Meaningful Cover Images

So you've written a book, and the time has come to pick an image for your cover. Luckily, you know exactly what you want. The image you have in mind is eye-catching. More importantly, it's deeply meaningful.

That's great, right?

Well, maybe. The key question is, meaningful to whom?

Consider the following hypothetical scenario.

* * *

When you were seven, you got yelled at in school for not paying attention. Lots of kids laughed. The girl in front of you turned around and saw that you were holding back tears of humiliation. You thought she'd laugh too.

"That teacher's just mean," the girl said. She took off the star of David necklace she'd been wearing and gave it to you. "Here. Don't be sad."

You moved away the following year. But you always remembered the girl, and her gesture of kindness. And you always kept the necklace.

During your senior year of college, you noticed someone staring at you from across the quad. She walked toward you, smiling. It was the girl from first grade! She had matured into a striking young woman. The two of you began dating. A year after graduation, you were married.

But your marriage fell on hard times after the initial honeymoon period. You argued about everything. After one particularly bad fight, you stormed into the bedroom and started packing. Who were you kidding? You were never going to make this work. You took off your wedding ring and opened the top drawer of your end table, intending to store the ring there. Then you saw it. The necklace she'd given you so many years ago.

Suddenly the memories came flooding back. You thought about everything that made you fall in love in the first place. Her compassion. Her giving nature.

You put your wedding ring back on and resolved to work things out.

Now, years later, you've written a book about how to better communicate with your spouse. The book is called What Really Matters: How Couples Can Work Through the Tough Times, and you've used your own experiences as examples throughout. The necklace story, naturally, is key.

And for your cover image—one of your book's top marketing tools—you have chosen ...

Wait for it ...

A picture of the star of David necklace.

* * *

At this point, you're quite possibly enjoying a good giggle. That's because you aren't emotionally attached to the events that led our author to think the necklace image was a good idea in the first place.

If you don't see the problem, however, read on. Here's a conversation a Wheatmark account manager might have with this author.

Wheatmark account manager: "Let's talk about your cover image. Can you tell me why you picked this one?"

Author: "Yes!" [He enthusiastically launches into the epic tale.]

WAM: "Hmm. What a wonderful story! But your potential readers won't get the significance ..."

Author: "They will understand when they get to chapter 5. I explain everything there."

WAM: "That's great, but before they read it, you have to convince them that they want to read it. Also, the star of David is already loaded with considerable cultural significance. If you put that on the cover, readers will think What Really Matters is about how Judaism is what really matters, or about how Jewish people can have a good marriage as long as they let God into it."

Author: "Look, you don't get it. That necklace holds deep, personal meaning for me. It symbolizes the whole point of the book!"

At this juncture, it becomes impossible to press the issue without seriously offending the author. Account managers may back off when this happens, reconciling themselves to the fact that the guy will probably only sell copies of his book to friends and immediate family.

Now, back to you and YOUR book. After reading all of the above, there's a good chance that you still think your chosen image is pretty cool. People might not get the precise meaning immediately, but it's not as ridiculous as that star of David! Still, you start to wonder. Are you too close to this project to discern how your audience will react?

Here are two things you can do to gain a little objectivity.

1. Run your idea past the people helping you sell your book.
   
   Are you a Wheatmark author? Then your Wheatmark account manager is a great person to start with. Have you hired someone to do PR work for you? He or she is another good resource. Remember, these people have a vested interest in your book's success. If they're telling you there's a problem, you should listen.
   
   
2. Run your idea past other people who don't know you well.
   
   Your friends and family will probably already get your image's significance, so the "don't know you well" part is crucial. Ask acquaintances who have never heard the story behind the image. Throw the picture up on your blog (if you don't have one, you should) and solicit opinions there.
   

This book is your baby, and of course you want to be happy with how it looks. But what you ultimately need to care about is what your target audience thinks.

Because if they don't get it, they won't buy it.

Size Does Matter! (But Not the Way You Think)

KatG recently shared a few excellent tips on what you should think about when creating your book’s title. I’d like to follow up on one of her points: the title’s length can have a big impact on the quality of the cover.

Many authors try to pack as much information as possible into these babies. It’s an understandable instinct. The cover is the first thing potential readers will see, so you want to tell them exactly what wonders await them if they take a peek inside. Also, the more words you use, the wittier you can be. Right?

Right?

Well, here's the problem. Say you’ve written a detailed historical record about keyboards -- the kind you find on typewriters and laptops. You’ve decided to call it The Quick Brown Fox Jumps over the Lazy Dog: A History of Keyboard Interface from QWERTY to DVORAK. You’re very proud of this title. It’s cute and clever and gets your general concept across.

It’s also unlikely to draw the eye when crammed into a relatively small space.


Think it’s not that bad? Try it as an Amazon.com-sized thumbnail.


If you’re selling your book primarily or exclusively online, THAT is the first glimpse your readers will get. A little crowded, yes?

As much as you like your original idea, maybe you should think of scaling back. Simplifying.


Ta da!

Again, you can really see what a difference this makes for the thumbnail version.


When the elements on the tiny image have room to breathe, the image as a whole becomes more accessible. Without knowing why, your potential readers will feel more inclined to click on it and take a closer look.

Which is exactly what you want them to do.

Editor Interview: Book Cover Design

Wheatmark book editor, Susan Wenger, was recently interviewed on "The Creative Penn" blog about cover design. She discusses the importance of typesetting, cover title decisions, and imagery. 

Read the excellent and informative post here!

Hardcover or Paperback?

At some point you have to decide if your book will be published as a hardcover or a paperback.

Here are some pointers:

Who is your target audience?

If you have written a family history or a memoir to be passed down through the generations (and your expectation is that you won't sell many copies), then a hardback edition is a great option. Hardcovers are very durable and can last throughout the years as they’re moved from family to family.

How much do you think your readers will be willing to pay for your book?

Hardbacks can be pricey. There is no question about it. Realistically consider the list price of your book as a hardback as opposed to a paperback. It may be smarter, from a sales perspective, to make your book a paperback so you can price it more competitively.

If you are leaning towards the hardback over the paperback, ask yourself why.

If you are publishing a book of poems that you believe should be honored by a glossy dust jacket for posterity because it is your life’s work, I humbly ask you to consider a paperback. The cost benefit of the paperback and the potential for future sales will likely outweigh the “glamour” aspect of the hardback soon enough. My Norton's Anthology of Poetry from college makes a fantastic door stop on a breezy day.

Are you going to need to make revisions in the coming years?

Many business books and other nonfiction niche books will need to be updated as the culture or technology changes. Hardbacks are expensive for readers. If you predict updates in the future, consider a paperback so that your readers will be more likely to buy the updated version.

Is your book gigantic?

If your book is more than 500 pages, you’ll want a hardcover. Paperbacks tend to fall apart at this size. The drawback is that a hardback will be heavier and harder to lug around, but most readers would rather build up their biceps than try to keep together a folder of loose pages.

What we at Wheatmark have learned about printing in hardback vs. paperback.

The dust jacket concept is not one most readers appreciate. When people pick up a book, they are looking for the content inside and not looking to hold the pieces together. The jackets, although pretty, end up ripped off and tossed aside. Also, many of the readers we’ve asked say they don’t enjoy lugging around hardbacks; they only buy them when they’re deeply discounted -- to the point of being less expensive than the paperback -- or when it’s an author they just can’t wait to read.

Before going for the flash of a hardback, consider the list price difference and how your readers will use your book in the future. Often, the smart money is on paperbacks!