Fellow indie author Cedar Sanderson hits some of the high points on covers. I’ll not say we’re in 100% agreement with the cover = art bit, but that’s also because I sell the prints at cons. To the point where a couple of my covers have either paid for themselves completely or are well on the way to doing so. So, as always, apply the logic to your situation rather than simple rote following.
I’ve written about this many times here at Mad Genius Club, but it’s a topic that gets asked about over and over. And it’s an important topic. The book cover is the first thing your readers see, and no matter how often they might insist that they don’t judge a book by it’s cover, they are judging silently in their heads.
Your cover sends subliminal messages, even when it’s the size of a postage stamp, and little things like font choice, age of model (hat tip to Dorothy Grant for pointing this out to me recently), and contrasting areas on the cover art can make a huge difference.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had an author say… No, let me back up a little. Let’s talk about myths and mistakes.
Myth #1: The scene on the cover should be pulled straight from the pages of the book.
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