Most authors get caught up in creating the content but may lose sight of the value and importance of the cover and title. With our process, that is Step #1! And it’s the first thing we ask our authors to do because it sets the tone for the rest of the book.
If you just quickly throw something together, it may not be something you love, much less a book someone will want to read. Because let’s face it, people judge books by their cover. You want to make sure that you create a book you want to read. You may be wondering how you do this…
First things first, you must choose a title and cover that resonates with readers. Before you begin writing your book, you need to architect your book first, which means starting with the end in mind. In other words, you need to envision and conceptualize how the final product will look and feel.
You need a great title for your book to be marketable. Your title will be the focal point when others recommend your book to friends or referring to you in blogs. If you have a great title — one that’s easy to remember and enjoyable to say — you’ve already won half of the marketing battle.
The goal of the title is to reveal your book’s central concept. Great titles are usually 1–5 words long (Outliers, Harry Potter, Chicken Soup for the Soul). Any longer than that and it starts to lose its memorability, though there are exceptions (Men are from Mars Women are from Venus, How to Win Friends and Influence People).
When deciding on your title, come up with four potential titles. Narrow it down to 2.
Now go down this list and ask the following questions to see if it’s marketable:
· Is this title easy to remember?
· Does it reveal the central concept or type of experience my book has to offer?
· Does the title express what type of reader will benefit from reading the book?
· Does the title provoke an impulse purchase? (“Oooh, I want to read that right now.”)
· Would readers enjoy recommending this title to friends because it’s fun, cool, or sexy? (word-of-mouth friendly)
· Does the title start a conversation when people hear it for the first time? (hint: if people say nothing upon hearing it, that’s a bad sign)
· Would it be easy to turn this title into a franchise? (Harry Potter and the…, The 4-Hour…)
· Is the domain available? (convenient, but not required)
· Are there any other books or copyrighted material with this same title?
We also ask that our authors play around with the title. Say them out loud. You want to tie an emotion to the cover that would create an immediate impression or will provoke the reader into connecting with the title right away.
Once you have completed this task and decided on a title, you want to consider a cover image. It is IMPERATIVE with your cover design. Do not rush this process! For marketing and branding purposes, ask yourself if you want to use an image of yourself or just use colors that resonate with you, or possibly a picture of something that connects with the title. When you are selecting an image, we suggest you also ask the same questions as you did with the title selections.
Be open-minded to feedback, and do not attempt to create a cover on your own! There are specific programs and tools designers use to ensure that the resolution and angles of the image are eye-catching! Do not make the ROOKIE mistake of creating a rookie cover! I could go on and on about great tips you will need for your protection! Long story short, seek professional assistance.
If you go into the book writing process with the mindset that you can do it all, you could potentially be setting yourself and your book up for failure.
Last but not least, the back cover can make or break your book sales. The description of your book is what gets people to BUY the book. It’s the squeeze page, the sales pitch, that converts an interested prospect into a paid customer. You need to invest a lot of time nailing this part because it’s crucial.
I’ll share more information about this in the next blog… So stay tuned!