Skip to main content

How to Design an eBook Cover that Hooks Readers

The number one rule to remember in designing e-book covers is readability. If people cannot see the images and text on the e-book cover, then they are not going purchase the novel.

Readability is affected by three things:
  1. placement of elements
  2. resolution of image
  3. size of image
Placement of Elements

Your design is going to be made up of some or all of the following:
  1. background colour, texture or image
  2. layered symbol or other image
  3. title text
  4. series text
  5. author text
  6. description text
Too many elements can make for crowded design, which is a "no, no", but if you search cover designs online, you'll find some that incorporate all of the above six items well. Why would you? Well Amazon will not allow text in the "title" section of your book posting that is not on your cover. Think about that in terms of targeting keywords potential readers may be searching.

According to DigitalPublishing101's article The importance of ebook covers, an e-book cover has a different job to do than a print cover. Therefore, e-book design should be more impactful as it has a stronger promotional job to do, so should carry more clues to the book's content.

  1. Decide on the mood or atmosphere of your book. Find images at a stock image site that will fulfill the background of that emotional feeling you are trying to impart to the reader.
  2. Decide what image would best express what your story is about. Find an image that matches up with your story and will look good (contrast) on the background.
  3. Find a font that is readable at thumbnail sizes and that reflects your genre and your story. Find another font that doesn't compete with the first one, and that shows your name clearly. Remember this font will be part of your brand as an author and you might want to use the same font again on other books.
  4. Open an image software program that allows layers. I used pixlr. Use the magic wand, the eraser and opacity settings to lay the two images on each other without looking blocky or placed.
  5. Open an image software like canstock that offers book cover templates and upload all images and fonts. Design your book. Bownload all file choices (JPG, PNG, PDF etc).

Resolution of Image

Resolution refers to the clarity of an image, which is affected by size, pixels and contrast. Digital images are made up of pixels which are small areas of illumination on a screen. Generally, 300 DPI or pixels (dots) per inch is used for print images, and 96 DPI is used for digital images.

Test your book cover at different sizes. Make sure the file size does not go over distributor's guidelines. According to DigitalPublisher101, Amazon has a cover file size limit of 5 MB.

Size of image

E-book covers are shown in different sizes on reading devices and distributor sites. This makes It difficult to ensure a book cover is going to work on all new and older devices, so you really need to do your research and understand the requirements of each distributor (Amazon, ibook etc).

The difference between a print book cover's size and a digital book cover thumbnail is an exercise in math, and one "The Book Designer" has already tackled. According to the article, "Print and e-Book Covers: A Matter of Resolution", e-books have 1/17 of the image information needed for print covers. Author

An e-book cover needs to be visible at a size as small as 2 x 3 cm in an Amazon thumbnail.

It's important to follow all of the technical rules, however,  we don't want to get bogged down in technicalities, because book-buying can also be impulsive, based on emotional responses to a cover, which is created through image, font, atmospheric and genre conventions in the design.

Designing a cover can take a long time, and what you end up with might not be what you started with. See my example below. "The Fergus She" cover went through a number of changes before I got the look and layout I liked and that I felt matched the genre.


Comments

  1. Positive site, where did u come up with the information on this posting?I have read a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style. Thanks a million and please keep up the effective work. eBook Cover Design

    ReplyDelete
  2. How To Design An Ebook Cover That Hooks Readers >>>>> Download Now

    >>>>> Download Full

    How To Design An Ebook Cover That Hooks Readers >>>>> Download LINK

    >>>>> Download Now

    How To Design An Ebook Cover That Hooks Readers >>>>> Download Full

    >>>>> Download LINK 12

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Use MS OneNote to Organize Writing Research and Novel Outlines for Writers

Let’s Get Organized  Writers take a gazillion notes.   I don’t have to tell you this, because you know all about it. You also know how difficult it is to organize notes, search through paper notes, and sometimes even find all the notes you've written.  In this day and age, going digital is the best way to keep track of your notes. If organized properly, digital notes are sortable, searchable, editable, accessible from anywhere, and light as a feather to carry around. In this blog, I'm going to show you how to be note-efficient. ____________________________________________________ The following is an excerpt from "Technology #WritingTips for Writers". First 100 subscribers at http://www.cherylcowtan.com get a free copy at book launch. _____________________________________________________ The first step in getting note-efficient is finding the right software. For writers, finding a software that will meet all of our needs is like trying to pick

First Steps in the Scrivener Waltz

1-2-3, 1-2-OMG! I finally did it. I purchased Scrivener. Now I have to hold onto my self-worth as I try to wrap my brain around the interface. I keep telling myself, so many experts can't be wrong , right? Surely, when I've mastered this program, I'll come out on top. On top meaning I will have a tool that will give me more functionality, save me more time, and overall, make me a more organized and efficient writer. Currently, I'm doing pretty good with a combination of MS Word and Excel, so this baby better be awesome to convince me to convert for long term.  So I start to learn it like I learn all things - jumping in with both feet. Click, click, click, click.... cli... That didn't work. So basically, I've purchased the Scrivener software that experts are saying is functionally amazing, but its user interface is so non-intuitive, I can't figure it out, and I used be an Internet Business Consultant. Surely my skills aren't that rusty.

When Others Steal Your Work - The Margaret Keane story "Big Eyes"

"If you want me out of your life, you'll have to paint me 100 more waifs--100 more Keanes". How does it happen? How can someone take over your art, your heart's-work, and pass it off as their own and you just let it happen? If you've ever wondered how people get themselves stuck in situations that don't serve them, and often harm them, you need to watch the movie "Big Eyes" on Netflix. The film is based on the true story of Margaret Keane, artist of the "big eyes" waif portraits. For 10 years, her husband claimed he was the artist who created her work, and though he couldn't paint, he was a genius salesman and was able to make quite a bit of money and gain a lot of fame through his sales skills. Walter never painted a thing. His wife produced all the paintings for him to sell, often working herself to sleep in a small studio in their house. Even Margaret's daughter was lied to. The film succeeds, for me, in the way it s