Some Thoughts About Book Covers

And why I do my own

A week or so ago, The Man Behind the Screen suggested I post an article saying that I do my own cover designs as a way to ward off solicitations coming from designers, both here and in my email (someone on Substack seems to have given that email address out). Instead, I want share some thoughts about book cover designs in general and encourage you authors reading this to steer away from book covers that are AI-generated or just plain trite. If you can’t afford a human designer, I encourage you to design your own covers. After all, it’s not rocket science.

What a Book Cover Should Do:

Tons of articles have been written about what should be on a book cover to catch readers’ attention. In reality, they are a bunch of bunk. Only two things need to be on the cover: the title and the author name. Seriously.

The rest is all window dressing, and frankly book covers have become so much alike that standing out on a bookshelf or online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, BookBub, or the myriad of other sites is nigh on impossible. If you include that window dressing in your cover design, steer away from the cliché things like hunky guys for your steamy romance novel or a robot for your science fiction novel. And a guy standing with a cloak waving in a breeze and a sword in his hand for fantasy novels has been done to death.

Speaking of bookshelves, your book spine design is as important as the front and back. I didn’t get a couple of mine quite right. Not enough contrast between the color of the lettering and the background. But I did better on my latest design—white letters on a medium green.

As for those back covers, don’t miss this chance to grab a reader. Write a blurb that will entice them to read (but don’t mislead or include spoilers). And you can add a short bio and photo if you feel so inclined. I did on my latest cover (A Very Bookish Christmas) after encouragement from my publisher. At first, it seemed a bit too braggadocio. But I figured that the photo, purposely taken to show me a little from the side, would hardly result in me being recognized in public. You might laugh at that, but losing your anonymity is not as fun as it sounds. Just ask the many celebrities who have to cover up and wear sunglasses to go to the grocery store.

Oh, and if you are designing for a book series, have some similarity between them so readers can quickly recognize that they are part of that series.

Some Book Cover Designers & Authors Who Do Their Own:

I have come across a number of designers over time. Here are a few that don’t appear to use AI:

• DW Dixon ⚙️⚙️ – The Steam Stack – Mystery

• Robert Collins – Science fiction, fantasy

• Parker McCoy – Mystery

• Tiffanie Gray – TnTCreationz by Tiffanie

• Nboar art 🎨 – does designs for an author of fantasy books but open to more

• VonnaArt (LaVonna Moore) – site has some samples, custom designs available – Twitter/X account

• The Cover Collection – Twitter/X account

A Bit About Why I Do My Own Cover Designs:

Not sure why anyone would care, but here goes…

Reason 1: Able (just stating fact, not bragging)

Too often people think someone is either a writer (left brain) or visual artist (right brain), but it is very possible for many of us to do both. From childhood on, I have. Now, as an author, the right side of my brain begins to itch at some point during the writing process and starts coming up with ideas for an image to convey to would-be readers what’s going on behind that cover.

Reason 2: Control (very important to me)

This should be Reason 1, I guess. Most publishers have a designer on staff who will do the covers. The catch: You have little or no say in the designs. You give the designer the gist of your book, and the designer takes it from there. Being a bit of a control freak where my creations are concerned, I decided to do the designs, sometimes even before finishing the first writing round (what some call the first draft).

Reason 3: Stand out (so many covers are alike out there)

Look in any bookstore or online book selling site. You’ll see certain styles for different genres (e.g., hunky guy covers for steamy romance or snowy scenes for a Christmas book). How do you stand out if your design blends in? I have strived to make my designs fit the genre but not be trite or just “another face in the crowd.” A good designer will do the same for your books.

Side note: Some think my cover designs won’t attract attention. I can say that, without a doubt, they do. The Wiccan Tales seems especially appealing. Possibly it’s the silver sword. I had a heck of a time getting the eyes to glow just right, but maybe they’re also what attract people. Anyway, I sold out the copies I brought to the author event in late September.

Reason 4: Afford (only costs my time)

Okay, I lied. Cost is a factor for us all, but bottom of my list since all I spend is time. I own Photoshop Elements 10 and know how to manipulate photos into something unique. The chimney on the cover of my first book is a good example (you’d never recognize it from the photo I started with). Another is the necklace on the cover of From the Files of Fontaine Investigations. It’s two pieces combined, and I had to laboriously pick out the background on the gold chain. But all in all, it’s such fun!

My book cover designs as of the posting of this article:

• A Very Bookish Christmas

• From the Files of Fontaine Investigations

• The Greeting Card Girl’s Christmas

• The Wiccan Tales

• The Stardust Alliance and More

• Wind Down the Chimney and Other Eerie Tales

My six books (so far):

I ask a small favor: if you’ve bought and/or read any of these, please post a review here or elsewhere online.

Where to Buy:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub | Books-A-Million | Everand | Apple Books | Kobo | Smashwords | Thalia (German) ebook & print | Angus & Robertson | Mondadori (Italian) | Vivlio (French/English) | Fable | Thriftbooks

Audible Links

Wind Down the Chimney and Other Eerie Tales

The Stardust Alliance and More

The Wiccan Tales

The Greeting Card Girl’s Christmas