Judging a Book by Its Cover...And Its Title

Everyone says not to judge a book by its cover, yet we all do it. (Yes,
I'm looking at YOU). We also judge books by their titles. Why else would
we pick up a book? Unless someone recommended it to you, there usually
isn't another reason (unless you're lying or you had some spontaneous urge
to pick up a book at random).
That's why I'm here to help you. Your book needs an awesome cover
and title if it's going to survive in the book world. But how do you come up
with an awesome cover and title? There are a few ways.

Ask Yourself a Few Questions

1. Is your title unique? Do a quick Google search for your title. If
more than ten books show up with the exact same title as yours, you need to
choose something else, otherwise your book will get lost in the shuffle.

2. Is it cool? Which book are you more likely to pick up: The Day a
Purple Squirrel Ate My Brains or something vague like The Shadow? It
needs to be catchy, it needs to be memorable, it needs to be cool.

3. Does it put an image into your head? When you hear something,
an image automatically appears in your mind. When you say your title out
loud, what do you think of? Is the picture clear or kind of fuzzy around the
edges? A good title is the start of a good book cover, so make sure it's a
great one.

Cover Time



Take a look at your favorite books from the genre you write in. What
do their covers look like? Are they realistic or cartoony? Simple or
extravagant? Are the covers busy and bright or is there just one image on the
front, maybe a pair of socks or a cat? Study those covers carefully and
follow these steps to create your own cover.

1. Find a picture
Make sure the picture isn't copyrighted, of course, but find a few
pictures that fit with your title and book that you like. Save them to your
computer.


(My dad designed the cover,
I came up with the title.)



2. Start playing around with your fonts
Is your book funny and goofy? Something sort of rough around the
edges and fun is great for that. If it's a romance, maybe a cursive font would
be best. If your book is a mystery or horror, something big and bold is great.
Find something that you like and use that.

3. Put them together
Mess around with your picture and do some editing until it's to your
liking. Once you've done that, use your preferred font to put the title and
your name on the picture. Save it and there you have it! A perfect book
cover.

Of course, you'll be using a professional cover when your book gets
published, but this is a great way to start getting your audience excited about
your book so they'll already know lots about it even before it gets published.
(Plus, this was fun, wasn't it)?


What's your book called? Do you have any tips when it comes to 
making your cover? Share in the comments!

Big thanks to the "magicviolinist" for this truly awesome blog post! Be sure to check out her blog here