There is truth that your audience is judging your book by it’s cover, whether we want to admit it or not. We can’t help it — as humans we are simply visually-inclined. The visual translates to thinking which in turn effects our judgement of whether something is credible, inspiring, or interesting. The face of a book cover expresses the essence of the read, and is important for making a potent first impression with your ideal potential readers.
In this article, I will cover a few things that you need to know before hiring your book cover designer.
First and foremost, I say if possible, your personal brand wants to radiate through from your online visual brand to your book cover. There’s only one of YOU on the planet. What better than a punchy brilliant photo of you, rich on-brand coloring, gorgeous typography, and an overall best-selling vibe to attract thousands?
Here’s one example of that. Client Spotlight, Tanya Paluso (Lynn) of Tribal Truth. Her photo (by yours truly) shows her fun nature in the hot pink dress while being down-to-earth with barefoot in lotus style… attracting a specific-target audience of yoga pants wearers, priestesses, goddesses, the modern day woman, and beyond. The mandala design radiates a sense of expansion, while the gold gives a feeling of prosperity and divinity. And the prayer hands and light rays at the heart dove-tail with the title, all while showing an understanding of an open heart in leadership being a focus of the book. Intuitively this shares as a feminine leader further alluded to in the title’s tagline. Amazingly, Tanya had an epiphany in her business direction after I was blessed to help her understand her personal archetypes based on her core values… furthermore represented here in her Sacred Feminine Archetype photo.
What does your designer need to know before designing your cover?
You designer needs a feel of the book, and if possible having read it. Ideally the author would provide a brief synopsis and any visual references for insight (especially if you’re not working with an intuitive, visionary designer.) The voice will come through. Ideally your designer will know a thing or two about branding, and be able to express an archetypal feeling for the book, in addition appealing to the ideal target market designing something slick enough that will appeal as a best-selling book cover. This will create the emotive ideal feeling, and a sense of style which will want to be perceived and visualized. Many different designers have a specific or unique style of design. If the vibe of your book matches their designerly style, they will be a good fit. Or, you can find a designer that will create based on the essence that wants to come through. If your book is light-hearted about joy, for an obvious example, the tone of your book cover wouldn’t’ want to feel moody and brooding. And vice versa, if your cover was about deep transformation or a story around intense karma, the feel might be a little more reverent. It also simply depends on the archetypal qualities. The feeling of a Heroine is simply different than the Innocent or the Lover.