The basic rule of cover design is that the cover should match the contents of the book.

That means that the style, format, and message of the cover should be compatible with and support the style, format, and message of the book itself.

An effective cover design should have at least some of the following elements:

Use a standard format.

The book should look like a book, and especially like other books with similar contents. If you want to attract the attention of buyers of a specific genre, your books must look like other books within the genre. Just as all oatmeal boxes look alike, so must all romance novels that hope to sell to repeat buyers. In the case of romance novels, this means a cover with a feminine typeface combined with an illustration of a man and woman caught in a wild embrace.

Follow trends.

Lately, the covers of romance novels have featured more flesh on the man than the woman—a sign that publishers have finally figured out who the buyers are. For hardcover romances where the publisher is trying to break the writer out to a wider general audience, the covers tend toward fancy type and flowers—a genteel approach that seems to work.

At the same time, the book must look different.

It must be able to stand out in the crowd. That is one reason Zebra Books printed holograms on the covers of its romance novels. It hoped to distinguish its line of novels so the books stood out on the paperback racks and thereby attracted more attention from potential buyers. Similarly, Bantam put an embossed silver foil dust jacket on Leona Blair’s novel Privilege so it would stand out from the other hardcovers on the shelves.

Be bold and simple.

The front cover of a book should be bold and simple, more like a billboard (which it is) than a full-page display ad. The cover should be uncluttered, easy to read (with highly readable type), and simple enough that the casual browser can catch the title and name of the author without searching for either.

Put the most important element at the top.

Generally speaking, the title of the book should be featured at the top of the cover. It’s the first thing the reader should see. If, however, the author is well-known and more important than the title, then feature the author’s name in bold type at the top of the cover. With bestselling novelists, the author is the brand and, hence, his or her name sits at the top of the book proclaiming the brand.

Feature sales information.

Besides the author and title, feature any other information that could be useful in selling the book. Touchstone, for instance, took advantage of the controversy surrounding the movie, The Last Temptation of Christ, to bring out a new edition of the book by Nikos Kazantzakis featuring the artwork from the film’s lobby card.

Choose a correct typeface.

The typography of the front cover should match the style of the book. For example, a simple typeface is more appropriate for a serious book while a fancy script typeface might be more appropriate for a romance novel. Novelty books, on the other hand, might use a casual typeface such as Hobo.

Typefaces come in all sorts of styles from simple to complex, feminine to masculine, romantic to businesslike, strong and bold to light and airy. Be sure that your graphic designer selects a typeface that matches the style and subject of the book.

Note: In 99% of books, the typeface should be a display face not a text face.

Use illustration where appropriate.

Fiction should have an illustrative element on the cover while nonfiction can do without any graphic elements. Indeed, serious nonfiction books may be better served by a simple bold headline and little else. Again, the design of the cover depends on the style and subject of the book as well as the intended audience.

Next: Elements of Good Cover Design II

John Kremer

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