Unlike authors who are being traditionally published, self-publishing authors enjoy a very special perk—they can help design their own book cover. While your input is important, you’ll get the best results if the actual design work is carried out by a professional cover designer. Expert designers (like the team at Self-Publishing Relief) will be familiar with the genre specifications and technical details needed to create the best cover for your book. To produce a memorable book cover that will make your vision a reality and capture your audience’s attention, here’s what your book cover designer needs to know.

Here’s What Your Book Cover Designer Needs From You

For The Front Cover

The book basics: Your designer will need some basic information from you. Make sure this info is finalized. Provide your designer with the following:

• Title
• Author name or pen name
• Overview
• Genre
• Number of pages
• Cover dimensions (width and height)

Your vision and vibe: Gather any references you’d like to show your designer. Covers that have the style and look you like, as well as covers in your genre and stock images will help you get across the “vibe” of your story to your designer. If you have a preference for the colors that you would—and would not—like used, let your cover designer know. This input will help the designer home in on what will work best for your cover.

Realistic expectations. You may have an image in your head of the ultimate book cover, but it may not be feasible in the real world. For example, tiny visuals or text will be lost in the thumbnail image that accompanies most book sales pages. And each genre has specific elements that readers expect to see in a cover. If the ultimate goal is to sell your self-published book, those elements need to be part of the front cover design.

Of course, this is your custom book cover and it should reflect your input, but have some trust in your designer’s skills and expertise.

Knowing when to say when. Don’t get lost in the minutia and make constant tweaks and edits. You and your designer should agree beforehand on how many initial cover options will be created for you to choose from. There should also be a firm decision on how many times the cover can be changed or fine-tuned. Once the cover is finalized, resist the urge to continue asking for changes. Remember, your designer is a professional with experience making great-looking, effective book covers.

For The Back Cover And Spine

Book and author details. When your front cover design is finalized, your designer will then need this info to create the corresponding spine and back cover:

• Anything you want on the spine in addition to your book title and author name
• Book summary
• Reviews (if you have any you wish to include)
• Author bio and author photo
• Copyright info
• An ISBN (if you’re providing one)

For A Great Final Result…

If you are self-publishing a print book (in addition to or instead of an e-book), be sure to review a printed proof of your book before you hit the publish button. If the book cover is too dark or light, or any colors seem “off,” you can work with your designer and make any necessary corrections before publication.

If you’re ready to create a custom book cover for your self-published book, the cover design experts at Self-Publishing Relief can build a cover that’s effective, eye-catching, and right for your genre. We also have affordable, predesigned book covers to choose from. And that’s not all—Self-Publishing Relief can help you navigate the entire process from manuscript to a published book you can be proud to put your name on. Schedule your free consultation today with the team at Self-Publishing Relief.

Question: What do you like to see in a book cover design?