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My whole working career has been in marketing. Figuring out slogans, and selling ‘call to actions’ and ‘reasons why?’ These are questions we wrestle with. Why should a shopper pick up your specific product versus the competitors? This is where pack designs, and key statements about your product benefits, come in. The same is true for books.
Myth’s debunked
The old saying that you should never judge a book by its cover just doesn’t pass muster, to use another overused phrase.
The reality is everyone judges a book by its cover. Having worked in retail in my younger years, we were always told ‘People buy with their eyes’.
I have found that to be very true. The eyes are the window to the wallet (pocketbook).
What are you up against?
Every book has what we call a competitive set, and that competitor set are the books that compete with your book. No matter what your book is about, you are up against competitors. Unless, of course, you are writing about some majorly obscure subject like how to speak giraffe.
Look at local bookstores or online bookstores, and see what the other book covers in your category look like.
Is there a design trend? Are there any specific colours, design devices, or fonts…
