How to design a great digital book cover from Apple Books

Shared from an article on Apple Books for Authors

Readers often judge a book by its cover — so make sure your book cover is not only beautiful, but effective.

A book cover is a visual communication device. Before they read a single word of your book, prospective readers will draw conclusions about its genre, subject matter, style, and message just by looking at its cover. This is why experienced authors and publishers spend lots of time researching, developing, and designing their covers. There are many ways to create great book cover designs, especially for digital books, but here are some things to keep in mind.

Review other book covers in your genre

Before you start designing (or hire a designer), spend some time exploring book covers across your genre, specifically focusing on digital editions. You might look at the titles topping the Apple Books charts in your genre. What stands out to you? Are there similar color palettes or commonly used imagery? Do they feature illustrations or photographs, or just type? Do book covers in your genre employ particular styles of typography? This means analyzing not only the typefaces (fonts), but also the type-styling and the balance of type and images.

Your book’s cover should align with the tone of your book

After you’ve spent time researching book covers on Apple Books and made a list of elements common to your genre, spend some time thinking about your own book. If you haven’t already written your Publisher Description copy for your book, now might be a good time. How are you summarizing your book? What are the key actions, ideas, or settings in your book? These could be inspirations.

What audience are you trying to reach with your book and what do they expect to appear on a book cover? Do you want to surprise that reader and challenge expectations, or do you want to meet those expectations?

What is the overall mood of your book? Try listing three adjectives that communicate the general mood or tone of your book. Is your book suspenseful, romantic, active, contemplative? Use these adjectives as the guides to your book cover design.

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