5 Common Book Cover Mistakes & Tips to Create Your Own Great Cover

Samples of what’s possible with Microsoft Word from DIYBookCovers.com.

Book covers are important marketing tools, and are difficult to do well on your own unless you possess insight about what works and design skills. In September, we shared takeaways from Derek Murphy’s talk at Author Marketing Live to help you work with a designer. Murphy is an author, book cover designer, and editor. Today we’ll pass along common mistakes that authors make when they take the DIY route and tips for creating a winning cover.

If you want your DIY book cover to sell your books, avoid these common mistakes.

1. Don’t focus on a scene or symbolism. Your cover’s purpose is to attract readers, not explain the story beyond conveying the book’s genre. Murphy recommended focusing on the heart, not the head, to attract readers.

2. Don’t try to be different or interesting. The cover is not an expression of your creativity; it’s the book’s calling card.

3. Don’t give the reader a puzzle or a surprise. You don’t want a potential reader guessing about whether they want to buy your book.

4. Don’t use a font that doesn’t work well. Font styles that have drop shadow or beveled edges, for example, are too busy and unattractive for covers.

Here are tips to help you create a successful DIY book cover.

1. Make it pop. Use contrasting light and dark colors. Teal and orange are a great combination for fiction.

2. For nonfiction use a light or white cover with one central image. A clever and simple juxtaposition is appropriate.

3. For a series, use one decorative font, and two simple fonts. One item among the author’s name, the name of the series, and the title of the book can be in a more ornate font. The other two should be simple so that the cover is not cluttered.

4. Use stock photography rather than illustrations. Using a face to convey an emotion is better than a symbol or drawing.

5. Your cover shouldn’t need words. The image should communicate your genre and generally what the book is about.

For more guidance, check out Murphy’s sites CreativINDIE and DIY Book Covers. If you’d like feedback on your book cover, you can upload it to another of Murphy’s sites: Does my book cover suck, or is it awesome?

Is there one takeaway here that you can apply today? Tweaks you want to make to your current covers? Are you inspired to run with other ideas? We invite you to share what’s next in your own journey to successful authorpreneurship. And, be sure to sign up for regular updates from the Captain’s Publishing Blog so you won’t miss any of these posts!

/Leslie

Sleaze-Free Marketing With Julia Kline

Does the word marketing make you cringe? Do you feel uncomfortable marketing your books? You’re not alone. Plenty of authors love writing books but are reluctant to market and sell them. Today we share takeaways from Julia Kline’s talk at Author Marketing Live to help you change the way you think about marketing. Kline is the author of The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sleaze-Free Selling, which is designed to help authors and other business owners create successful and heart-centered marketing strategies.

1. Fix your mindset about yourself, your art, and your business. We believe that our creations have intrinsic value. But when a creation becomes a product, it seems to lose that quality. We need to fix our mindset so that we understand that the intrinsic value doesn’t change when we offer it.

2. Sleaze-free selling offers the intrinsic value of your work while taking into account the reality of the world. You can’t wait for people to discover your books. You need to spread the word. And earning money from your creations allows you to support yourself while creating more.  

3. When you understand that your offering has value, it’s impossible for sales tactics to be sleazy. Heart-centered marketing is about offering your creation to people who need or want it. This is not a sleazy proposition.

4. You’ll feel willing to charge a fair price and talk about your creation without being pushy. Being clear that your book provides information or entertainment (or both!) creates space for you to receive payment for what it’s worth and find your ideal readers.

5. You won’t be devastated when someone says no. You don’t need external validation to know your book’s value. Focus on finding those who need and want what you’re offering and getting your books into their hands.

Have you had a hard time marketing your books in the past? Are you ready to shift your mindset? We invite you to share in the comments below your experience and what’s next in your own journey to successful authorpreneurship. We’ll keep sharing more Author Marketing Live takeaways and other resources right here. Be sure to sign up for regular updates from the Captain’s Blog: Publishing so you won’t miss any of these posts!

/Leslie