Old sayings notwithstanding, people do in fact judge a book by its cover when deciding whether to buy it. They try out the title to see if it sparks an interest. They glance at the cover art, and if it doesn’t interest them, they move on. If the title and cover art draw them in, they may turn to the back and read the blurb. If the blurb interests them, they may open the book. If what they read interests them, they may buy it.
Title
Titles cannot be copyrighted, so you can use any title you want. On the other hand, you don’t want yours to be one of a dozen books with the same name.
- Search online to see what other books share your possible titles.
- A title should be catchy. People like alliteration and rhyme; strong verbs and nouns; juxtaposition, such as Robert Rankin’s The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse.
- The title should be easy to say, so people can tell their friends about it without stumbling over it.
- It should also be memorable. If readers remember the story but not the title, when they tell their friends about it, the friends won’t know what book to look for.
- Keep your genre, theme, and main character in mind when creating a title.
- Consider several titles, and ask your friends and fellow writers which is most appealing.
Cover Art
Complex or confusing cover art may be off-putting. Browsers are unlikely to take time to focus on convoluted art.
- The mood of the cover art should accurately reflect the mood of the story.
- Colors express mood, evoke emotion, and catch the eye.
Blurb
The blurb needs strong verbs and concrete nouns even more than the story itself does. We have only a couple of paragraphs to entice the reader, so we can’t waste any words on backstory or filler.
- Include the main character
- His or her main goal
- The main problem or obstacle
- Don’t give away the ending
Author Photo & Bio
If the potential reader’s passing fancy survives the title, cover, and blurb, they may look at the author’s picture and bio to see whether they feel they can relate to this person whose book they are considering.
- A good clear professional headshot is ideal.
- Your expression, dress, and demeanor in the picture should reflect your book’s style, and at the same time present you as a lively and interesting person.
- Unless your book’s topic is deadly serious, a touch of humor in the bio can be attractive. “Jenny lives in Seattle with her model husband Gerald and their neurotic beagle Edward.”
- For fiction, readers like to know what it is about your life that makes you interesting. Do you collect acorn caps or start each morning hanging upside down for ten minutes? Maybe not, but there must be something interesting about you.
Jerry Tabbott
Great advice.
Karen Coody Cooper
I believe cover art is so important, I agreed to have $400 taken out of my royalties in order to get the publisher to procure the use of a particularly compelling artwork from a fine museum. If you’ve seen Rousseau’s 1910 Tropical Landscape – An American Indian Struggling with an Ape, you’ll agree it is powerful and whimsical at the same time.
BJ Phillips
I just love that Hollow Chocolate Bunnies title. If I saw it on the bookshelf, I’d have to pick it up just to see what it was about. I believe that blurbs are extremely important, too, and confess that I struggle with writing them. I wonder, though, how important it is to have the author’s picture/bio on the back cover. It sounds like a good idea, but my publisher doesn’t currently do that. Is it something worth discussing with her?
Marie Brack
Different readers want different things. A “cozy” book with recipes or a memoir, the reader is more likely to want to see the author than they would for a book with a more distant feel to it.
Terri
Good basics for fiction books.
I notice you write nonfiction as well as fiction.
What should I do differently, specifically for a nonfiction book?
Marie Brack
A nonfiction book title gives you more leeway because it can have a subtitle. That gives you a few more words in which to say something that will catch their attention. The subtitle usually expands on or explains the title.
For nonfiction, the author bio should tell the reader what qualifications or expertise the author has in the subject matter. That’s not confined to having a degree in the field, or a job in the field. It can include years of hobby-level participation, volunteer work, offices held in relevant organizations, awards and prizes, and relevant group memberships.