As an author, I’m always on the lookout for pictures. Pictures for book covers, pictures for teasers, pictures for background settings, pictures to add to my Pinterest board. I can get sucked into a rabbit hole of stock photo websites and easily lose hours to mindless scrolling. It’s hard finding just the right image to fit a book. I’ll save dozens of photos, but continue searching for one that might be just a bit better than the last. It’s a constant battle of “oh that couple was used on a bunch of other book covers” to “this doesn’t quite fit my character’s description.” It’s important to me that the picture on the cover reflects the character I describe in my story.
A little over a year ago, I was scrolling Facebook and saw some pictures that a friend had shared from a recent photography session. When I came across the images I stopped and thought, “That’s them! They are my book characters!” Knowing their personalities only helped solidify my choice, but visually, this couple portrayed exactly who I had pictured in my head for my main characters. Immediately I texted my friend and asked her if she was interested in being on the cover of my book. She was already a reader, so she jumped at the opportunity and put me in touch with the photographer. I’m so grateful the photographer was also excited about the opportunity and graciously shared her work. This book cover was the result. This is only one of the six book covers I’ve created.
That really got me thinking about what all goes into creating a book. It’s not just writing and editing that make the story. The cover wraps up all of our words and it’s what hopefully entices a reader to take a peek inside. It’s the first thing they see. Colors, fonts, images, layers, design elements…these are all key pieces to putting together the final product. Each author goes through the creative process differently. Some hire a book cover designer and some—like me—create their own covers from scratch. I love making each book its own, including small details on the cover that are tucked away in the pages.
In the end, it’s important to me that the cover accurately portrays the story inside. I’m a visual person, so it’s what I look for in the books that I read and what I want to deliver when publishing a book. Seeing the picture helps me visualize the characters while I’m reading.
Tell me, do you pay attention to the details on a cover? Is it important to you that they match what’s inside the pages of the book? Comment below for a chance to win your choice of an ebook from my list of books. The giveaway ends Saturday, November 27 at midnight. One winner will be randomly chosen from the list of comments below.
K. Leah is a hopeless romantic and adores a good Hallmark movie. Growing up in the South, she likes her tea sweet and coffee strong. Family and faith are what matter most and she wears many hats, including being a wife, mom, and graphic designer. Other than being creative with designs or stories, she likes to spend her free time escaping reality into the pages of a sweet love story.
I definitely pay attention to the cover and expect it to match descriptions in the book. I like the cover to set the stage for the the plot.
I think back in the day of only hardcover books it was especially important that the covers matched the story. I must admit that with ebooks, I don’t give the cover that much attention. From your post I can see how important it is to you authors, so I will try to be more observant in future!!
I am also visual so a cover has to catch my eye.
Not so much, I’m more of a black and white list kind of woman. For me the story is most important so I read the blurb rather than check out the cover. I do find it a bit weird when the same models are on multiple books as it’s a bit confusing between the books. Completely relate to the rabbit hole though :)
Happy Monday K. Leah! This avid reader and retired high school English teacher is also drawn to a book by it cover, even though I don’t always pay close attention to details pertaining to people on the cover I do want the cover to reveal the setting and genre. To save my marriage, I primarily read ebooks, so two things that I important on the cover are: The Title and the Author’s Name. Please use a font that is easy to read and don’t bury that in two many cover details. Also some uniformity between books in a series. Since I also am a visual person, the cover, then the title, then the blurb are often what sticks in my mind. You are a new author to me. I also enjoy taking and looking at my pictures. I spend lots of time looking at the 40,000 + photos stored on my computer. Happy Thanksgiving.
Yes! This is what I expect as well.
Thank you for that consideration! I certainly understand how the cover can be easily overlooked in an ebook since the book often opens to the chapter start. I’m an ebook reader myself, but the cover will often make or break whether I one-click.
Covers can often make or break a book purchase for me.
I’m visual as well, so the cover is important and I do want it to fit the characters.
That’s the big downside to stock images…everyone else has used them too. It’s why I’ve really enjoyed using some local photographers in my recent works.
It’s a very fine line of staying on brand and making sure the cover is appealing, while still being able to read it–even in small thumbnail size. So many factors go into creating just the right cover!
It’s a must for sure!
I used to pay attention (more) to what the cover was, but any more it’s enough that I know the author(s). There are some book covers I remember, but most I don’t. There have been times when, after I’ve read the descriptions of the main characters that I’ve looked back at the cover and thought they didn’t look like their descriptions! I do think the book cover should reflect the contents. I buy way more ebooks than paperbacks now, and paperbacks are where I used to look at covers, but it was always the blurb on the back that made me decided whether or not to read a book.
Ebooks have definitely made it harder for book covers to stand out, especially on black and white devices. But they do still play a big part in whether or not I make the purchase.
Hi, Kendra! I am a photographer and I just erased a whole discussion that I realized was way too technical. Bleh! As a photographer, I do appreciate a good cover image. I also have some graphic art experience so I also can enjoy the non-photo covers, too.
My book choice, though, is a complex combination of cover, author, blurb, sample text and price. Usually, cover is not the deciding factor but it can get me in the front door.
I really find that the cover images affect me more if they are off somehow. I do not like couple shots where she is looking at the camera and he is engrossed in some aspect of her hair or shoulder, something utterly physical. I also feel less inclined toward portraits where all or part of the head is chopped off. Not a good sign. :-)
One of the most perfect romance covers that I have seen is from Valerie Bodden’s Hope Springs series, “Not Until Now”. There is such a sense of intimacy and happy vulnerability in that picture. Valerie’s husband is a professional photographer who took the cover pictures and the pictured couples are together in real life for that series. They are all nice, but I just think that he absolutely nailed it for that one.
I don’t worry so much about the couple on the cover matching the story because I am going to be using my imagination for the characters anyway. And invariably, the picture will miss something.
I guess the upshot is that I enjoy covers more for the image and less for the connection to the story. Just my two cents.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
I’ve dabbled in photography for many years and tend to take WAY too many pictures, then have to sort through to weed out the bad ones. My problem is the weeding. lol! So I appreciate when someone else takes the pictures and handles that part for me. You’re right that it’s truly a combination of many things that are the final deciding factor in my book purchases.
One of the early things that you learn as a professional photographer is to take way too many pictures. Most of them will be, at best, ho hum. But a few of them will be gems. The more shots you take, the more gems there are likely to be. Back in the day of paying for film and prints, it was a sad thing. Now, with digital, wield your Delete button ruthlessly and enjoy the gems.
It is still a big deal to be taking so many pictures. It’s like you have to choose between enjoying a place or experience and capturing it in pictures. You can’t really do both without watering down both.
I do pay attention to the details on a book cover & love ones that attract my eye. That’s not the only thing that influences me to read it though, a good back cover blurb & author will also help me decide to read it. If a book is written by an author I don’t know, then I’ll go by back cover blurb, reader recommendation and/or reviews. There have been many times that I’ve taken a chance on a new-to-me writer because both the cover & book description are interesting enough to me. I know, that’s a complicated answer to a simple question, lol! I think there are many factors as to why a reader picks up a book to read. But I would say for myself, the cover first attracts me :-)
I also do want the cover to match the story inside the book. The setting, characters and general feel of the book should be hinted at on the cover, in my opinion. What I don’t like, for example, is when character descriptions don’t match the ones on the cover. Say, the heroine has long blonde hair & the author describes her as having dark short hair or something. Now I would think that the author, editor or beta reader would catch a mistake like that, but I know sometimes the details do slip unnoticed. You get the idea, I hope. :-)
If the background is light then the primary should be darker or vice versa
I used to pay attention to all the details in the cover, especially if I had the paperback, but since I mostly read ebooks these days, I don’t anymore. Still, it is true that beautiful covers catch the eye of readers, and I definitely appreciate them (especially when they match the characters’ descriptions). :)
The covers are what draw me into wanting to read the book, especially when they hint at what the book is about.
I like cute covers that look neat and match the story! For example I adore caricature covers or cartoons I tend to be attracted to them, but sometimes an innocent cartoon cover hides a most sexual story.
Or the other way around I remember a clean fantasy book that I didn’t want to read because a man without a shirt appears on the cover, apparently the book is indeed clean but the cover makes me run.
Anyway I think that the covers of old books with only the title on the cover also have a special charm.
Hi, yes when I see a cover I like for it to tell me something about what the book is about. This book cover is Beautiful. Have a great week and stay safe.Have a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving.
You’ve described my exact feelings to a tee. lol!
Good balance is important!
Ebooks have certainly changed how we view covers. I pay attention to them more when I’m shopping for books than when I actually read it on my device.
First impressions are very important!
The illustrated covers are really popular right now! I love them.
Thank you! Holiday blessings to you!
Yes, absolutely. If a cover catches my eye, I will look at the blurb to see if it is a book I want to read. Thank you for sharing your process. God bless you.
YES! I do, and I love to see characters on the cover <3
I always pay attention to the cover photo & means a lot
I look at the covers but not always does it mean the books good so I need to read the description
I am so late but I do need the cover to match the story. I remember a contemporary cover I saw that I thought was a suspense as it had a dark colours, what looked like a couple at a cemetery under a tree and these were sort of black and silhouette type on a dark background I was so convinced it was suspense and shocked to find out it was a romance.
So to me the cover needs to match the genre and the story. (Nothing like a red haired heroine but the cover has a blonde).
Your cover looks really good.
Cover, then blurb. That’s my go to!
It really helps me connect the characters to the story.
Yes! Me too!
Very true!
Right, haha! That throws me off when the cover doesn’t match the story.
I totally look at the covers, it really messes me up when the covers don’t match the characters’ descriptions
The first book I mentioned I am told was a good story but I can’t get past the sinister looking cover to even give it a go.
Same! It’s kind of like watching a book to movie adaptation and they get the characters or scenes wrong.
I used to pay attention to the cover details, but now that I mainly read on my kindle, I don’t see the cover often enough to really pay much attention.