Category Archives: How to Make a Book Cover
8 Ideas that Make Your Book Cover Eye-Catchy
When marketing a book, an eye-catching cover is an essential element. A book cover does more than only present a title and author to potential readers; it sets the tone for the content within and piques interest through visuals and design. Therefore, attracting the right audience with a creative, memorable book cover is key to…
The Roman coin from the Jerusalem Grave Digger
Let me leave you with another story. Years ago, when I was a young philosophy student on the island of Malta, I visited Jerusalem. I loved history and archaeology, so when an old man with a shovel standing in the Jerusalem cemetery offered to sell me a silver Roman coin, I snatched it up. I…
Top 10 Tips for Book Cover Design
In case you don’t end up reading Cover Design Secrets or watching the videos tutorials, here are my TOP TEN TIPS on book cover design that will help you create your own bestselling book covers designs while avoiding rookie design mistakes. 1. Focus on the emotion, not the details. Authors get too caught up in the exact details of…
The Art and Science of Book Design
Albert Einstein said, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” If you consider yourself a creative person, you probably HATE following rules. You might want your book design to “stand out” or “be unique.” You’re also likely to spend far too much time playing…
Why do you write? (Day one)
Thanks so much for signing up for the book design templates! There are links down below, and I can’t wait to help you make your book beautiful, but first I need to tell you something really important: book design and formatting mistakes can sabotage your book sales. I learned that the hard way. I self-published…
Your book is naked (welcome message)
Did you know romance writer R.L. Matthewson went from selling just 5 or 6 copies per day of her book, Playing for Keeps, to over 1,000 per day just by upping her book cover design? A great book cover makes all the difference in the world, if you watch my videos and use my free templates,…
8 cover design secrets publishers use to manipulate readers into buying books
Indie publishers are slowly coming to realize the importance of an amazing book cover. Since many self-publishing authors are starting out on a very small budget however, homemade, DIY book covers are still a popular choice. But be forewarned: although book cover designs come in a wide variety, publishers consistently use reliable, time-tested techniques and…
The 5 critical errors most self-publishing authors make on their book cover design
I’ve been designing covers for a few years, and I often have to confront cover design myths perpetuated by indie-publishing gurus and thought leaders. There’s a lot of advice out there for indie authors, and some of it is contradictory, which has the unfortunate effect of allowing indie authors to accept the advice they like…
Why you should be using clichés in your book cover design
Recently I’ve seen some articles circulating about “Book Cover Clichés” which put a handful of book cover designs from the same genre together to point out the similarities. The point of such articles, I infer, is to shame those cover designers who went for the easy, the obvious, the “cliché” designs instead of trying to…
How to design a bestselling book cover – tips from an expert (with video!)
Earlier this year I spoke at the Author Marketing Live conference in Cleveland about book cover design and book marketing. Today Jim at AMC sent me the video – which is not publicly listed and not supposed to be given away for free – but he’s letting me share it with you. I’m an awkward,…