2. Book cover

Next is the book cover!

So book covers should depict the content of the book. If your book cover is not eye catching enough, people can easily look past it. If it's not the title they're looking for, it's the visual that will catch their attention before anything else.

Here's what you have to remember:

1) The font and size of the title should be readable/legible/ visible. Colors should complement each other.

Make sure the colors aren't going to strain the eyes and the words can still be recognized/readable if you place it over the image you're using.

Make sure that your book cover has colors that complement each other (not a rainbow mess) or pick one color and work on its different shades that will contribute to the mood that you want to set.

2) Don't mislead your audience.

I'll use an example: There is a book that is about love and passion and inspiring life lessons that will come from the story of two people in-love, but the book cover has a dark background say, a grey sky, a dead tree in the middle and a faded image of two depressed-looking people on either side of the page

Are you getting this visual in your head?

It doesn't match, right?

So make sure that your book cover is related to the story, because this sets the expectation for your audience.

You may think that you don't need to be reminded of this but we tend to overlook things sometimes.

3) Don't get too excited with the pictures, colors and symbols you are about to use.

There are book covers that has too much in it that you can't tell exactly what's going on until you go into the description or the story itself. But if it happens that your book cover does not make sense, it's going to confuse your reader.

So calm down and think.

What are the images or symbols related to your story that you can put together that will depict the mood, emotion, and genre of your story?

Examples:

Dark Fantasy, Mystery Thrillers, Horror: Dark-colored themes. Images, objects or places that are relevant to your story.

Teen Romance, Romantic Comedy, Cheerful fanfics: Lighter color themes. Symbols that represent the main genre of your story like maybe a heart for love and romance.

And whatever ideas you have!

4) Again, what is your story about?

If it helps, look at the main setting where your story is mostly going to take place or the main location like a school, an asylum, prison, the ocean, in space, whatever. If your story revolves around mostly that place and it's vital to your plot, then use that image for your book cover and add whatever things that can go with it.

If not the setting, maybe an important object that is crucial to your story like a family heirloom, a jewel, an old notebook that holds secrets, whatever your story is about.

If you don't give a crap about your book cover, it shall reflect and people will know. How? Well, if you don't at least make a decent book cover, it's going to tell people that you don't care about your story, or you just don't care to make an effort.

Next!