When a reader cruises the bookstores, whether online or physical, they often walk down the aisle containing books that reflect their favorite genres.  One of the very first things that catches the eye is the cover of the book; sometimes even before the title or the author.

In today’s competitive market, catching the eye of the reader is the most important step in marketing your work.

The book cover represents the concept of your book.  Not only does it need to catch the reader’s eye, but it needs to honestly reflect the contents within.  There is nothing as annoying as opening a book, perhaps with a horse on the cover, and discovering there in nothing connected to horses, to the culture of horses, to people who own horses, within the book.  The reader feels cheated, or at the least, led astray.

With the basic image decided upon, the author needs to consider the font, size, and placement of the title of the book.  If the reader sees a knight on a horse as the basic design, then it follows that the title script should reflect that era.  The caution here is to not use such artistic script as to make the title difficult to read.

The third element of cover design is the author’s name.  The author’s name needs to be easily read.  Placement and size, in comparison to the title, needs to be considered as well.

Many authors commission professional cover designers.  If, however, this is not a possibility, or the author simply wants to produce their own covers, Jonathan Gunson has provided a list of wonderful links to FREE professional photographs that can be used in cover designs.  http://www.bestsellerlabs.com