This is a complicated question and every book and every situation is different, but my guidelines would be as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Communicate genre<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Take a look at these two images: <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Which is better? The first is the current book cover, the second one is from the movie DVD. Assume that the book is newly launched and can\u2019t yet sell itself on name and reputation alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the answer, surely, is that the actual book cover does a very poor job. The book is a dystopian fantasy involving an all-action teenage heroine. The readers you want to attract are young adults who want a dystopian fantasy featuring an all-action teenage heroine. The first image is \u2026 what? A historical novel? A lament for vanishing wildlife? A literary meditation of some sort? It\u2019s entirely unclear. (That\u2019s not a criticism of the 2025 cover, though. The book has become iconic, so it can afford a purely iconic cover.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The DVD cover on the other hand does everything it needs to do. Dystopian? Yep. Fantasy? Well, probably, because most contemporary teenage girls don\u2019t mess around with flaming arrows. Tough teenage heroine? Uh, yes. And the font says \u201cspeculative \/ future-set\u201d not \u201cRoman \/ classical \/ literary \/ boring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, that\u2019s your cover\u2019s first job. Communicate genre. Establish an immediate link with the reader you\u2019re targeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Communicate niche<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Within any genre, there are any number of sub-genres. Cosy crime has a different vibe and a different readership from mainstream police procedurals\u2026 and both of those feel very different from gangland, mobster-type crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your cover needs to find the niche within the niche. Your target reader needs to become curious with her very first glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ignore your book<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n OK, you don\u2019t have to ignore what actually happens in your book, and if the image in the cover relates to the text itself, then so much the better. But the worst self-made covers I\u2019ve seen all fall into the trap of trying to interpret, over-literally, the story and settings of the actual text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps those covers would be satisfying to people who had already read the novel and understood the allusions. But this is a marketing tool! People don\u2019t know what those allusions mean. The cover has to attract people in \u2013 not provide an after-dinner mint to people who have just enjoyed your offering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a cover that has effectively nothing to do with the text of the book:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The book is \u2013 duh! \u2013 not about moths and windowpanes. But who cares? It\u2019s beautiful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Layer your messages <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Clare\u2019s book cover also nudges a further point. The title has an opportunity to convey a message (or messages) of some sort. The cover art gives you a second opportunity to do the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So don\u2019t repeat yourself! Set up an interesting reverberation between the two<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Suppose that book cover had shown an open hand and a moth flying away \u2013 that would have repeated<\/em> the message of the cover\u2026 and produced something utterly bland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As it is, the cover here says, \u201cTrapped.\u201d The title says, \u201cReleased\u201d. What\u2019s going on? It\u2019s that sort of question which invites further investigation. That\u2019s the question which makes you read the shoutline. (\u201cA tragic accident. A past you can\u2019t escape.\u201d) <\/p>\n\n\n\n In effect, the reader is being led along like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Beautiful image (of the right sort of mood) attracts the eye<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. The title and the image kind of fight each other, prompting curiosity<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. The shoutline (and the title, and the domestic image) confirms your hunch that this is a psych thriller and that there are interesting mysteries to explore<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. You pick up the book and turn it over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2 \u2013 the layering of the messages \u2013 is absolutely crucial to the whole sequence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In effect, the title and the cover are dancing a tango \u2013 but in loose (\u201copen\u201d) embrace instead of close embrace. You feel the linkage, but you also feel a distance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The open question <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For the same kind of reason, the title \/ cover needs to invite a question. That\u2019s why the classic romance cover (woman in big dress, man with very open shirt) invites derision. It\u2019s so single note: a tune played with one finger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The best covers \u2013 even in the romance aisle, where readers are seeking a relatively simple happy ever after story \u2013 all play with two hands, a full range of notes. Books like these: <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Those covers are beautiful… they talk about romance and <\/em>they intrigue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That book about summer yells about happy summer days \u2013 but then strongly suggests them ending. Huh? What happens to this happy, splashy couple? <\/p>\n\n\n\n And a book offering a love story shouldn\u2019t talk about endings, surely? So what\u2019s going on with the pair in the Yulin Kuang novel? <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIsabel and the Rogue\u201d has a rather more typical romance title \u2013 naming both parties and suggesting the guy has some growing up to do \u2013 but the image subverts that. The yellow-dress woman looks very much in control. The nice chap sitting next to her looks very mannerly and not at all rogue-y. So what\u2019s going on? The same title with an image that just repeats the \u2018girl + rogue\u2019 meme of the title would be killingly bad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In every case, it\u2019s an open question which intrigues the reader and prompts exploration. I think it\u2019s probably true that EVERY good cover creates that intrigue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Work at thumbnail size <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you\u2019re working with a trad publisher or whether you\u2019re commissioning your own self-pub cover, you will find that your designer presents you with your cover image at the hugest scale the internet can deal with. Ideally, a designer would like you to view the cover at monster size in the comfort of your own home cinema. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Which means that the first thing you should do is shrink that damn cover down to Amazon-thumbnail size and see if it still works. Every test I\u2019ve suggested in this email needs to work at diddy-size as well as at full size. As a matter of fact, I always think it\u2019s helpful to superimpose your draft cover on a screen grab of an Amazon search page to see if your cover holds up against the competition you will face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Make a fuss <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n My last command is for you, not your book cover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s this: I know you are a very nice person. You\u2019re like the gentleman seated next to Isabel, very nicely mannered, always ready to pass a bun and apologise for any crumbs on the carpet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But if your cover is weak, say so, say so, say so. You have a pram, I hope? Throw toys out of it. Throw your sticky bun on the carpet. You wish to hurl, not throw? Then hurl away. Hurl hard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Do not accept a mediocre cover. I\u2019ve done that too often in my career (publishers coax you into acceptance), but do not do it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Make a mess. Yell. Scream. Get yourself a decent cover. That\u2019s easy to do if you\u2019re self-publishing. Harder to do \u2013 but just as essential \u2013 if you\u2019re trad-publishing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can go back to being nice again afterwards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Feedback Friday is all on titles this week. Anyone can have a go. I\u2019ll be around, offering feedback, but my feedback is only for Premium Members, so if you\u2019re not a PM, you have a sad life ahead, unless you Do What Needs To Be Done<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/townhouse\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/717sZ4cUoSS._AC_UY327_FMwebp_QL65_.webp\")
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