Do I or Don’t I . . . Create my Own Book Cover?

I believe we’re in agreement that people do judge books by their covers.  A crappy one’s not going to catch a potential purchaser’s eye, much less make a sale—unless the name on it is recognizable and has a solid following.

A vibrant, eye-catching cover is a must.  Do you pay someone to do it?  A good cover designer doesn’t have to cost much; there are definitely some out there.  You only need do your due diligence.  Ask around.  Get feedback.

Or maybe you do it yourself first, to get a feel for it—to acquire a creative [critical] eye, as it were—before you shell out a few $ to a professional.

. . . Or maybe you do it yourself, period.  A lot have—and successfully.  The cover for Odd Woman Out on Wattpad was designed by yours truly.  It was super simple to do with Canva and, quite frankly, I really like it (that I’ve seen it on another novel is quite beside the point).

Go to a few book cover design sites—many are free—and nose around.  Play a little.  Create a cover for the fun of it or a current project.  Design one that fits your genre and style.  Tweak it until you get it “just right”.

Elements to consider re your cover:

• format (do you go with conventional or do you customize?)
• genre or subject matter
• artwork and photos (stock items or your own, or a combination?)
• font and text
• layout, and
• colors/filters.

The great thing about designing your own cover, particularly if you use “free” software, is that you can put the money you saved toward promotion and marketing/ads.

There are several amazing sites out there, too many to list in one post.  Nor do I want it to appear that I’m endorsing one over the other.  (There’s one, though, that caught my eye and I have to go back.  If I’m as impressed as I believe I’ll be, I may share that one with you in another post.)

In the meanwhile, snoop around.  Google “best e-book cover designers”, “free e-book covers”, “professional book covers”, and so forth.  Sure, it will take time, but consider it a viable investment in your future [sales].

Author: tylerus

I'm primarily a writer of fiction and blog posts, and a sometimes editor and proofreader of books, manuals, and film/television scripts. Fact-checking and researching, organizing and coordinating are skills and joys (I enjoy playing detective and developing structure). My fiction audience: lovers of female-sleuth mysteries. My genres of preference: mysteries (needless to say), women’s fiction, informative and helpful “affirmative” non-fiction. So-o, here I am, staring up a new blog for aspiring and established e-Book writers. The plan: to share the (long) journey of getting to this stage, and share "learnings" and "teachings". There's a lot I hope to accomplish with this blog, but it may be a while before that happens as there's a lot on the ol' plate - taking care of Mom, working full-time, and attempting to get another book in the Triple Threat Investigation Agency series written (never mind blog postings and other writing projects). It's very challenging and it's all good. As I like to say: teeny focused baby steps are just as effective as long forceful strides. It may take a little longer, but we will get there. View all posts by tylerus