While the saying “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover” is one I’ve heard numerous times, it is also one that most people don’t pay attention to. The cover draws the reader in. If the cover catches your eye amongst all the other books on the shelf (or on the web page) and gets you to pick up you are much more likely to buy than if the cover doesn’t draw you in. It is the first impression of the book. I want to make a great first impression.
In creating and selecting the cover, much thought goes into the process. There is composition with all of its details like font, font size, font color and so on. There is the picture and what it represents. I’m sure there are probably studies out there that people who read X genre are drawn to X colors or whatever. I only have my gut instinct to go by and the opinions of the people I trust.
In looking at all of my covers, I try to be as creative as possible and practical. I have two versions I have to consider whether it looks good or not – ebook and physical book. In some ways it is easier to create an ebook cover because it only has to be an electronic version.
Suzanne and Vicki have provided me with some incredible pictures to pick from for Moments in Spirit. In looking over the pictures, I cannot narrow it down to just one that I like. This is what led to twelve covers.
I’ve spent the last three days looking at them electronically and getting opinions from Suzanne and Vicki. Next I’ll be asking others randomly which one they like best.
It is a balance of the right pictures, the words standing out, drawing the eye, and representing what is inside. My problem at this stage in the game is I like several of them and have to narrow it down to just one. I think I have it narrowed down to four but getting from four to one is causing me some difficulty.