They say not to judge a book by its cover, but the fact remains that many do so, especially now that there are budding writers in every corner. With hundreds of titles getting published every year through self-publishing authors in Amazon Books and Wattpad; plus millions of books to choose from in different languages, a memorable and beautiful book cover will definitely be a deciding factor for buyers.
Expectations arise from the cover of the book. Much like people initially judge others by their looks, such is the same in books. A book’s cover represents its face, so if the cover looks sloppy and amateur, they will expect the same from its contents. With such low expectations, the book probably won’t sell as much. That being said, book covers today have become their own business and marketing tool. In order to take a chance at a new author and sell more copies, the book cover needs to draw attention, set the tone of the story, and engage readers on a personal level. That’s a lot of pressure to expect at face value.
Traditional publishers today spend a lot of money on artists and illustrators to come up with creative ideas that translate to what they think will serve as the perfect cover to a title. In fact, book design has become so important that big publishers make different book jackets and covers for different markets. This led them to create as many as 50 covers per book before finally settling.
Even popular titles like the “Harry Potter” series, for instance, have different covers for their British and American readers. Paolo Coelho’s “The Alchemist” has seen multiple covers. Publishing houses even change some covers for books adapted into TV shows and movies to attract those who associate the title more with the film. These are only a few examples of how much thought is put into creating book cover designs.
Self-publishing authors cannot always afford the luxury of hiring multiple designers to create the right cover. Some are lucky enough to be able find artists that they can work intimately with, but this is not always the case. Fortunately, the internet today has a vast number of resource that could help create beautiful and professional book covers with premium designs and formats. Free Templates alone has a vast library of layouts, graphics, images, and illustrations that could help with the cover design.
From simple and classic covers for intellectual volumes, to sweet and romantic photos for novels, to fun and colorful illustration for early readers, Free Templates has ready-made, customizable book covers that are easily downloadable at the touch of your fingertips. Each pre-made template comes with editable and printable designs in different book sizes to ensure that it is compatible even for digital copies such as Kindle and Ebook formats. The world is full of readers who anticipate good book covers as much as the look forward to reading new stories. Pro tip: market your volume to this crowd, and create a buzz that could propel you to literary greatness.