# 5 Book Cover Design Ideas for Best Selling Books



## bananarama (Apr 12, 2017)

I recently created a blog article containing tips on how to create the best cover design for your books. These cover ideas can greatly help you improve your book sales and may even make your book one of the best sellers! This would also be a big help for those who are just starting out. 

Here's a sneak peek of the ideas included:

1.     Don’t Make It Yourself
2.     Have More Than One Cover Designed
3.     Make Sure the Title is Clearly Visible and Stands Out
4.     Research Your Competition
5.     Narrow In On Your Target Audience

I hope you guys enjoy this! If you have more ideas and tips, let discuss it! :-o


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## sigmadog (Apr 12, 2017)

I didn't read your blog post, but looking at your list, if I were to make a sequential list, it would be mostly reversed from the order you have:

1. Narrow your target audience - because if you don't first know who you are trying to reach, whatever you do next is a waste of time.
2. Research your competition - what is the most popular? Who's on top of the genre? Big pictures or big type? Should you do the same, or break the mold?

Having done that preliminary work, you are ready to put together some ideas:

3. Do several rough ideas (in the design business, we call 'em "thumbnails") - do them quick, sketchy; just get the idea down and move on to another idea. Try to get about 10 ideas in an hour. Choose the best two or three and refine them. Stick 'em to a wall and look at them for a couple days; decide which one is best and go from there.
4. Make sure the Title stands out - yes, of course, but don't sacrifice a good visual hook just to make your type YUUUGE! People are attracted to visuals _combined_ with words, so don't ignore the power of an image.
5. Don't make it yourself - unless you have some skill and/or training in design (like me, ). If you've never done this before and insist on doing your own cover, congratulations!, you've just hired an amateur!

Also, I see this is your first post, so I should let you know that the higher-ups don't like it when we start threads that link back to our web sites and/or blogs. I've been told that's against Da Rules. I recommend you hang out here and post within this community for a while and get a feel for things here; there is a section for posting links to outside articles if that's what you want to do.


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## who me? (May 3, 2017)

bananarama said:


> I recently created a blog article containing tips on how to create the best cover design for your books. These cover ideas can greatly help you improve your book sales and may even make your book one of the best sellers! This would also be a big help for those who are just starting out.
> 
> Here's a sneak peek of the ideas included:
> 
> ...




if you are smart enough to write a book you are smart enough to dl a template and diy a cover faster better easier cheaper 
than throwing hundreds or thousands of dollars at some self styled professional cover artiste

covers are meant to sell books not win awards for artistes 

all text must be clear and easy to read

keep it simple 
keep it legible at amazon thumbnail size

dont let it be confusing 

you only need one good cover


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## sigmadog (May 3, 2017)

who me? said:


> if you are smart enough to write a book you are smart enough to dl a template and diy a cover *faster better easier* cheaper
> than throwing hundreds or thousands of dollars at some self styled professional cover artiste



As a "professional artiste", I take issue with this.



> covers are meant to sell books not win awards for artistes



Then again, sometimes a cover wins an award because it helped to sell a ton of books. There are many awards that are based on results, you know.



> all text must be clear and easy to read


The important text must be clear. There is a hierarchy of importance in any cover design. It's a lot like poster design: The important information (Title and/or image) attracts the attention of the viewer. The secondary information (author if they are unknown, subheadings, etc.,) benefits from the attention drawn by the primary object. 



> keep it simple
> keep it legible at amazon thumbnail size
> 
> dont let it be confusing
> ...



I mostly agree with this part. But getting to that "one good cover" is not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes it helps to seek the advice and expertise of someone who specializes in visual marketing, aka a professional designer/_artiste_.

On a side note, I bristle whenever I hear someone demean my profession (designer/illustrator) by using the term "artiste". I have over thirty years of experience helping clients sell their products/services via compelling imagery and typography. My clients stick with me for years. Why? Because I add value to their marketing. Mine is a serious profession, not one where I get to play the dilettante.

And I don't even own a beret.


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## who me? (May 4, 2017)

sigmadog said:


> As a "professional artiste", I take issue with this.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




you have the cover artists outlook
i have a book markting outlook

as a self publisher i dont have money to waste on big egos
and i am quite capable of making a cover as most of the so called professional samples shown on their websites to sell their cover services 

cover awards are meaningless
the only award that counts is making sales of books

for almost all self publishers buying any cover will be a net loss as they wont sell enough books to pay for it

if you cant do the best cover first time or one that is plenty good enough
then you may have to do several to choose from 

ALL text must be legible else the cover is confusing and wont grab the looker

the authors name is irrelevant for unknown authors
use the space to sell the book not boost an ego

if you dont like artiste then you need to clean out all the wannabees who declared themselves professionals to suck money out of the bank accounts of naive authors

if your clients stuck with you then they were not self publishers losing money on their book like the vast majority do 
most folks would wise up and stop throwing money away 

do you guarantee any number of sales if someone buys a cover from you?
neither do the so called promoters and advertisers who make money while authors lose more if they waste it on their 'services'


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## sigmadog (May 4, 2017)

who me? said:


> and i am quite capable of making a cover



I would love to see some of your work. Seriously. Please share a pic. I do not say this sarcastically, because some DIY covers are actually quite nice.



> if you dont like artiste then you need to clean out all the wannabees who declared themselves professionals to suck money out of the bank accounts of naive authors



"One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, Girl!" – Donny Osmond

In any profession there are players with varying levels of skill and integrity. When it comes to something as subjective as art and design, if you are looking for custom artwork, it pays to do a little investigation and find a designer/artist with whom you see eye to eye, whose work you like and who will work with you to create an image that will turn heads. That level of interaction will cost money.

If you are looking for the cheapest possible route, then by all means do it yourself. Just know that you may miss out on some new readers who are conditioned to ignore marketing that looks generic and amateurish.



> if your clients stuck with you then they were not self publishers losing money on their book like the vast majority do
> most folks would wise up and stop throwing money away



Or perhaps they should knuckle-down and write better books.

Please note that I am not in the "book cover design" industry per se. I have designed a book cover or two, but I do all manner of design/illustration work for individuals and companies in a wide range of industries. I don't have a "specialty" because experience has taught me that the fundamentals of good design will work just about anywhere they are tried. 



> do you guarantee any number of sales if someone buys a cover from you?
> neither do the so called promoters and advertisers who make money while authors lose more if they waste it on their 'services'



Sadly, there are no guarantees in life. 

The cover attracts the initial attention of the target audience, and that's all it does. It's up to you, the writer, to close the deal with a good synopsis that entices them to add it to their cart. And then you need to satisfy the promise of the cover and synopsis by writing a compelling work that gets good reviews and builds excitement. 

So a good cover is arguably of great importance, but if the writing sucks not even a cover by Rembrandt will save it.


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## who me? (May 4, 2017)

sigmadog said:


> I would love to see some of your work. Seriously. Please share a pic. I do not say this sarcastically, because some DIY covers are actually quite nice.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


===========================

most of the apples are bad when it comes to so called professional book cover artistes
nobody can show that a cover sells enough MORE books to pay for the cost of doing it

self publishers have to look for the cheapest route that is good enough
most of them wont make a penny of profit over expenses

most of the suc...  er authors are wannabees kranking out kindle krap novels for self fulfillmennt
they cant write better books
and the ones who are arrogant enough often spring for expensive covers and still only sell 3 books 

exactly 
the cover is to NOT confuse the reader
and get them to look at the back cover then inside

good design does not equate to good marketing
what artistes like is artsy
what is needed is salesy

nobody ever reviewed a book on amazon and raved about the cover
nobody said they bought the book because of the cover
they all talk about the content


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## sigmadog (May 4, 2017)

I can see this conversation is rapidly going nowhere.

Good luck to you, and I hope someday you discover the value of good art in marketing (and punctuation and grammar in forum posts).

Heh.


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## KellInkston (May 7, 2017)

Hi, Who me?!
This might be a bit lengthy as I don't visit here quite too often any more, but I'm curious to clarify.

Do you believe that an attractive thumbnail for a cover while browsing amazon, for example, will not attract more people to click to find out more about the book? I understand your distaste for vanity publishing, but also I'm pretty firmly of the opinion that there are drastically fewer bestsellers with poor or minimal-investment covers than there are with professionally-designed or high-effort covers. I actually can't recall a recent amazon top 100 that didn't have an attractive looking cover, and I don't think that's a coincidence.

We can agree that people review books based on the inside content, but they only get that far _after_ they've come in contact with the cover. In many ways a good cover is the biggest magnet you have for attracting readers to your story, regardless if it's  well or poorly written. That said, the cover doesn't decide the quality of the story, and that's why they're never mentioned in reviews, however covers are important because they _cause_ the potential reader to take a shot with your story rather than someone else's. Am I explaining this okay, or am I being vague? I thought that you, as a marketing-focused author, would absolutely appreciate how receiving more clicks is a good thing when it comes to converting traffic to sales.


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## who me? (May 7, 2017)

KellInkston said:


> Hi, Who me?!
> This might be a bit lengthy as I don't visit here quite too often any more, but I'm curious to clarify.
> 
> Do you believe that an attractive thumbnail for a cover while browsing amazon, for example, will not attract more people to click to find out more about the book? I understand your distaste for vanity publishing, but also I'm pretty firmly of the opinion that there are drastically fewer bestsellers with poor or minimal-investment covers than there are with professionally-designed or high-effort covers. I actually can't recall a recent amazon top 100 that didn't have an attractive looking cover, and I don't think that's a coincidence.
> ...


===========================================

people dont search for covers or thumbnails
they search for content

a BAD thumbnail will prevent clicking
otherwise it is the stars and the author and the subject and reviews that get people to click 
i do not think any fancy schmancy artsycraftsy cover picture will entice a reader

now that being said
maybe if it is a bodice ripper then a picture of a buxom wench might help get a click 
but i suspect it is as likely to not get a click if it is confusing and the words are not legible 

best sellers mainly come from trad pub houses
they budget money for artsy pictures on the cover
whether those sell the book or not is unproven so far
authors sell books
reviews sell books
word of mouth sells books

i have never seen any valid data that a fancy cover sells a book
but i have seen some that shows bad covers hurt sales when they are confusing and illegible

any top 100 is probably done by a solid proven author who has the funds to spend on a cover 
but whether that cover helped sales or not is pure speculation by the artiste union

CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION

people do not search for covers
nobody has ever raved over the cover in a review

people search for authors, subject, isbn, or maybe genre and reviews
but they dont search for covers

the cover can stop their momentum
it never causes them to consider that book initially 

you can claim the covers make the reader take a shot with the story
but that is all anecdotal and unproven

reviews may make them take a shot
author name will make them take a shot

i just took a shot because i saw evanovich on the cover
that book was a STINKER written with someone else and in no way an evanovich style book

none of the covers on the plum series would make anybody buy the book
the name evanovich makes them buy those books
and they shoot your top 100 theory out of the water as she sells millions on blah covers that market but dont win awards for artsiness

the dirty little inconvenient truth is that most self pubbers will never make back their expenses let alone make a profit to pay for their time
and wasting money on a cover for them is stupid

if you know you are going to be a top 100 book then go ahead and spring for the so called 'professional' cover artiste made cover

i still say if you are smart enough to write a book
then you are smart enough to diy a template and diy a cover that is as good as 99.98% of alleged pro cover artists


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## KellInkston (May 8, 2017)

who me? said:


> ===========================================
> 
> people dont search for covers or thumbnails
> they search for content...



Pardon if I wasn't all-encompassing there. I meant to say that those in the top 100 who have poor covers are already really well known if they do have covers of that sort. So if clarity of vision (clear title, text, etc) of a cover is important, then why not the aesthetics of the cover? I also would argue that, for unknown authors, people would probably judge them by the cover first before even caring to look into the content. Perhaps I'm unable to prove that, but I suppose it's only as unable as you are to prove that they aren't. Regardless, I'll try my best to explain.

It is worth saying that there _is_ correlation with seller success (copies moved) and cover quality. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...n&sprefix=military+,aps,501&crid=SNBKSWNP523Q <- for reference.

Now I would say that in all 15 of those listings, only two could be considered under par, but none of them are a template cover, are they? Also note that the vast majority of these books are by self-published authors, like us. Don't you think if they're making this kind of money, they must be doing something right? Do you mean to imply that all of these certifiably-successful people are wrong?

How about page 2, 3, 4?
How about the first 100 listings, because when I look I can see maybe five covers that could _scarcely_ be considered template covers.

Now, seeing this, can you honestly say that the ebook market isn't a _physical centric _market place that requires looking _as good as you possibly can_ in order to have the most successful product you can?

Also, for what it's worth, I'm sorry you picked up a bad book with Evanovich on the cover, but you must understand she's not an indie author, she's rolled by Random House, and just like Terry Pratchett, no one cares if their covers are minimalist, because they _already know_ the author.

I'll step back, because I am curious. If you're so certain of yourself, surely you must have some counter-example. I assume that if you're this sure you can show me a few non-house-published authors that have template-style covers?


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## who me? (May 8, 2017)

KellInkston said:


> Pardon if I wasn't all-encompassing there. I meant to say that those in the top 100 who have poor covers are already really well known if they do have covers of that sort. So if clarity of vision (clear title, text, etc) of a cover is important, then why not the aesthetics of the cover? I also would argue that, for unknown authors, people would probably judge them by the cover first before even caring to look into the content. Perhaps I'm unable to prove that, but I suppose it's only as unable as you are to prove that they aren't. Regardless, I'll try my best to explain.
> 
> It is worth saying that there _is_ correlation with seller success (copies moved) and cover quality. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...n&sprefix=military+,aps,501&crid=SNBKSWNP523Q <- for reference.
> 
> ...


=======================================

Correlation is  NOT causation.
Bad covers hurt sales. 
There is NO proof that good covers cause enough sales to pay for them.

And what is a good cover anyway?
That is a very subjective thing and it is logically impossible to order covers from best to worst in a consistent manner without contradictions. 

I still say that for ebooks the cover must be clear and easy to read without any confusion.
Keep it simple and keep it legible at thumbnail size.  After that it is the reviews and authors name that sells books. 

I don't obsess over covers so all I can say about them is for the books I actually read. 
Most of my books have plain text on the cover.  The ones that are not pure text are very minimalist. 

The difference is that you see things as an artist and have to believe that fancy artistic covers are good. 
I look at things objectively as a true scientist and see that bad covers can hurt sales but find zero evidence that artsycraftsy covers help enough to pay for them.


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## aj47 (May 8, 2017)

What would you consider "proof"?  





			
				A Wise Person said:
			
		

> Anecdote is not the singular of data.


 However, if it works for one person, it is a proof-of-concept. I know of one person whose change-of-cover turned a mediocre-seller into a top-seller. Does this mean that a good cover will sell *your* book?  No.  What it means is that a good cover can help a good book get attention it would otherwise not receive.  

Of course, maybe all your (not you-personal, you-universal) books suck the doorknob.  In which case, it doesn't matter what you dress them in, they'll still suck the doorknob.


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## Ptolemy (May 8, 2017)

who me? said:


> =======================================
> 
> Correlation is  NOT causation.
> Bad covers hurt sales.
> ...



I feel I need to jump in here.

People have different preferences on cover style, and this is clearly evident in this forum thread. The thing is, a cover is meant to draw an eye, incite an initial interaction with the prospective reader. First it's the cover, then the synopsis on the back, then maybe a looksee or two at the first pages. The thing you are getting tripped up on is that a cover can be both "artsy" (which is also subjective) and "clean cut" (which is also subjective). There are also a multide of other things that sells books, and a cover is a piece of that puzzle.  

A cover doesn't sell a book on it's own because that isn't it's purpose. The purpose of a cover is to attract attention, I can't tell you how many times I've picked up a book because the cover was damn fine looking. Plain text? That doesn't pique my interest at all. This piques my interest: 




*The ones that are not pure text are very minimalist. 
*Give me an example. Even minimalist covers are artistic and have meaning to let the reader take a look at it. 



_Against Happiness_? Yea, it's a frowning face. Even being as minimalist as this, it has artistic significance in having the reader subliminally thinking "Hey, that's clever." and looking at the back. It piques the readers interest in being a clever nod to the title. 

Having: *This is my Book in Plain Text*By Who Me? In slack Arial has no purpose, and doesn't draw attention to anything. 

*The difference is that you see things as an artist and have to believe that fancy artistic covers are good. 
*I want to see an example of your covers. Please. Have you had success with your plain text template covers? 

The thing is that they are not seeing it as artists, they are seeing it that good, highly respected books have good covers. There are MANY and I mean MANY unknown authors who cannot just rely on a "name" (like I bet you do) or book reviews, and they need something to draw readers to their craft. Because visually stimulating causes interest and interest leads to a synopsis scan, a synopsis scan can lead to a peek at the first pages, and since the first few pages of any book are designed to be hooks, it usually means the reader buys the book. Of course, this doesn't happen all the time, but I can say with personal experience that a good looking cover, usually means that a person has spent a lot of time crafting this work that they would have a professional artist tie it together in a neat, sweet looking bow. 

*I look at things objectively as a true scientist
*Haha. This cracked me up. You see things as black and white with no deviation in the path. It's the classic, if you were given a choice of a path, you would choose the path more taken. Objectively isn't how a scientist sees things. Looking at things objectively is a a limitation, and should be the last thing to be used to gloat with. Seeing things objectively limits you from really experiencing the fullest true potential. And this is your problem. You are looking at covers objectively, unlike KellInkston and Sigma, who the later has created covers and the former has had covers made for his books, who look at it subjectively. Art is subjective, not objective. 

*bad covers can hurt sales but find zero evidence that artsycraftsy covers help enough to pay for them.
*You realize that self published authors are not going out and dropping a couple grand on covers, if they had that form of disposable income they would pay a vanity publisher to publish their book. At most it's a couple hundred, but I've seen very good "artsycraftsy" covers go for as low as $45. Besides, why are you the end of the discussion of a "bad" cover? Why are you the final word on what is good? and what is bad? It's subjective like you said, so why should we be giving you a lick of time? Give me a reason here. If you want evidence, hit up a decently busy book store and watch how many people simply walk up to a shelf and look at the cover first. Besides, what's the harm in possibly having something that can boost your sales? You're talking in circles. 

I just wish you the best on opening your mind.


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## who me? (May 8, 2017)

Ptolemy said:


> I feel I need to jump in here.
> 
> People have different preferences on cover style, and this is clearly evident in this forum thread. The thing is, a cover is meant to draw an eye, incite an initial interaction with the prospective reader. First it's the cover, then the synopsis on the back, then maybe a looksee or two at the first pages. The thing you are getting tripped up on is that a cover can be both "artsy" (which is also subjective) and "clean cut" (which is also subjective). There are also a multide of other things that sells books, and a cover is a piece of that puzzle.
> 
> ...




the samples you show turn me off and would not get me to pick up the book to look at it.

I see things as probabilities.  And when the odds are stacked in one direction that is the way to bet. 
Almost guaranteed that any self pubber will lose money.  Paying for a fancy cover means losing more money.

I know way too many self pub authors that are dropping hundreds and thousands on covers with the encouragement of so called professional cover artists who tell them they need to do and and actually convince suckers to pay those prices. 

Lots of vanity presses do the same thing for covers, worthless editing, promotion, and other useless add ons. 

My mind is wide open to facts and evidence.   

Nobody has shown me one person who searches for pretty covers. 
They search for authors or topics or genre.
Then they look at reviews.   I read reviews without even noticing the cover thumbnail at all.
If I did look a bad one might turn me off but no artsy craftsy cover is going to motivate me to continue.


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## who me? (May 8, 2017)

astroannie said:


> What would you consider "proof"?   However, if it works for one person, it is a proof-of-concept. I know of one person whose change-of-cover turned a mediocre-seller into a top-seller. Does this mean that a good cover will sell *your* book?  No.  What it means is that a good cover can help a good book get attention it would otherwise not receive.
> 
> Of course, maybe all your (not you-personal, you-universal) books suck the doorknob.  In which case, it doesn't matter what you dress them in, they'll still suck the doorknob.


===========================

The battle is not alway to the strong
The race is not always to the swift
but my bookie said that is the way to bet.

Nost self pubbers lose money and 
paying hundreds or thousands for a fancy cover just makes the loss even bigger.

And as you noted 99% of all books are doorknob worthy.
When every fool can print a book for free or cheap (or pay through the nose if they get suckered by a vanity press) then there are going to be an overwhelming supply of bad books.


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## aj47 (May 8, 2017)

Why are you fixated on this "hundreds or thousands" figure?  Did someone shill you out that much?  I mean, *really*, I can get good covers for <$100.  It's like telling me I should build my own car because I can't afford a Ferrari.


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## who me? (May 8, 2017)

astroannie said:


> Why are you fixated on this "hundreds or thousands" figure?  Did someone shill you out that much?  I mean, *really*, I can get good covers for <$100.  It's like telling me I should build my own car because I can't afford a Ferrari.


=======================

yes, you can buy covers cheaper
but i know people who have paid a lot more than 100 

  the professional cover artists sites are trying to sell them for hundreds and thousands of usd 

  i actually talked to an artist where i worked about a cover
and he quoted me an outrageous price for it
the art he did for our internal documents was mediocre so i would have declined his offer unless it were free

i still maintain that if you are smart enough to write a book
then you are smart enough to diy a cover yourself 
dl a template and just do it
it will be just as good as the so called pro artistes deliver


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## sigmadog (May 8, 2017)




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## who me? (May 8, 2017)

sigmadog said:


> View attachment 17960



uh huh

put budweiser on it and it would sell 

leave the makers name off and put on a pretty picture on that can and it still wont sell 

nobody ever searches for an artsycraftsy cover and then buys a book
authors sell books not covers
content sells books not covers
reviews sell books not covers

only artistes selling covers claim that fancy covers are so necessary

dont judge a book by its cover is still good advice

nobody ever writes a review and raves about the cover

bad covers can hurt sales
no cover can ensure enough sales to pay for creating it

and as you noted 99% of self pubbed authors are not going to sell enough to break even
so why throw more money away on a fancy cover that wont help sales


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## Ptolemy (May 9, 2017)

who me? said:


> the samples you show turn me off and would not get me to pick up the book to look at it.
> 
> I see things as probabilities.  And when the odds are stacked in one direction that is the way to bet.
> Almost guaranteed that any self pubber will lose money.  Paying for a fancy cover means losing more money.
> ...



I know I'm feeding your ego at this point, but this is absolute garbage. 
You only state that you wouldn't pick up each sample due to their image because it supports your diluted argument. Do you think Eric G. Wilson, would be able to go off name recognition considering he hasn't released a published book in over 9 years, along with him being a decently unknown author. What about content? Will he be able to go off or recommendations for a 9 year old book? I don't think so. It's a minimalist cover like you said. Do you sell your books based on name recognition? I wouldn't think so. 

*I see things as probabilities.
*This... This right here maybe made me laugh the hardest I've laughed in a good four months. "I see things as probabilities." Bullshit. You see things as a way to continue in your diluted illusions. And I know getting terse will not hep my argument but it's just sad. It's just so sad. To see a person so engrossed in their own opinions that they are numb to different realities. You are the type of person who feeds off of confrontation, a person who live off of discussion so they can push their views as far as they can down someones throat before that person can even choke. So if you want to stay in a secluded box, dead to opposite opinions, be my guest. 

*Almost guaranteed that any self pubber will lose money. Paying for a fancy cover means losing more money.
*Isn't a tad hypocritical to ask for "proof" from the opposing side, whilst not providing any proof of your own. Any self publisher who spends maybe $50 bucks, on decent, artistic a cover. Will not. And I repeat. Will not, lose money on the cover. These figures you are tossing out: "A couple grand" and "thousands" is complete and udder crap. As I've stated, no self publisher would drop a couple grand on a cover, with that amount of disposable income, why are they even self publishing in the first place? Why not just pay a vanity publisher? The logic is there, you just fail to see it because it contradicts your argument. It's alright to be like this, you are human and many humans cannot accept a form of change or movement away from the norm. It's natural to resist something that contrasts with something you believe so heartily in. 

*so called professional cover artists who tell them they need to do and and actually convince suckers to pay those prices. *
This is the authors fault. If they are this gullible to drop "thousands" on a cover then I'm surprised they would even know the difference between a comma and a period. Sure, there may be some artists who will say "hey, only way to go is my _professional _touch." but it's the fault of the author, not the cover that causes this. You cannot blame an "artsycraftsy" cover for the failures of the artist. That is the author's stupid fault for dropping hundreds or thousands on a cover, when they're are many more, extremely price friendly options out there.
*
Lots of vanity presses do the same thing for covers, worthless editing, promotion, and other useless add ons. 
*This has no correlation with what I said. At all. I said, that if an author is dropping the money on a triple A level novel cover, then they could have easily gone to a vanity publisher rather than self publishing. They still get more promotion than they could reasonably do by themselves. Gadsby, one of the most intriguing novels out there was vanity published, and even though it was scant recognized when it was released, it has now become a mainstay. 

*My mind is wide open to facts and evidence.* 
**That support my argument. Even though the proof I am requesting is extremely subjective and incalculable, but I will still ask for "facts" and "proof" because I am higher than everyone because my opinions are better than anyone who contradicts me. 
*Nobody has shown me one person who searches for pretty covers. 
*I do, my girlfriend does, my mom does, my roommate does. The reason why no one can give you a definitive, objective fact is because it's not an objective system, it's a subjective system, as a "true scientist" you should know this. Do not ask for facts when it is a system of such personal preference. It's an opinon. That's why there is no facts, because you cannot conceptualize and calculate opinions like this. Surveys? Yea, but that's a different barrel of fish, this is a basis on a subjective medium in a subjective view. So great job on your cranked logic. 
*They search for authors or topics or genre.
Then they look at reviews. I read reviews without even noticing the cover thumbnail at all.
*Yea, that's you. How do your personal preferences correlate to everyone who's chosen to read before? By this logic, only authors who have high praise, or recognizable names would have their books read. But wait... How did those author come to be? If there is no name recognition then there is no success right? Oh, wait! Topic and Genre. Blimey! You've got it all figured out. Sorry, my bad. (This is complete and utter sarcasm by the way, a cover's goal is to intice. People don't just buy a book because "Oh! Fantasy!" They go to the library, go to the fantasy section, and look at the covers, the titles, what looks well written, well presented. A cover is an addition, a hook to draw the reader in.)

So, overall, you missed the entire point. Good job, Mr. "True Scientist" nice critical thinking. And I'm not mocking you for the sake that I'm getting angry, I understand the place you are in right now. This is something that contradicts your preconceived notions and opinions and we are resistant to those who oppose. You constantly believe that you are right without fault and you cannot see the other side of the argument. I can however, and I'm seeing that you are relishing in power that you can tell us that we are all wrong and malcontent because we do not agree. So good day to you, have fun with this objective, black and white view on the world. I see it's gotten you far enough to argue your beliefs on a message board. 

P.S I still want an example of a cover you deem "worthy"


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## who me? (May 9, 2017)

Ptolemy said:


> I know I'm feeding your ego at this point, but this is absolute garbage.
> You only state that you wouldn't pick up each sample due to their image because it supports your diluted argument. Do you think Eric G. Wilson, would be able to go off name recognition considering he hasn't released a published book in over 9 years, along with him being a decently unknown author. What about content? Will he be able to go off or recommendations for a 9 year old book? I don't think so. It's a minimalist cover like you said. Do you sell your books based on name recognition? I wouldn't think so.
> 
> *I see things as probabilities.
> ...


=====================================

You are so blinded by your artiste bias.  
And you cannot think logically.

No cover works for every potential reader.
So it is probability.  You want the one that works the best.

I would not mind if a self pubber only spent 50.  
But the 'professional' artiste sites have prices in the hundreds and thousands.  So do vanity press operations.
Too many get suckered into spending way too much for no value at all.

Blame the victim.  
So you think it is okay to con people with lies about how important covers are and if they fall for it then the artiste has no responsibility and it is all the authors fault for being gullible. 

ROTFLMFAOPIMP
There is no way to search amazon for covers. 
You may search for a book but do you really buy one for the cover or for the author or reviews.
It is probability.  You are in the tiniest minority you can still measure at all.

I have no preconceived notions.
I have beliefs based on experience and observation and used logic to see if they were correct.

You are the one who is blinded by your artiste orientation and cannot process the fact that art is irrelevant and fancy covers do not sell books.


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## ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord (May 13, 2017)

who me? said:


> fancy covers do not sell books.



I'm unsure about putting in my two cents, as I don't want to restart this argument (because it went absolutely nowhere). However, many times the statement was made that "no one buys a book for the cover." An absolute assertion like this only requires one counterexample to be disproved, so, Exhibit A:

When I look for books at the library, I initially pick them up _solely_ based on the cover. It is true that different covers attract different people, but I will not pick up a book by an unknown author unless something about the cover art is outstanding. Sometimes I even discover music this way; I was very, very close to buying an Integrity album, without having even heard of them before, only because I liked the album cover so much.

I am not the only person who operates this way. 65 percent of people are visual learners, and the rest still need something to hook them. Visual hooks are immediate, easy to absorb and easy to discard, which makes them important, whether or not you are an artist or a visual person. Also note that it is very difficult to make a living as an artist, so the vast majority will not be offering covers at ludicrously high prices.


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## who me? (May 13, 2017)

ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord said:


> I'm unsure about putting in my two cents, as I don't want to restart this argument (because it went absolutely nowhere). However, many times the statement was made that "no one buys a book for the cover." An absolute assertion like this only requires one counterexample to be disproved, so, Exhibit A:
> 
> When I look for books at the library, I initially pick them up _solely_ based on the cover. It is true that different covers attract different people, but I will not pick up a book by an unknown author unless something about the cover art is outstanding. Sometimes I even discover music this way; I was very, very close to buying an Integrity album, without having even heard of them before, only because I liked the album cover so much.
> 
> I am not the only person who operates this way. 65 percent of people are visual learners, and the rest still need something to hook them. Visual hooks are immediate, easy to absorb and easy to discard, which makes them important, whether or not you are an artist or a visual person. Also note that it is very difficult to make a living as an artist, so the vast majority will not be offering covers at ludicrously high prices.


====================

The battle is not always to the swift.
The race not alway to the strong. 
But that is the way to bet. 
According to my bookie. 

No absolutes of course.  
But the odds say if you paid for a cover you threw your money away wrt helping sales. 


Browsing at a bookstore or library is different than seeking out a specific book or even genre.
There, a bad cover will make you NOT pick it up.

Oh!, Wait.   They are all spine out so you can't see the cover until you pulled it off the shelf.
That would indicate the title is more important to getting you to look at it.

Don't judge a book by its cover is still sound advice.
But if you are reading bodice rippers then they are all bad so the cover might as well be the thing you care about.


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## ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord (May 13, 2017)

I don't really want this to spiral into another endless argument, so I'll just leave a few links here and let you decide based on the evidence.

an article on the Picture Superiority Effect

an article on the speed of visual communication and how that affects marketing


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## Terry D (May 13, 2017)

who me? said:


> ====================
> 
> The battle is not always to the swift.
> The race not alway to the strong.
> ...



You seriously need some new material.



> Browsing at a bookstore or library is different than seeking out a specific book or even genre.
> There, a bad cover will make you NOT pick it up.
> 
> Oh!, Wait.   They are all spine out so you can't see the cover until you pulled it off the shelf.
> That would indicate the title is more important to getting you to look at it.



I don't know when you were last in a library, but all new fiction is typically displayed cover out on tables, or stands near the entrance. Why might that be? Maybe so the cover art shows?

By the way, reading through this thread I found no one but you talking about 'fancy' art. I did see a working professional talking about effective design. I agree that most people pick a book based on the author. I strongly disagree that content or back cover blurbs are contributing factors as to why a book draws attention. The initial draw of a book is critical, and humans are visual animals; we respond first and most strongly, to what we see. If that were not so, books would be displayed with the back cover blurb facing out, would they not?


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## who me? (May 13, 2017)

Terry D said:


> You seriously need some new material.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



==========

as long as the old material works and is correct why fix what aint broken


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## Olly Buckle (May 13, 2017)

Terry D said:


> I agree that most people pick a book based on the author. I strongly disagree that content or back cover blurbs are contributing factors as to why a book draws attention. The initial draw of a book is critical, and humans are visual animals; we respond first and most strongly, to what we see. If that were not so, books would be displayed with the back cover blurb facing out, would they not?



I thought it was well established that most people picked books based on personal reccomendation ? I am sure that the factors you state then count. Looking at covers in the bookshop today it struck me that the genre could be guessed by a glance at the cover, it might be the first thing, leading to the blurb, but I am not sure how critical it is so long as it creates an impression that tells you 'crime' 'fantasy' ... etc.


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## who me? (May 13, 2017)

Terry D said:


> You seriously need some new material.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


=================

nobody BUYS a book in a library

dan poynter the guru and pioneer of modern self publishing said the back cover was prime sales territory 
including a blurb and reccommendations 

initial draw comes from author genre or reviews
books in stores are spine out so wont attract buyers by the cover
thumbnails at amazon do not attract buyers as much as stars on a review and their comments 

bad covers can turn people off so they dont read teh back cover sales material
and continue into the book to flip some pages 

the KEY point for SELF publishers is that most people LOSE money unless they did it for free on kindle 
so a fancy cover is not going to pay for itself

 of all the covers i have seen people using as samples to get you to buy their cover service
are no better than what you can diy.  and they cost hundreds to thousands of dollars.

if you dont want to diy then a cheap cover from fiverr would be good enough
as long as it is not confusing and the type is legible


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## who me? (May 13, 2017)

Olly Buckle said:


> I thought it was well established that most people picked books based on personal reccomendation ? I am sure that the factors you state then count. Looking at covers in the bookshop today it struck me that the genre could be guessed by a glance at the cover, it might be the first thing, leading to the blurb, but I am not sure how critical it is so long as it creates an impression that tells you 'crime' 'fantasy' ... etc.


===========

you can guess the genre from the label on the shelf
if you write a bodice ripper it is a no brainer to have some buy with his shirt open so you can see a six pack 

but unless you are fan of some italian hunk guy the picture is really not going to sell the book
author  and reviews plus back cover blurbs will help more


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## Ptolemy (May 13, 2017)

The thing is, you haven't given us an example of what you deem a "bad cover" and what is a "good cover" in your eyes. I gave you examples of a minimalist and a fancy cover and you totally disregarded them. 

Just give us an example.


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## who me? (May 14, 2017)

Ptolemy said:


> The thing is, you haven't given us an example of what you deem a "bad cover" and what is a "good cover" in your eyes. I gave you examples of a minimalist and a fancy cover and you totally disregarded them.
> 
> Just give us an example.


========

a bad cover is one that is confusing

a bad cover is one that you can not read all the type clearly 

a really bad cover hides the words under a confusing picture with a terrible illegible font

a bad cover has a title that is not interesting and appropriate

a bad cover has some unknown authors name wasting space that could be used for sales copy

a bad cover has the 'author''s picture on it 

a good cover is anything with only janet evanovich name on it
a bad cover is one with evanovich and somebody else's name on it

a good cover is nothing but james patterson and a title
a bad cover is some wannabees name in a hideous font and meaningless picture from some stock photo agency and a title you cant see


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