Book design matters.

Lesson #4: The Power of Great Design

You know what they say about judging a book by its cover? Well, they're wrong — if your book looks bad on the outside, very few people will care what's going on inside. For something so commonly overlooked, book design is such a crucial part of self-publishing.


Designing your book cover

The majority of your sales will come from Amazon or another one of the online stores, so you need an image that's going to stand out and let readers know that THIS BOOK is for them. It's my belief that your cover will determine whether your book sinks or swims. 


At the most basic level, a good book cover should:

  • Attract the eye instantly, even as a thumbnail.
  • Allow you to read the title and author name clearly.
  • Use the front, spine and back to communicate a clear message about your book.

Of course, this list isn't exhaustive. It's great if your book cover is a complete work of art, but that is secondary to all the factors listed above.


Should an author design their own cover?

No. 


Unless you're also a graphic designer, you should never design your own cover — not if you're serious about selling books. On Reedsy, you can connect with some of the best freelance cover designers in the world — and you'll be surprised to find some of them are not all that expensive.

What's it like to work with a professional designer?

Every designer is different. They have different ways of working with clients; some of them are visual chameleons, while others have distinct personal styles that carry over between their covers. Crucially, their rates will also vary, depending on:

  • Their level of experience and the quality of their portfolio. If they've worked with Michael Chabon or on a Barefoot Contessa cookbook, they can probably command a higher rate.
  • Whether your cover requires bespoke elements. Photoshoots and illustrations, in particular, will drive your cover costs up.

But trust us, if you're marketing your book correctly, a professionally designed cover will more than pay for itself.


Now that you have a beautiful cover, what’s next? Let's make the inside of your book look lovely too!

Typesetting your book


There are many aspects to layout design: fonts, spacing, the styling of chapter headings, margins, etc. A professional layout designer will control these elements to create a comfortable and enjoyable reading experience for your book.


The more visually varied the book, regarding content (charts, illustrations, photos, recipes, poems, etc.), the harder it is for you to avoid using professional help.


But if your book is a memoir, a novel, or any other kind of book that is text-driven, new online tools will allow you to format and typeset your book yourself. Reedsy Studio, for example, lets you export a professionally typeset book in a matter of minutes, for free. You can either paste your manuscript or start typing a new book straight into the Editor. You can export multiple formats including a print-ready file.


Speaking of formats, in tomorrow's lesson, you’ll learn all about the different file formats used in self-publishing. Pretty exciting, right?


Until then,


Martin from Reedsy


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