Pro Quality eBook Cover Design Straight Talk -- Why it Matters
Transparency and Disclosure: I just launched a new service — ebook cover designs — which explains my sudden interest in doing this post and succeeding ones on this topic. But don’t let that bother you — the info is useful and relies not an iota on my service in any way for you to put any of it to work. So onwards…
Just in case you missed it, there’s a self-publishing revolution of sorts brewing (well, more than… much closer to boiling over). If your bookish-length reading habits rely wholly on dead tree delivery, then it’s understandable why you’re missing all this excitement: It’s a digital thing. Courtesy of Amazon, its Kindle and its totally free Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) service, to be exact.
Long story short, the KDP has been like a magnet to book author wannabes far and wide. Which, of course, is a good thing. Nay, make that a great abso-freaking stupendous development. Yeah, it’s like Amateur Night at the Apollo out here, but that’s natural. For an industry evolving this rapidly, in fact, folks have been learning, adjusting and evolving along with it quite nicely. There are obviously areas that need work, but nothing we can’t tackle and handle with relative ease.
Such as ebook covers. No, not just book covers… ebook covers. “Do I need a cover?” is a question one sees on the forums with incredible frequency. Another is the request for tips, how-to info, resources, etc., to help authors “design” their covers themselves. It’s a sure bet — hang around the author discussion forums long enough, you’ll not only see these topics and related threads, you’ll see them repeatedly. Hence why I decided to start offering my services, but I digress.
It’s not that we didn’t see these types of cover design questions for print books back in the day, but really, not quite as much. We can probably do 50,000 words easy on why that is, but as much fun as that would be, let’s skip the pseudo-intellectual BS and cut to the chase, shall we?
The bottom line is that yes, Grasshopper, your ebook needs a good cover. It’s an interesting concept for a product that’s virtual — nothing’s really getting covered, is there? — so those of you stuck on that fact when trying to decide what to do with your own ebooks, well, maybe it’s time to flick the switch on that lightbulb to realize that if the “cover” isn’t used to cover anything, then maybe, just maybe, it serves a different purpose.
Click. Ka-ching!
This actually reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Many of you will no doubt recognize this exchange:
Ferris: Hi. Do you speak English?
Garage Attendant: Uh, what country do you think this is?
Maybe you’ll see the similarities to this:
You: Hi. Do I need an ebook cover?
Me: Uh, where do you think you’ll be selling your ebook?
You’re selling it on the Web, Grasshopper.
Click. Ka-ching!
Your “ebook” isn’t on some bookshelf. Your prospect isn’t physically fixed in front of it, holding it, marveling at the paper’s texture or its exquisite print quality, nor is s/he influenced by its hefty page count. S/he actually has very few indicators to help decide in an instant whether to give your ebook the time of day and effort needed to explore and learn about it further to get to a buy/no buy decision amid the many other options s/he has online competing for his/her attention.
Did you get that? Very few indicators. And on the very visual Web, one of those few and likely one of the most important “tells” to the shopper who is — ta da! — browsing visually is the quality of your ebook’s cover… or lack thereof.
You: Why do I need one? J.K. Rowling doesn’t need a cover. Neither does Stephen King, or James Patterson, or Michael Crichton, or…
Me: Is your name Rowling, King, Patterson, Crichton?
You: No.
Me: Giddadahere!
Straight talk: It’s a marketing thing. I can say that so many different ways, but at the end of the day, it’s just a very simple principle you know in your gut is true. If you don’t get that, I can’t help you.
Stay tuned for more straight talk on your ebook cover designs!
For more information on my ebook cover design service, click here now! >>>
Related posts:
2 Comments → “Pro Quality eBook Cover Design Straight Talk — Why it Matters”
Leave a Reply
Author of
  |   |
Get Your FREE eBooks Now!
Click here now to sign up for your free Wordpreneur Markets and Wordpreneur Promotion ebooks and the Wordpreneur News weekly ezine.
Twitter: mrwriteczech
2 months ago
I agree with you that a good cover is vital. I prefer to use photographs – usually a horizontal photo with plenty of room for a striking title and strapline above the image. Sometimes I see covers with a poor choice of image which can lead to a title being cramped into one corner – and then won’t be visible as a thumbnail on Amazon. If no one can see it. No one is going to buy it.
Jeremy
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/books/e-book-cover-designs-introduction/
Twitter: eldonsarte
2 months ago
Hello Jeremy
I like to mix it up myself, as you can see from my own portfolio of designs for my own books. Sometimes I use illustrations. Sometimes photographs. But I tend to stick to clean and simple, which has obvious benefits online.
ees