Get some cover ideas with the Book Cover Archive

Looking for some book cover design ideas?

The Book Cover Archive website is a great place to get some book cover ideas with hundreds of designs on show.

Quite often, when you browse the thumbnails on Amazon, you see lots of similar covers – especially in the fiction genre where authors often write several titles in a series. Have you found that? Of course, it makes sense to create a cover that ties in with your subject It needs to meet the typical preconceptions readers have about a book like yours. Equally, it needs to be sufficiently distinct because it needs to be memorable. Think of all those romance and fantasy novels that are very “samey” – they just don’t stand out.

As a nonfiction author, you have more freedom to stand out and be memorable at the same time – thankfully! Check out the books in your genre on Amazon to get a sense of what sells well and what readers might be on the lookout for, then take a look at some of the Book Cover Archive books too, to help get a unique twist on your design.

4 benefits of researching book cover designs

Here are 4 reasons why researching your cover makes sense

• refine your ideas as you develop your cover concept – work out what you want and what you don’t want the quick and easy way
• learn from the bestselling book covers and apply the best-practice aspects of them to your cover to help boost sales eg
  • how does the design make the cover text easy to read
  • how does the design to work on the printed cover… and as a thumbnail on Amazon, and in large-format, for example, a tall banner at a book signing
  • how does the design grab your attention
  • how does the design explain added benefits for buyers (like a disk in the back or downloadable resources?)
• create a good brief (see the tip below)
  • clearly explain to your designer what you have in mind so you stay in control
  • avoid a nasty surprise later if your intentions were misunderstood
• reduce the cost/time of having your cover designed
  • providing a “mood board” of designs you like in terms of style, typography and colour scheme helps designers get it right first time, which saves time and money

TIP: Providing examples of covers you like is helpful to your design – after all, a picture tells 1000 words. Bear in mind though, your designer is an expert in design and if they have good reasons to override your planned cover, LISTEN TO THEM, don’t bully them into creating something that sucks  inappropriate.