Let’s
talk about Book Titles
and Covers
with Ann Griffin
What persuades you
to purchase a book, when browsing online or at your local bookstore? Market
research tells us that familiarity with the author is the single biggest factor
in book sales. But let’s say you’re in the mood to experiment with a new author.
I’m betting you look for an attractive cover, a catchy title, and a blurb on
the back page that tweaks your interest.
Let’s also suppose
you are an aspiring writer putting in long hours on that baby of yours, your
manuscript. You’ve had a title for ages but have given it no thought recently.
As for a cover design, it’s the furthest thing from your mind, absorbed as you
are in editing, rewriting, and creating a killer ending.
Time to pay
attention to these very important tasks. In this post, I’ll offer some tips and
guidelines for creating a fabulous title and cover. Blurbs I will leave for a
future post.
Titles
I went through
five different titles before I settled on the one I used for my debut novel, Another
Ocean to Cross.
At first, I winged
it. Whatever came into my head. Not a bad way to start, but then I learned there
are guidelines that offer a more systematic approach.
· Keep it
short.
Nix on the ten word titles. Best to keep it under five words and three is
better, unless you are J.K. Rowling. On the other hand, one-word titles run the
risk of being used in many other books, which could confuse readers.
· Keep it
interesting. Don’t turn readers away because the title sounds
like a 5th grade reader, or a college textbook. Make sure your title
says something real about the book. For example, Living with ALS would
grab the attention of anyone dealing with that disease, but Living with
Sharon says nothing at all.
· Research
your proposed title. One easy way is to do a search for it on
Amazon or Goodreads, because if your title is already in use, or too similar to
others, it is best to choose another.
· Make it
relevant
to your book, but with a hint of more to come. (Before We Were Yours, An
American Marriage, A Hillbilly Elegy.)
· Make it
unique.
Best seller examples: Little Fires Everywhere, The Price of Time.
· Consider
the perspective of your main character or antagonist, be they trailblazer,
rebel, seductress, tycoon. Think of a two- or three-word phrase that determines
how she or he thinks of him/herself. A great example that uses the antagonist’s
perspective is The Lord of the Rings.
· Alliteration can
work. Think Gone Girl, or Pride and Prejudice.
· Beware
of trends.
For several years now, books with “girl” in the title have been everywhere.
Besides Gone Girl, we have seen The Girl on the Train, The Girl with
the Dragon Tattoo, and many more. A search on Amazon today yielded over 40,000
titles in adult fiction containing the word “girl,” published in the last
ninety days alone! If a trend is still hot, you may be able to capitalize on
it, but if not, avoid it.
· Juxtapose
two opposites to create an intriguing title: All the Light We
Cannot See, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things.
· Add a
what, a who, or a where to give your title some context: Where
the Crawdads Sing, Under a Scarlet Sky, The Ragged Edge of Night
·
Simplicity Rules: What
about punctuation marks in your title? URLs for your book’s website may not
allow all punctuation marks or what they term “unusual characters.” Perhaps
your book is set in a foreign land and you wish to use a word or phrase from
that language in your title. A hint: if readers can’t pronounce it and don’t
know what it means, they are unlikely to buy it.
·
Think about your cover design with the
title:
You will likely plan the cover design after you have a title. Make sure they go
together, and that one enhances the other. Both should set the tone for the
book, whether funny, serious, scary, or romantic.
Give yourself permission
to play with as many of these suggestions to come up with as long a list of
possible titles as you can. Enlist the help of friends: fellow writers, beta
readers, book club members. Use social media if you like. I test-ran
some of my early titles on social media, asking people if the title would
persuade them to pick up the book and look at it. That’s your goal, remember.
A Word about
Subtitles
Not every book
needs a subtitle, but if you feel you absolutely must say a bit more about your
book than the main title, create a subtitle. Don’t add a subtitle simply
because you want to have a long title and I told you not to. To add more
context, a subtitle can be useful. For example, the title Philipovna
written by a friend of mine, Valentina Gal, tells us that the book is about a
woman probably from Ukraine or Russia, but nothing more. Her subtitle, Daughter
of Sorrow, lets us know there is a sad story inside. Another useful
subtitle example: The Fire Line by
Fernanda Santos. Her subtitle tells us all: The Story of the Granite
Mountain Hotshots and One of the Deadliest Days in American Firefighting.
By the time you
work through these suggestions, you should have a list of three or four
potential titles. Time to pick the one you love best and won’t get tired of.
Book Covers
The subject of
book covers is lengthy. This is not an exhaustive treatise, merely an
introduction and some guidelines for writers new to publishing.
Modern covers,
together with the title, have one goal: to persuade the reader to pick up the
book and look inside. What the reader does next depends on the blurb on the
back, and the contents of the book.
If you are an
independently published author, you must handle this yourself. Notice, I did
not say DO it all yourself. Unless you are a graphic artist, I strongly
recommend that you hire a designer. Prices can range from less than a hundred
dollars to thousands. You know your budget, so stick to it.
Before you hire a
designer, you should have an idea of what you want. The cover should reflect
the content of the book, or one vital detail in the book. It should be
aesthetically pleasing, in attractive colors, and suitable to the subject.
Go to the nearest
bookstore, or simply log onto Amazon and browse through the books in your
genre. Each genre tends to have must-haves in their covers.
Notice what covers you like, which you don’t like, and why. As you answer these
questions for yourself, you will begin to build a mental image of the cover you
want.
For my historical
fiction novel, I wanted a twenty-something woman wearing 40s style clothing,
prepared for travel. There are several wartime voyages in the book, so I also
wanted a WWII warship in the background. I wanted my female character looking
away from the ship, because she has made a difficult decision, and she is not
sure it is the right one.
My designer was
responsive to my needs, and we went through quite a few iterations before I was
satisfied. She had the license for the graphics, which is another important
consideration. Whatever you do, don’t copy a photo you find on the internet
without permission. You could get into serious trouble.
There are many
companies that design generic book covers. You plunk in your genre and hundreds
of potential covers pop up. They’ll add your title and bingo! Your cover is
ready. Some of them guarantee you will be the only user, others do not, so shop
around if that is the route you decide to go. Here is one example: EbookOrPrint.
Sites such as Canva may convince you
that you can design your own, with a little help.
There are also
sites like Fiver where multiple graphic
designers from all over the world bid for your work. This is the site I used
but there are many others. Ask your fellow writers for references and look for
reviews of each site you consider.
You have your cover,
and now it is time to consider font, size, and placement on the cover. Be sure
it is easy to read. The font should match the book contents. For example, don’t
use a techno font for a romance, and don’t use a beautiful script font for
horror.
Your designer
should have two or three options for you to choose from. Be polite but be
honest. This is not a time to settle.
Sharing potential
covers on social media and asking which your followers prefer is a great way to
not only get feedback, but to build interest in your coming book.
If a few published
authors you know are willing to look over your cover, you may gain some very
useful observations. One viewer of my cover, unfortunately after I had
published, noticed that the title could have been placed higher on the page,
which would have made it more legible against the character’s similarly-colored
clothing. Such a tiny detail, and people like my cover, but it could have been
that little bit better.
The finish of your
cover can be matte or glossy. If you’re willing to pay a more, you can add
linen finishes, gold lettering, and other bells and whistles. It is a personal
decision, but again, that trip to the bookstore to see what the trad published
books look like can be instructive. Above all, you want your cover to look
professional.
If you have won an
award and are eligible to put a sticker on your book, adding it to the cover
design assures you will never have to pay separately for stickers again.
Multiple awards? Congratulations! But one sticker per book is all you need.
Choose the most impressive award or the sticker you like best. Brag about the
others on your website.
If you are
publishing an e-book only, you simply need a front cover. The paperback
requires design of the spine and the back cover.
The spine should
have the title, your name, and the publisher imprint (logo), if any. The cover
designer will do this for you.
There are plenty
of companies who will help you to create a logo if you want one. Some are free.
That sounds appealing, but it can be difficult to get what you really want. For
a small fee, companies will offer their created logos that you adapt to your
own business name. You may find exactly what you want from one of these
companies. Obviously, the more help a
company gives you, the more they will
charge.
My business name
is Georgic Publishing LLC and here is the logo I came up with. The Georgic is a
real ship mentioned in my book, so I chose a ship’s wheel for my logo, based on
a brooch I own from the ship. Fancy? No, but it serves the purpose for me at
this point in my journey.
You may choose to
wrap the image of the front cover onto the spine, even straight across the back
cover, but it is not necessary to do so. Depending on how busy your cover is,
it may distract from the key information in your blurb.
The back cover is
your advertising space. As promised, I’m not going to get into blurbs in this
post, except to say that you must have one. The blurb should take up half to
two thirds of your back cover. The rest should be your short author bio, and,
if space permits, a headshot of you. I recommend working on your blurb and your
bio while you’re editing your manuscript.
I hope my
suggestions help you along the road to publication. Thank you for reading, and
I welcome questions, comments, and feedback.
Ann Griffin, Author
Another Ocean to Cross
By Ann Griffin
2018
B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree and FINALIST - Wishing Tree Book Awards
Germany, 1938: Talented Jewish teen artist and secret activist, Renata
Lowenthal, convinces her reluctant parents that they must leave, before
conditions for Jews worsen. Her father, Karl, a doctor no longer allowed to
practice, and Lea, her mother, depressed over the loss of a child years before,
decide to head to Palestine. After a hazardous journey, they find themselves in
Egypt. Using her ingenuity and artistic talent, Renata gets her parents into
Alexandria, the headquarters of the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet. But war’s
tentacles reach to Egypt, and the family is still in danger, with nowhere to
go. Renata looks to the Allied sailors and soldiers, thinking a husband may
provide an opportunity to move out of harm’s way. After a steamy courtship, she
marries Ray Stern, a Canadian, shortly before he is deployed to war service.
Not long after the birth of their child, Renata is faced with an agonizing
decision that will have repercussions many years into the future. Determined to
keep her family together, she must dig into the depths of her being, to find a
resourcefulness and courage she never knew she had, to save her marriage and
her family.
Pick up your copy of
Another Ocean to Cross
Ann Griffin
Ann Griffin comes
from a family of adventurous women. An immigrant twice (to Canada and to the
USA,) she understands from personal experience the challenges of being
uprooted, either by choice or not, and remaking a life in a new country.
Ann writes
historical fiction, flash fiction, and short non-fiction. She has published
articles in the journal of the British Home Child Advocacy and Research
Association, and guest blogged for the award-winning writers’ blog, Writers in
the Storm.
She enjoys choral
music, golf, and her miniature poodle, Simber. Ann and her husband divide their
time between Mesa, Arizona and Toronto, Canada.
Georgic Publishing
LLC 2018
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See you on your next coffee break!
Take Care,
Mary Anne xxx