Choosing Cover Art Images

If you are getting your book published by a traditional publisher, you might not have to think too hard about choosing your cover art. Your publisher may have a pre-selected format or may hire an artist to create this for you. If you are designing and printing your book yourself, creating effective cover art for both printed and electronic versions of your book is an important part of the publishing and marketing function.

If you choose to create your own cover art, you'll need to take the following elements into consideration:

1. Color theme

2. Images

3. Font

4. Layout

Many books don't have images on the cover. They are strictly solid colors or patterns and text. Some have full color photos, and many have solid backgrounds with partial images. What you choose for your self-published book will depend on your ability to hire a graphic designer or your own graphic manipulation talents.

One option for finding photos is to take them yourself with a digital camera. You'll want to secure a clean, clear image with a good color balance. Images that are too light or too dark, unless you want them that way, don't create a professional impression. You can also purchase stock images from online clearinghouses. Fees for these images range from a few dollars each to several hundreds of dollars for a disk.

If you are considering putting your own image on the front of your book, it is well worth the expense to hire a professional photographer. He or she is experienced in positioning your body for the best image, hiding or deleting blemishes, lighting angles and qualities, and background exposures. After all, your face is becoming your brand, and you want to look your absolute best.

For more information on choosing fonts, read part three of this article, coming soon!

Print Article

Email Article

View All Articles

How to subscribe to feeds