Designing a great book cover requires skill, knowledge and research. And though there are definite conventions to follow, they’re more nuanced than a set of hard rules. And to the untrained eye, sometimes the rules aren’t so clear. Because of this, it’s often easier to understand what NOT to do if you want to go into the design process with an advantage. So, we’ve listed some of the most common book cover design mistakes below, so you can avoid them.
Why Recognizing These Mistakes is Important
We realize most people can recognize a bad book cover when they see them, but they often don’t know what makes them so bad. By being able to spot these book cover design mistakes when you see them you’ll know why things are going in the wrong direction, rather than just getting a sense that something is off.
This is also important because during the design process you’ll need to find your comparable book covers. These covers will be used as the inspiration and a starting point for YOUR book cover. These comp covers are essential to starting off on the right foot. You don’t want to choose poorly designed or inappropriate covers for your comps.
Recognizing bad book cover design will also come in handy when you’re working with a designer. In other words, if they’re making any of these mistakes in the process, you may want to move on to another designer.
As for those hoping to take the DIY approach, you can read more about the do’s and don’ts of designing your own book cover here.
Book Cover Design Mistakes That Will Drive Your Audience Away
Even though it may seem like your book isn’t getting a fair chance just because of a bad cover, the truth is, it WILL be ignored by your target audience or ideal reader (and everyone else) if it doesn’t immediately catch their eye when browsing online or meandering through a book store.
1- Ignoring Genre Conventions is One of the Biggest Book Cover Design Mistakes
Not fitting genre conventions is one of the biggest book cover design mistakes you can make. Why? Because readers can spot books in their preferred genre by the tell-tale signals on those book covers. Note our mention of cover design being nuanced. These genre conventions are signaled via color, theme, composition and even font styles. Yes, there are book design trends that come and go, but these recognizable conventions go beyond mere stylistic choice. If your book cover doesn’t meet reader’s expectations of the genre, they will ignore your book.
TIP: To get an idea of the genre conventions for your book, you first must have a firm understanding of your genre. Then, you can find five to ten books in your genre to get an idea of these genre conventions. We guarantee you’ll see similarities. For instance, a children’s book’s font and layout will be dramatically different from a business book’s. Just as Historical fiction is different in style, tone and color scheme than High Fantasy.
2-Issues with Fonts: Even the Text on Your Book Cover Speaks to Readers
Speaking of fonts, even your font style needs to fit genre conventions. While it may be tempting to choose a creative and stylistic font, it may not mesh with your genre. Breaking these conventions will be noticed as much as the other elements of your cover design. In a bad way. But not to worry, with almost countless choices available, you’ll find something you like that still fits within genre conventions.
And just as important as fitting genre conventions, your text needs to be spaced correctly for readability and visual appeal. It will also need to be legible and to stand out clearly against the background. This will all come into play in your overall design, so expect some adjustments to be made as the cover comes together. Font issues can cause other problems as well, and we’ll discuss those below.
3-If it’s Not Eye Catching in Person AND Online Readers Won’t Want to Know More
Your cover design needs to be eye catching in multiple formats. These days, your book cover will be seen in thumbnails and other small images more than it will be in person. So it needs to do some heavy lifting online. This includes eBook covers. But for print books, keep in mind that what may look pretty good in hard copy may not be so impactful when viewed in a tiny image. So this is a big thing to consider during the book cover design process!
Unfortunately, attempts at making everything stand out, will lead to nothing standing out. Too many colors, too intricate of cover art, and too much text taking up space all distract and confuse the reader. It’s better to keep it simple and powerful. The text needs to be clear and legible and the design needs to convey the genre and tone. And it needs to be eye catching. All without seeing it on a book shelf too!
These Book Cover Design Mistakes Will Leave a Bad Impression on Further Inspection
Even if you have great cover art, a wonderfully designed layout, and you really nail your genre conventions, the below book cover design mistakes will leave a bad impression. These can make readers lose trust in you as an author, make your book appear unprofessional, and even cause readers to put your book right back on the shelf after closer examination, despite the front cover.
4-The Entire Cover is Not Up To Professional Standards
Seemingly insignificant details like your book’s spine not fitting professional design standards or choosing the wrong trim size for your genre are also considered pretty big book cover design mistakes.
For instance, did you know the back cover should match (or be cohesive with) the color scheme and font of your front cover? Meaning, the cover design essentially wraps around, forming a cohesive look if it were spread open. It should not be a separate and unrelated design. Even the design of the spine should fit professional conventions.
Not only does overlooking full cover conventions make your book look unprofessional, a poorly designed spine makes the title harder to read when placed on the shelf.
You can read more about professional back cover design conventions here.
5-Slacking on Back Cover Copy is a Bigger Book Cover Design Mistake than You Realize
Did you know your back cover copy, or book description, is your book’s biggest selling point after the cover itself? It is. It shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought.
Think of your book cover as the movie poster. Then imagine your book description (sometimes called blurbs, but not to be confused with reader endorsements, also known as blurbs) as the trailer for the movie.
When someone picks up your book based on the awesome cover, the next thing they do is turn it over to find out more. You do this too, don’t you? This is when the book description does its work! It needs to convince them they NEED to read this book.
It should be noted that this is not the place to give a plot summary or describe your characters in detail. This is the place to hook the reader and convince them to buy your book! As with the rest of your cover, the text should be in an appropriate font and size, and spaced for easy reading. You can, of course, add endorsements(or blurbs) here if there’s room.
You can read more details about book descriptions and writing them here.
If You’re Cover Isn’t Up to ALL Professional Standards, Readers Will Have Doubts
All in all, any of these book cover design mistakes will cause buyers and potential readers to pause and reconsider. If there are too many mistakes, from not fitting genre standards to the back cover copy, they will move on to something better.
Bad covers can come back to haunt you. So, do your research and find a professional designer to make it all come together. After all, if you wrote an amazing book, it deserves a professional cover. And if you don’t give your book a chance at success, no one else will.
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