You executed this fine balance perfectly. You did not shame the self-published, self-designed books; instead you provided actionable information and support, while also not diminishing the value of good design and professional designers. 👏
Aw thanks Jen! I’m heartened to hear that. I genuinely love finding these books in the wild and I want to respect the effort and sheer willpower it takes to write and publish a book even if it’s poorly designed.
The longer I do this, the less interested I am in crapping on bad design—the context of something and its “why” are always more interesting to me.
I’m not a book designer, I just read a lot of (physical) books in my life. The shiny cover, stark white paper, narrow interior margin, missing logo on the book spine, funky back cover design, they all scream at me every time I hold a self-published book in my hands. It’s crazy how our subconscious can spot this stuff immediately even if we have no clue about book design.
One consistency that I've noticed with self-published covers is the lack of cohesion between the front and back covers and spine (way too many people neglect the spine- to your point).
(Having created my own self-published cover, I had my back up a little bit to read the analysis after seeing the other day that you were going to tackle this topic- but, damn- you did such a great job). Even if someone can't or won't hire a designer, there are so many tips in here that you've listed that are achievable and can be executed by most people. Loved this!
I’m a spine snob (because that stuff is HARD) so that is the first thing I look at to indicate craftsmanship. Yeah for the colophon on the spine… first thing I look at. Also, how books from the same publisher line up their colophon.. like Belt Publishing… genius the way they pay attention to that detail… or two dollar radio … another one… PHR is all over the map. 😀😀😀😀
Oooh! Nailed it! All the nails on the coffin actually.
(Wondering if the saying is from that?)
Anyhow, it’s the details we pick up on. Details count.
I hired a book cover artist to do my cover for my soon to be published ((or self published)) poetry chapbook.
I’m an illustrator and do comics but I can’t stare at a screen laden with color. I’m mildly autistic and neurodivergent here and colors make me dizzy. I get tension headaches near my temples too.
The artist: She’s great with color and she’s got a clean bold line that I try to emulate in my own work. And she’s brave with color!
I would love to share her mock ups with you! We are in our third iteration and it’s coming together. We’ve been working together since February. We have a meeting at 3 today!
I agree with this, for the majority of things. I don’t think authors who self-publish should take the easy way when it comes to creating a book. A book is only as good as it is appealing. Books that look like you put zero effort or has AI bleeding from the pages give self-published authors who do put the time, money and effort into creating their books.
THANK YOU. I do a lot of cover art, and it steams me when people print their fiction books in matte finish. I rage that matte is only for nonfiction and they blow me off. So there's my gorgeous art with the darks all gone gray under the stinkin' matte finish ...
I actually don’t know if I agree for general fiction—I think it’s a matter of taste—but I do think you’re right about fantasy fiction and stuff with a high level of illustration! But POD is never gonna get the colors completely right no matter what.
My preference overall is an uncoated stock but you can’t get that with POD (yet)
This sure gave me flashbacks to when I led the design of the graduation book of my class 😅
We probably made every mistake you listed including a cover picture with waaay too low resolution 🤣🤣🤣 good thing we made all the students and teachers pre-purchase so it didn’t impact sales hahaha
Also, I’m wondering if you have any recommendations for print-on-demand services with better paper quality?
Hehe! No worries. I hope I don’t vilify bad design here—god knows I’ve done my fair share of it.
No matter what, POD is always going to be a series of trade offs. IngramSpark and KDP are comparable, but Ingram lets you do a hardcover with a jacket whereas KDP doesn’t but has cheaper print costs.
Lulu and Blurb appear to have better quality, or at least more production choices, but the per unit cost is higher. For Blurb, MUCH higher (they specialize in photo books).
And then again there are some POD-adjacent, short-run digital presses that have better quality, but don’t give you anywhere close to the same distribution tools as Ingram or Amazon.
Not at all, I loved every second of reading your piece! I think it’s awesome that you’re giving access to this information and sharing all the small details that make book covers look so professional.
Often, I can tell that my designs are bad or at least a bit off but I don’t know what to change so this is so helpful!
Thanks so much for these insights about self publishing!! If you were to publish a book, which route would you go—try to get traditionally published?
It’s taken years to figure out how to articulate why something doesn’t look quite “right.”
That’s a terrific question! I dunno. Lol. The credibiiity of traditional publishing is appealing. But the control and potential profit of self-publishing is also appealing. I’d save on book design costs, obviously, but I have a tendency to kick the can down the road when the deadlines are set by my boss (aka me) haha.
Yeah that part of traditional publishing sure is appealing. I've heard many people say to go with a traditional publisher for your first book to get credibility and then switch to self-publishing for future books for the profits. Might try that although it's tough to get a book deal.
In any case, a book about book cover design would be soo cool! (hint)
I bow down to you, stranger on the internet! In all seriousness, this is an excellent post and was a refreshing read. I especially appreciate the beautifully worded disclaimer you added in the beginning. Well said. As I read through this, I kept thinking "Oh! This is my favorite point. No, this one is my favorite! No, THIS one!" It wasn't until the end that I found it:
"Your book’s interior paper is stark white.
OK, this one is also not a crime—white makes sense for some books with lots of images. But generally, if your book is mostly prose, I advise choosing creme. Most of the professionally-published books will be using it."
This one is such a pet peeve of mine and I'm just ecstatic to hear someone else saying it. What is it with all the white paper? It definitely has its place and I have occasionally recommended it for the right book, but just because your book is nonfiction does not mean it should have white paper. Pretty please!! Cream is much easier on the eyes and just looks classier.
As a free-lance editor, I can also tell when a book is self-published. I know professional editing is expensive, as is professional design--but I wish authors could find ways to invest in this support before they publish. Most don't realize, I think, how important good editing and design are. Your article is an excellent summary of the ways professional design can make a book so much better.
I had never heard the term "rivers of text" before. Thank you for introducing that to me. And for conveniently linking the word so I could learn all about it. Really appreciate all the technical details in this post!
This is perfect. So often I see a complete intolerance for AI designs while also seeing disdain for inexperienced designs, which basically means a writer has to either develop an entirely new skillset or be willing to immediately hire a professional designer. For people just starting out, it’s normal to want to do a low-stakes version of something initially and come back to refine it. I have an AI book cover up right now while I simply get momentum for my serialized novel, but I’m also working with a professional designer so that when the day comes to publish, it will be legit. I resent that people leave no room for this. But you did. So thank you. Also: I’m going to pass this article to my designer so that he can laugh in agreement with you.
As a media alumnus (post grad) I cannot but agree. And there is resitance to good design out there. When I ran a community magazine, the funders withdrew because I wouldn't compromise on quality. I compare it to recording your own music - not to mention designing your own sleeve spiel & art. Oh dear. Even the charity shops can't shift that:) The hard truth is that virtually any aspect of what you cover is a killed job in itself. Don't imagine you can do them all (within a reasonable timescale). They say something about books and covers, but I do, titles and even author's names; if anything looks contrived, it's a no. Regardless of who published it.
This was such a helpful read, even for design in general. Aside from these guidelines, I'm curious why some of these are the case? For instance, who determines the fonts that should or shouldn't be used? Is it because it's overused or cliche? Kind of like, "Dark and stormy night." even if it is a legitimate line for the first book to use it.
It kind of depends on the instance, but yeah, overuse and cliche are definitely big reasons in addition to poor design or going against the grain of an industry standard. That’s a perfect comparison!
Loving this. Being a former photographer of trade it is very relatable reading about other trades being hi jacked by amateurs of all sorts as [also amongst professionals] in the good, the bad, and the plain ugly.. 🙌🏻
You executed this fine balance perfectly. You did not shame the self-published, self-designed books; instead you provided actionable information and support, while also not diminishing the value of good design and professional designers. 👏
Aw thanks Jen! I’m heartened to hear that. I genuinely love finding these books in the wild and I want to respect the effort and sheer willpower it takes to write and publish a book even if it’s poorly designed.
The longer I do this, the less interested I am in crapping on bad design—the context of something and its “why” are always more interesting to me.
I’m not a book designer, I just read a lot of (physical) books in my life. The shiny cover, stark white paper, narrow interior margin, missing logo on the book spine, funky back cover design, they all scream at me every time I hold a self-published book in my hands. It’s crazy how our subconscious can spot this stuff immediately even if we have no clue about book design.
Yes! So often I could just tell. I wanted to better understand WHY I could tell so I wrote this 🙂
I know, it’s great to see my instinctive response translated into professional book design terminology.
You hit every single nail on the head.
One consistency that I've noticed with self-published covers is the lack of cohesion between the front and back covers and spine (way too many people neglect the spine- to your point).
(Having created my own self-published cover, I had my back up a little bit to read the analysis after seeing the other day that you were going to tackle this topic- but, damn- you did such a great job). Even if someone can't or won't hire a designer, there are so many tips in here that you've listed that are achievable and can be executed by most people. Loved this!
Thank you Steve! You’re so right—the spine is so often neglected.
My hope is that this will be helpful and not make anybody feel TOO bad 😉
Haha there shouldn't be any hard feelings - you approached it with support and a lot of tact👍
I’m a spine snob (because that stuff is HARD) so that is the first thing I look at to indicate craftsmanship. Yeah for the colophon on the spine… first thing I look at. Also, how books from the same publisher line up their colophon.. like Belt Publishing… genius the way they pay attention to that detail… or two dollar radio … another one… PHR is all over the map. 😀😀😀😀
I love Belt and Two Dollar Radio! I think there’s a direct correlation in your examples between size of publisher and consistency.
It doesn’t bother me so much unless the books are meant to go together somehow.
We may be two of a TINY population that even thinks to look at that, though 😁
Oooh! Nailed it! All the nails on the coffin actually.
(Wondering if the saying is from that?)
Anyhow, it’s the details we pick up on. Details count.
I hired a book cover artist to do my cover for my soon to be published ((or self published)) poetry chapbook.
I’m an illustrator and do comics but I can’t stare at a screen laden with color. I’m mildly autistic and neurodivergent here and colors make me dizzy. I get tension headaches near my temples too.
The artist: She’s great with color and she’s got a clean bold line that I try to emulate in my own work. And she’s brave with color!
I would love to share her mock ups with you! We are in our third iteration and it’s coming together. We’ve been working together since February. We have a meeting at 3 today!
I agree with this, for the majority of things. I don’t think authors who self-publish should take the easy way when it comes to creating a book. A book is only as good as it is appealing. Books that look like you put zero effort or has AI bleeding from the pages give self-published authors who do put the time, money and effort into creating their books.
Interesting read. I will keep these pointers in mind when I'll be designing the cover of my first novel. But I'll have to finish writing it first 😉
First thing's first!
THANK YOU. I do a lot of cover art, and it steams me when people print their fiction books in matte finish. I rage that matte is only for nonfiction and they blow me off. So there's my gorgeous art with the darks all gone gray under the stinkin' matte finish ...
I actually don’t know if I agree for general fiction—I think it’s a matter of taste—but I do think you’re right about fantasy fiction and stuff with a high level of illustration! But POD is never gonna get the colors completely right no matter what.
My preference overall is an uncoated stock but you can’t get that with POD (yet)
This sure gave me flashbacks to when I led the design of the graduation book of my class 😅
We probably made every mistake you listed including a cover picture with waaay too low resolution 🤣🤣🤣 good thing we made all the students and teachers pre-purchase so it didn’t impact sales hahaha
Also, I’m wondering if you have any recommendations for print-on-demand services with better paper quality?
Hehe! No worries. I hope I don’t vilify bad design here—god knows I’ve done my fair share of it.
No matter what, POD is always going to be a series of trade offs. IngramSpark and KDP are comparable, but Ingram lets you do a hardcover with a jacket whereas KDP doesn’t but has cheaper print costs.
Lulu and Blurb appear to have better quality, or at least more production choices, but the per unit cost is higher. For Blurb, MUCH higher (they specialize in photo books).
And then again there are some POD-adjacent, short-run digital presses that have better quality, but don’t give you anywhere close to the same distribution tools as Ingram or Amazon.
Not at all, I loved every second of reading your piece! I think it’s awesome that you’re giving access to this information and sharing all the small details that make book covers look so professional.
Often, I can tell that my designs are bad or at least a bit off but I don’t know what to change so this is so helpful!
Thanks so much for these insights about self publishing!! If you were to publish a book, which route would you go—try to get traditionally published?
It’s taken years to figure out how to articulate why something doesn’t look quite “right.”
That’s a terrific question! I dunno. Lol. The credibiiity of traditional publishing is appealing. But the control and potential profit of self-publishing is also appealing. I’d save on book design costs, obviously, but I have a tendency to kick the can down the road when the deadlines are set by my boss (aka me) haha.
Yeah that part of traditional publishing sure is appealing. I've heard many people say to go with a traditional publisher for your first book to get credibility and then switch to self-publishing for future books for the profits. Might try that although it's tough to get a book deal.
In any case, a book about book cover design would be soo cool! (hint)
Well there are already some out there but don’t worry, I’m scheming and daydreaming 😉
Love to hear it!
I’ve designed books for a living for 30 years. I don’t have to read this to know you’re doing the Lord’s work (though I will read it).
I bow down to you, stranger on the internet! In all seriousness, this is an excellent post and was a refreshing read. I especially appreciate the beautifully worded disclaimer you added in the beginning. Well said. As I read through this, I kept thinking "Oh! This is my favorite point. No, this one is my favorite! No, THIS one!" It wasn't until the end that I found it:
"Your book’s interior paper is stark white.
OK, this one is also not a crime—white makes sense for some books with lots of images. But generally, if your book is mostly prose, I advise choosing creme. Most of the professionally-published books will be using it."
This one is such a pet peeve of mine and I'm just ecstatic to hear someone else saying it. What is it with all the white paper? It definitely has its place and I have occasionally recommended it for the right book, but just because your book is nonfiction does not mean it should have white paper. Pretty please!! Cream is much easier on the eyes and just looks classier.
As a free-lance editor, I can also tell when a book is self-published. I know professional editing is expensive, as is professional design--but I wish authors could find ways to invest in this support before they publish. Most don't realize, I think, how important good editing and design are. Your article is an excellent summary of the ways professional design can make a book so much better.
Thanks, Betsy!
I had never heard the term "rivers of text" before. Thank you for introducing that to me. And for conveniently linking the word so I could learn all about it. Really appreciate all the technical details in this post!
This is perfect. So often I see a complete intolerance for AI designs while also seeing disdain for inexperienced designs, which basically means a writer has to either develop an entirely new skillset or be willing to immediately hire a professional designer. For people just starting out, it’s normal to want to do a low-stakes version of something initially and come back to refine it. I have an AI book cover up right now while I simply get momentum for my serialized novel, but I’m also working with a professional designer so that when the day comes to publish, it will be legit. I resent that people leave no room for this. But you did. So thank you. Also: I’m going to pass this article to my designer so that he can laugh in agreement with you.
Thanks, KB. Design, good or bad, never happens in a vacuum and I want to make sure that context is always acknowledged!
As a media alumnus (post grad) I cannot but agree. And there is resitance to good design out there. When I ran a community magazine, the funders withdrew because I wouldn't compromise on quality. I compare it to recording your own music - not to mention designing your own sleeve spiel & art. Oh dear. Even the charity shops can't shift that:) The hard truth is that virtually any aspect of what you cover is a killed job in itself. Don't imagine you can do them all (within a reasonable timescale). They say something about books and covers, but I do, titles and even author's names; if anything looks contrived, it's a no. Regardless of who published it.
This was such a helpful read, even for design in general. Aside from these guidelines, I'm curious why some of these are the case? For instance, who determines the fonts that should or shouldn't be used? Is it because it's overused or cliche? Kind of like, "Dark and stormy night." even if it is a legitimate line for the first book to use it.
I’m glad! Thanks for reading.
It kind of depends on the instance, but yeah, overuse and cliche are definitely big reasons in addition to poor design or going against the grain of an industry standard. That’s a perfect comparison!
Thank you. I like to hear the reasons why. That's always the interesting point of view.
Loving this. Being a former photographer of trade it is very relatable reading about other trades being hi jacked by amateurs of all sorts as [also amongst professionals] in the good, the bad, and the plain ugly.. 🙌🏻