Your book cover needs to make a good first impression. It’s the advertisement for what’s waiting inside—And its biggest selling point! So the right book cover is vital to your book’s success. Which means the wrong cover can bring the opposite. And sometimes, what once worked for you, just doesn’t work anymore. But the great news is, your book cover isn’t set in stone. Redesigning your book cover is always an option. Below, are four possible reasons why you may want to consider it, and the benefits of each one.
Redesigning Your Book Cover as a Refresh
So, you have a book cover that you’re pretty happy with, but it’s been a few years and things have changed. Maybe redesigning your book cover to freshen it up a bit is in order. Below are two scenarios where this makes sense.
Relaunch/Rerelease
Maybe you have no real complaints with your book cover—the design is quality and fits the genre—but it’s been awhile since your book first launched. You’re thinking it may be time to relaunch your book to get some fresh attention on it. Or maybe you’re planning a re-release for the anniversary to remind everyone why your book was so great in the first place? Maybe you’ve updated some information in your nonfiction book and want to release a second or third edition? These are great opportunities for redesigning your book cover!
So, how does redesigning your book cover help in this scenario?
Well, depending on how long ago your book originally launched, it may be out of date. Updating your book cover is an opportunity to appeal to a modern audience—which is the reason you’re rereleasing it in the first place right? An update will make that more likely to happen.
If you’re releasing new edition non-fiction book, well, what better way to make it clear that this is a new, improved version. Redesigning your book cover, in this case, is going to help sell it to both a new audience and your old fans that want the latest updates.
Consistency
Consistency in appearance and style is crucial to you and your book’s brand. Perhaps your brand has changed and you want to reflect that in your book covers? Or you’ve written a series and you’ve realized that those old covers from your first books don’t quite fit any more with your newest book?
Redesigning your book cover for consistency can:
help keep your brand and your books cohesive and recognizable. Which means your reader will relate you to your book. And that familiarity can lead to becoming fans. In the case of having a series, that consistency is even more important. Relating your earlier books in the series to the latest release can also help sell your previous books.
At MonkeyCMedia we do a lot of redesigns, and we love it! Making you love your book cover makes us happy. Here are some examples of book cover redesigns we did recently that we’re pretty proud of. You can read about our decisions and process for these, HERE and HERE.
Redesigning Your Book Cover for Improvement
Corrections
Sometimes you just end up with a book cover you don’t love. And sometimes nobody else loves it either. Your readers expect certain elements to be part of your book cover[link]. It needs to fit the genre, be visually compelling, and look professional. If there are tell-tale signs of self-publishing like bad design, no ISBN number, or bad quality printing, etc., readers won’t trust that it’s going to be a good book—even if it is!
How this benefits your book:
When you have professionals handle redesigning your book cover they know what standards make a cover, well, professional looking.They know how to fit within publishing conventions and they have the design skills to give your book the cover it deserves. This means that it could fit right in on any library or bookstore shelf.
Polishing it Up
Occasionally there are pretty good book covers that don’t need a lot of help. And those book covers just need to be polished up a bit. Maybe you want the color to pop more, or for the background to look more alive? Sometimes, it’s as simple as changing the layout or font.
Redesigning your book cover just to polish it up can make a lot of subtle differences that make it more appealing to readers. Plus, you can promote it in a relaunch campaign and have an excuse show to it off again. And promoting your book helps sell your book!
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