1960's Dell Purse Books...HAIR STYLES by MADsLucky13, on Flickr
I recently read an article entitled “How to Design a Book cover that Annoys Booksellers” by Gary Robson. The title alone caught my eye.
Robson uses reverse-psychology to write an informative, tongue-in-cheek list of what to do if you WANT bookstores to NOT carry your book — something every writer desires, right?
In this short article, he covers eleven areas you can use to annoy bookstore owners and make sure they don’t pick up your book. I have highlighted several that pertain to the ebook publishers, but recommend you read the full article – even for a good chuckle. Then take a look the next time you are in a bookstore and see how many fall into the “annoy” category.
IF YOU….
Ignore White Space…
…you increase confusion about your book.
Some authors feel to be seen among all the competition, making the title and author name as huge as possible is the answer–the bigger the better. One of the first rules of Graphic design is maintain your white space. Too little white space only makes the cover confusing and hard to decipher. Keep it Simple.Choose Art Over Functionality
…you show your amateur colors
You may think the brighter more visible the art the better, it is far from the truth. Additionally, just slapping together graphics, photos and fonts will make your cover look more like a ransom note than a polished book cover.Use the EXACT Same Cover for your Series
…you make it difficult for customers
Books that are part of a series should have a similar design look. Use the same font style, and include the series’ name and sequence numbers so customers can easily pick up your book. However, change out the photos or graphics so each book of the series is easily identifiable and unique.Fail to Proofread, You Fail
…nothing shouts amateur than a book riddled with typos and grammatical errors
Customers and booksellers use the internet to search for books. Using cute and cleaver misspellings for the title makes is hard for people to find your book, unless you are Stephen King. On the same note, a book filled with typos is unforgivable. ‘Nuff said.
Conclusion
An effective cover design is just as important as the material it holds. Not only for the sake of sales, but your reputation. Take the time to ensure you offer your fans and reader audience the professionalism they deserve.
