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When they say “Don’t Judge A Book By it’s Cover”, it may sound just right metaphorically but in a literal sense, it does not really fit. People do judge a book by its cover.

A book cover is the first thing a reader looks at. If you fail to design a cover that reflects the actual story of the book, you may not be able to attract the kind of attention you want your book to get.

If you are self-publishing, designing a book cover for your own book after spending sleepless nights writing it may sound intimidating. 

You can maximize the potential of your book by hiring a professional book cover designer. Make sure you hire someone who can visually put forward the core of your book to your audience.

Working with book cover designers can be a little complex since things work differently in the creative world.

It might be difficult for you to work with someone with who you have never interacted before, especially when you are new at book writing. You may find it difficult to explain to the designer what you actually want.

Here are a few tips that will guide you through your process of working with a book cover maker.

Discuss The Cost Right Before You Get Into The Actual Work.

It may sound very straightforward and cocky if you bring up the price right away, but that is how the market works. Discussing your price right at the beginning will give you an idea of what to expect. Remember, different genres may have different prices.

For example, a book cover for a sci-fi novel may cost more than other genres as it may require designing special sci-fi characters and creatures along with vivid movement and colors. It is important to discuss everything upfront with the designer before you get into the actual work.

If you are new to book writing, make sure you do your research before hiring someone so that you can work with them in the long run.

Hire a book cover designer who works in your genre and has good reviews from other book writers.

Research As Many Book Cover Examples As You Can

It is crucial to do your research so you have the maximum number of options to choose from. If you are not an expressive person, explaining what kind of cover you want may become a challenge. This is where your book cover examples can help you. 

Book cover designers are experts in what they do. If you show them an example, they will easily be able to predict the exact design you are looking for.

It is evident that a designer is not going to read your book to understand what you exactly want. You need to give them the bigger picture to understand. Point out the most important elements of your book. For example, the mood, theme, color combinations,  font, size, title etc.

Look out for books that have a similar genre and story to yours and take inspiration from them. If you are still confused about what exactly you want your cover to look like, just show your designer as many examples as you can so that it can give them some direction to start on.

Respect The Ideas Of Your Book Cover Designer

Your designer may come up with a few designs of your book with similar elements but different angles. Some may have different movements, different fonts and may be altered in different ways.

 It can be very difficult to choose the final cover you want but it is important to respect the designer’s knowledge of all the elements of design. Designers are experts in their fields and may know more than you do.

It's never going to hurt to take a few suggestions. Designers know what catches the attention of a person when they look at a certain image or illustration, hence giving your designers the space to have a say will actually benefit you.

Be More Specific.

Once your book cover maker is ready with the initial designs, give them honest feedback. Giving honest feedback does not necessarily mean you need to be rude.

Give them honest feedback about the things you like about the book, things that you don’t like or would want to change.

 You can say things like, “I really like the colors, but would it look good if we actually make the font a little bigger?” or “You did an amazing job with the illustration, however, we can make it look more appealing by adding xyz”.

 Be very specific with the changes you need so that your designer does not have to adjust over and over again.

Take Feedback From Your Family And Friends.

If your designer has given you a number of options to choose from, do not choose the one you want right away.  It is very crucial to take feedback from people first.

Since you are the writer of the book, it does not count whether you are satisfied with the book cover or not.

Get feedback from your friends and family and ask them which one would look best. Since they are part of the audience, it is always best to get different perspectives from people.  Ask as many people as you can and then make your final decision.

If you are self-publishing your book, you are at a big advantage! People who are in control of their books can easily change their covers later on if they think that the sales are not taking off the way they should.

It is indeed never too late to make a change.

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