Set Your Book Up for Success with an Eye-catching, Unique, Creative, Honest Cover

It’s true: People do judge a book by its cover

The other day, I made a red velvet cake without the red food coloring because I didn’t have it on hand. I figured the red dye didn’t matter to the flavor of the cake; it only added something artificial to an otherwise from-scratch dessert. After some reflection, I decided I loved the idea of making the cake without the dye—I saved myself time and money.

The cake came out of the oven looking luscious and dark from the cocoa powder in the batter. After it cooled, I topped it with a white cream cheese frosting. When my kids came into the kitchen, they dropped their backpacks and made a beeline for the cake. I cut them each a piece.

“Chocolate cake with vanilla frosting!” my son said as he grabbed a fork from the drawer.

“No, actually. It’s red velvet cake without the food coloring. I call it brown velvet.”

They devoured the cake, declaring it the best brown velvet they had ever had. But, my daughter added, “It might have been confusing if you hadn’t told us what it was first.”

Seeing a chocolate cake, the kids expected a punch of rich, chocolatey flavor. They may have been not only confused but disappointed by the subtle cocoa flavor and cream cheese frosting. The episode convinced me to buy the red dye next time so that I don’t have to explain my cake. Cakes should need no explanation.

Can you see the analogy coming? Your book should need no explanation, either. The cover of your book should show readers exactly what to expect. Meeting expectations is foundational to any successful transaction, including book sales.   

Authors of genre fiction know this rule better than anyone. A spy novel must look like a spy novel, just as a romance needs to look like a romance—mountain tops, flames, bulging muscles, you know the deal. Because we authors are creative and boundary-pushing, it can be tempting to break the mold with our covers. We must resist this urge.

Your cover is not the place to explore new territory—save that impulse for the writing of the book. The cover is where you visually explain what to expect from your story in a way that is easily recognizable and maybe even familiar to readers.

Memoir and biography do not have the strict commandments of genre fiction when it comes to cover design. You simply want a cover that will speak volumes about the kind of story you’re telling. Is your story quirky and funny? Dealing with trauma? Multi-generational? About a career in the military or medical field, or about raising a big family?

Your cover should suggest both the topic and the tone of your book. Memoirists often use a photograph to convey the essence of their story, but you can also use an illustration or an abstract design. You can create a cover similar to that of a best-selling memoir if you think your book would appeal to similar readers. Again, your cover is not the place to be unique (unless you are a best-selling author, like Jenny Lawson, and then you would not be reading my blog).

One of the benefits of publishing independently is being able to direct your own cover design. Yes, you have to hire a designer, but that also means you can have exactly the cover you want. When you publish traditionally, you usually have little to no control over the cover (or the book’s title, for that matter).

The publisher of my dad’s memoir came back from meetings with book buyers saying that I needed to change the title, “Kill the Gringo.” Book stores wanted to position the book as a serious foreign service memoir. Had they read the book, they would have known that missed the mark.

Dad’s book told the story of his career in the foreign service with an irreverent, funny tone; it was the opposite of a stuffy State Department memoir. The title referred to the crowd’s chant in Mexico during my dad’s first professional boxing match, and it played nicely with the multiple attempts on his life during his time in Latin America.

Thankfully, my agent successfully fought to keep the title. But when it came to the cover, the publisher had its way. Out of all our colorful pictures of Dad, from dancing the cumbia in Panama to giving a speech wearing knitted earmuffs and streamers around his neck, they chose the classic State Department shot: Dad shaking hands with President Johnson. They also, in a sneaky move with fonts, made the title smaller than the author’s name.

Readers coming across the book might be confused to see such a quirky title paired with a conservative photo. Maybe they stick around long enough to read the back cover and learn more about the tone and subject matter. But many potential buyers probably move right along, not wanting to invest the time to figure it out.

You don’t want to mislead people into thinking your book is something it’s not—that only creates dissatisfied readers and angry Amazon reviews. By setting realistic expectations with your cover, you attract the right kind of readers, who are much more likely to enjoy your book.

People eat with their eyes, so the saying goes. Your red velvet cake should be red, darn it, even if it means making a special trip to the store for food coloring. People buy books based purely on the cover—sad but true—so your cover should be honest and specific about what kind of book it is.