understanding-isbn-for-authors\/\">placement of your ISBN and your barcode<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Keep your design simple, and make sure it looks just as great as a thumbnail image as it does full size, especially if most of your sales are online, because people will see that version of your cover before they click. Remember the old adage, \u201cless is more.\u201d What is NOT on your cover is just as important as what is.<\/p>\n<p>Again, remember your book cover isn\u2019t for you \u2013 it\u2019s for your reader. You may not like it, but you also may not be the target audience. Be brave and go with a design your readers will love.<\/p>\n<h2>Let\u2019s get started!<\/h2>\n<p>Whether you\u2019ve written a novel, a memoir, a book of poetry, or a how-to book, you deserve to work with a professional designer who can translate your vision into a book cover that will instantly attract readers. Let the experienced design team at Publish Pros create a cover that stands out in a crowd.<a href=\"\/contact\/\"> Contact us<\/a> or visit our<a href=\"\/book-cover-design-services\/\"> book cover design services page<\/a> to learn more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re all told not to judge a book by its cover, yet, that\u2019s exactly what we do. It\u2019s simple human nature. As an author, you want people to see your book cover design and decide to jump in and read it. In one quick glance, your book cover must grab your reader\u2019s attention and tease&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.5 (Yoast SEO v22.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What to Include in Your Book Cover Design | Publish Pros<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn what to include in your book cover design to attract the right audience and make your book stand out both online and on the shelves.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What to Include in Your Book Cover Design\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn what to include in your book cover design to attract the right audience and make your book stand out both online and on the shelves.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Publish Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/publishpros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-02T17:36:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-07T15:39:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/what-to-include-in-book-cover-design.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mhall@publishpros.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mhall@publishpros.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"mhall@publishpros.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3ca8335d471e15d8a973e0e949a9b5bd\"},\"headline\":\"What to Include in Your Book Cover Design\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-02T17:36:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-07T15:39:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/\"},\"wordCount\":627,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/what-to-include-in-book-cover-design.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Book Design\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/\",\"name\":\"What to Include in Your Book Cover Design | Publish Pros\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/what-to-include-in-book-cover-design.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-02T17:36:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-07T15:39:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn what to include in your book cover design to attract the right audience and make your book stand out both online and on the shelves.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/what-to-include-in-book-cover-design.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/what-to-include-in-book-cover-design.jpeg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"Wondering what your book cover design should include? Find out here from the self-publishing specialists at Publish Pros\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What to Include in Your Book Cover Design\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/\",\"name\":\"Publish Pros\",\"description\":\"Your Self-Publishing Partners\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Publish Pros\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/logo-pp.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/logo-pp.png\",\"width\":179,\"height\":33,\"caption\":\"Publish Pros\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/publishpros\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/publish_pros\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/publish-pros\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC-XdBmrKQm3e2ZlL1PF9Ewg\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3ca8335d471e15d8a973e0e949a9b5bd\",\"name\":\"mhall@publishpros.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/129587db4c9b20ca3ebc31817696a5f6?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/129587db4c9b20ca3ebc31817696a5f6?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"mhall@publishpros.com\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/author\/mhallpublishpros-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What to Include in Your Book Cover Design | Publish Pros","description":"Learn what to include in your book cover design to attract the right audience and make your book stand out both online and on the shelves.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What to Include in Your Book Cover Design","og_description":"Learn what to include in your book cover design to attract the right audience and make your book stand out both online and on the shelves.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/","og_site_name":"Publish Pros","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/publishpros","article_published_time":"2022-02-02T17:36:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-07T15:39:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/what-to-include-in-book-cover-design.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"mhall@publishpros.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"mhall@publishpros.com","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/"},"author":{"name":"mhall@publishpros.com","@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3ca8335d471e15d8a973e0e949a9b5bd"},"headline":"What to Include in Your Book Cover Design","datePublished":"2022-02-02T17:36:09+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-07T15:39:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/"},"wordCount":627,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/what-to-include-in-book-cover-design.jpeg","articleSection":["Book Design"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/","url":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/","name":"What to Include in Your Book Cover Design | Publish Pros","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/what-to-include-in-book-cover-design.jpeg","datePublished":"2022-02-02T17:36:09+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-07T15:39:07+00:00","description":"Learn what to include in your book cover design to attract the right audience and make your book stand out both online and on the shelves.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/what-to-include-in-book-cover-design.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/what-to-include-in-book-cover-design.jpeg","width":1000,"height":667,"caption":"Wondering what your book cover design should include? Find out here from the self-publishing specialists at Publish Pros"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/what-to-include-in-your-book-cover-design\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What to Include in Your Book Cover Design"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/","name":"Publish Pros","description":"Your Self-Publishing Partners","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#organization","name":"Publish Pros","url":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/logo-pp.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/logo-pp.png","width":179,"height":33,"caption":"Publish Pros"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/publishpros","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/publish_pros\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/publish-pros","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC-XdBmrKQm3e2ZlL1PF9Ewg"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3ca8335d471e15d8a973e0e949a9b5bd","name":"mhall@publishpros.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/129587db4c9b20ca3ebc31817696a5f6?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/129587db4c9b20ca3ebc31817696a5f6?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"mhall@publishpros.com"},"url":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/author\/mhallpublishpros-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5706"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5706"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5708,"href":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5706\/revisions\/5708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publishpros.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}