Levels of Cover Design Mastery

These are the Levels of Cover Design Mastery

1. Readers don’t judge a book by its cover
2. I can make the cover myself and a Title on a blank page is Enough
3. I can do the Cover myself and a Pattern with a Title is Fine
4. I can do the Cover myself and a Pretty Image is enough
5. Let’s get a $5 cover at Fiverr
6. I can do the Cover myself and a couple of hours on Photoshop is enough
7. Fonts? What are Fonts?
8. I’m getting a cover designer and he is implementing my Vision of what a cover should be
9. Let’s get a cover made for $25 to 75 from a crowd design website, or from a freelancer
10. Let’s get a ‘same cover sold again and again, 1000 times’ type premade cover for $15 or $25
11. Let’s get an ‘one of a kind’ premade cover from a professional designer for under $100
12. Let’s get a good cover designer do a cover for $150 to $500
13. Let’s LEARN what a good cover designer IS, and then do a cover for $150 to $500
14. Let’s get an excellent cover designer do a cover for $150 to $1,500
15. Let’s get a cover designer used by the Big Publishers do a cover for $1,000 to $3,000 (after verifying his covers sell)
16. Let’s get the best cover I can afford (given my financial circumstances and how much my books are making)
17. The cover is something that can keep getting better and better
18. Higher Levels – Unknown. We once saw a cover from a cover designer, where the pistol of the cowboy was better designed, more intricate, and more beautiful than the entire cover of other book cover designs. We have not seen that level of cover design mastery often enough to fully explain it

Now for an explanation of each level

Readers don’t judge a book by its cover

This is the ‘Blissful Ignorance’ stage

1. Where new authors (or clueless authors) think that the book cover does not matter at all
2. That readers ‘do not judge a book by its cover’
3. They read the sample. They read the book description (no, they don’t). They give the author the ‘benefit of the doubt’ and overlook the fact that the cover sucks
4. The truth is that if your cover is not very well done the reader will leave the book page within a second or two
5. In fact, in most cases, the reader will not even click on the cover and will never even get to your book page

Everyone starts off in this stage

Most people learn quickly that readers do indeed judge a book by its cover

I can make the cover myself and a Title on a blank page is Enough

This stage is barely better than the previous one

1. The author begins to realize that a cover is required
2. However, the author thinks it is just an item on a list – to be checked off
3. So the author just makes a cover himself/herself
4. Adds a title to a blank page
5. Sends it off and then wonders why it is still not selling

Some people get stuck at this stage

There is a very big gap between

1. A cover is required, yet it is not important
2. AND
3. The Reality that the cover is critically important

I can do the Cover myself and a Pattern with a Title is Fine

At this stage the author sees that a blank cover page with a title is not working

1. The author follows the misguided suggestion of some ebook stores and some online ‘design your own cover’ experts
2. The result is a geometric pattern as the book cover, with a title on it
3. A cover that is basically as useless as having no book at all

This is basically the fault of some of the ebook stores that provide authors with ‘automatic cover design’ software. Select a pattern. Enter a title. Your cover is ready. Welcome to never selling your book

I can do the Cover myself and a Pretty Image is enough

This stage is actually a massive improvement – the big breakthrough being the realization that you need a beautiful image on your book cover

The mistake most authors make at this stage, despite finally understanding the cover must be beautiful and must have a magnificent image on it, is thinking that they can do it themselves

1. Most authors pick an image based on ‘how pretty it is’ instead of what is right for their book genre
2. Even more important than what is ‘right for their genre’ is ‘what sells in their genre’
3. Most authors ignore that the cover must also have very good fonts, good placement of the book title and author name, and must clearly convey one central theme/idea
4. After that, authors make improvements impossible by falling in love with this cover that they ‘designed’ themselves
5. It is a common misconception that you can just come in and on your first try make a cover that can compete with covers that are made by professional cover designers

A good book cover designer has the following advantages over you, the author, when it comes to designing book covers –

1. Experience of 10 to 20 years of designing book covers. Regardless of how talented you are, you cannot catch up to that level of expertise and skill in a few days or a few weeks
2. Knowing what sells. Book designers who design covers which do not sell stop getting orders. The only ones that remain in business are ones that design book covers that sell
   1. You, as an author, have close to zero idea of what sells and what doesn’t
3. The book cover designer understands some basic fundamental principles
   1. The cover must have one theme and one main image
   2. You must use a very high quality image
   3. There should be one theme on the cover. Don’t try and have 2 or 3 or 4 different ideas/themes on one book cover
   4. Don’t make the title or the author name huge, unless it is a very famous author, or you are going for a fonts based cover
   5. Use very good fonts. Know what fonts are
   6. It is not a good book cover unless it sells
   7. It must meet genre conventions. Don’t put a wine bottle instead of a shirtless hunk on a romance novel cover
4. Not having emotional attachment to the book
5. Not being under the misconception that the cover must ‘recreate a scene from inside the book’
6. Knowing that the primary function of the book cover is to Catch the Eye and Get the Reader to Click on the Book Cover
7. Knowing that there must be tremendous attention to details given to the book cover

Let’s get a $5 cover at Fiverr

It pains me to even have to write about this. Why would an author ever think that getting a piece of crap cover for $5 or $10 from a cheap labor site like Fiverr is a good idea?

1. How many years have you spent writing your book?
   1. Half a year?
   2. A year?
   3. 2 years?
2. Do you really think that the best way to sell a product you have created with love and pain, over a period of 1 to 2 years, is to purchase a $5 or $10 book cover that someone an ocean away makes hastily in 15 minutes?
3. You get what you pay for, and using a site like Fiverr you get a $5 piece of bullcrap. It will not sell your book. It will sink your book
   1. Buying a cover from Fiverr is the classic case of penny wise and pound foolish. Saving on the cover means you kill book sales forever
4. That person is being able to sell covers for $5 because they are churning out cover after cover thoughtlessly
   1. They will not think at all about what is right for your book genre
   2. They will not have any real skill in making book covers that sell
   3. Most of the time they don’t care at all whether your book does well or not
5. Fiverr is basically a great way to end your career as an author

If you find yourself being tempted to get a cheap $5 cover at Fiverr, consider whether it is worth killing your book sales forever

I can do the Cover myself and a couple of hours on Photoshop is enough

At this stage the author has had two major breakthroughs

1. A book cover needs a beautiful image
2. A book cover needs care and affection, and therefore cannot be entrusted to someone who asks for $5 or $10

And yet, the author makes a critical mistake

1. The author thinks they can design the cover themselves
2. The author thinks they just need to use Photoshop or Canva or Gimp or some tool
3. The author actually goes ahead and spends a few hours and creates a cover which they think will do the trick

The author has a cover which they think will work

1. Author thinks – Here is a cover which I’ve made. I know the book best, so naturally, I best know what cover to make. I did the hard work of spending a few hours on Photoshop
2. Reality is
   1. Author has no expertise in graphic design
   2. Author has little experience in designing book covers using Photoshop (or anything else)
   3. The cover you make will be a sales killer. It will literally drive people AWAY from your book page, instead of driving them towards the Buy button

An author firing up Photoshop and making a book cover is a Guitar Hero type situation- it’s a fantasy, not to be mistaken with reality

Those people playing Guitar Hero and pretending to be rock stars, are not expecting to sell concert tickets and iTunes songs

Authors, unfortunately, are the opposite – they think they will sell a lot of books despite having a book cover that is a sales killer because it was designed by someone who neither knows what book covers sell, nor what cover design is

Fonts? What are Fonts?

After the author finds out that self made covers on Photoshop don’t sell books, the author does some research on the Internet

And then the third breakthrough happens – the author hears about Fonts and realizes Fonts are a big, big thing

This is perhaps the most critical stage in your transition from

1. Having a cover which kills sales
2. TO
3. Having a cover that increases sales

When you begin to find out that things such as Fonts exist, and that what Font you choose for your book title can be the difference between success and failure

Then, truly, you are on your way to success

Very Important: A certain percentage of book cover designers don’t know how important fonts are. This makes it doubly important that you understand that fonts are absolutely critical. Work only with cover designers who choose both beautiful images for your cover and beautiful fonts for your cover

If as an author you can understand

1. Fonts are very important. As important as what image you choose
2. You cannot design your book cover yourself
3. You must pick a cover designer who understands the market, makes beautiful cover, and makes excellent use of fonts
4. A book cover must be made with love and attention and care

Then you are well on your way to success

I’m getting a cover designer and he is implementing my Vision of what a cover should be

At this stage it would seem success if assured

You’ve realized you need an expert. You have found an expert

Unfortunately, the little devil on the author’s shoulder finds a new angle to sabotage the author. The little devil says

1. Yes, he is the expert. Yes, he has been doing this for 20 years
2. However, YOU are the expert on your book
3. It is YOUR vision
4. It is your money
5. You must be the one to determine what the cover is like

The little devil on your shoulder convinces you – The cover designer is just the brush, and you are Vincent Van Gogh

In your mind’s eye you see that the cover must be a pitch black night with two giant fangs slowly appearing out of the fog of eternal solitude. The abstract symbolism is perfect for your book about a vampire apocalypse. Never mind that in small size it looks like two white dots on a black background

So, you make the Executive Decision to bother and harass the cover designer into making not what he knows will sell your book, but what you see as your vision for the book cover

Let’s be frank – 50% of people are never going to get out of this stage. They are forever going to be in ‘Frank Sinatra singing I did it my way’ land. Their books are never going to sell because

1. Instead of letting the expert in book cover design make them a cover that will sell their book
2. They want to recreate some vision they have in their head as the book cover

If you can get out of this stage – Congratulations! You have achieved a major victory. You no longer think you are the expert at everything and that is the first step towards becoming a successful author

Let’s get a cover made for $25 to 75 from a crowd design website, or from a freelancer from a freelancing website

In general, anything you get from a Crowd Sourced Design website is going to be

1. At best, mediocre
2. At worst, terrible

Same for anything you get from a freelancer from a freelancing website

Here is the reason why

1. People only work at Crowd Sourced Design websites if they are willing to make 20 to 50 designs for every design they sell
   1. The person making your ‘crowd sourced design’ is not giving you $500 worth of design work for $50
   2. It is 30 to 50 people giving you $10 worth of design work. You picking what you think is the best, and then you getting another $50 worth of design improvements
   3. You basically pay $50 for $60 worth of design work
   4. It is almost guaranteed to be mediocre, because no one who is very good works in that kind of scenario (30 people work for free and submit, and then 1 person gets paid)
   5. Basically, it is the ‘greed’ that you get to pick between 30 designers and pay just once, that tricks you into buying what is basically mediocre work for a mediocre price
2. People only work at freelancing websites if they are trying to establish a brand, or if they are learning their craft
   1. People who want to start a company and have a brand will do freelance work to get started
   2. People who are still in college or can’t get a full time job, will do freelance work to get started
   3. You are getting the apprentices and the newly established start up businesses. You are not getting the best
3. In the end YOU are going to be doing the choosing
   1. Yes, there are a few real gems on freelancing sites
   2. Yes, there are a handful of really good designers on crowdsourced design websites
   3. However, you are not an expert at picking designers and it is you who is going to be doing the picking

This is definitely not a good option

It leads to a great cover less than 5% of the time. What is worse, the remaining 95% of the time the author is convinced they have a great cover (because they got such a bargain so it must be a marvelous cover)

The worse state to be in is where you have a mediocre cover and are convinced it is a brilliant cover

Let’s get a ‘same cover sold again and again, 1000 times’ type premade cover for $15 or $25

Your book cover needs to be unique

This is absolutely critical because

1. Your book cover is part of your brand
2. If you make a book series you will need to build off of the cover of the first book
3. Your book cover being unique makes it much more likely people will click on it. Duplicate covers sell far less
   1. Remember, if the reader has seen the cover before, they already made a decision on it. Either they bought it in which case they will not click on it again. Or they decided to not buy it, in which case they are somewhat unlikely to click on it again
   2. If they can tell it is a duplicate of the cover of another book, it is a big strike and disqualifies you immediately
4. Book covers that are resold, and cover images that are recycled, are not just resold a few times, they are resold and recycled hundreds of times
5. A unique book cover is a sign of quality

If you are getting a premade cover, you must make 100% sure it is absolutely unique and there is no other book cover on the planet which is the same

Let’s get an ‘one of a kind’ premade cover from a professional designer for under $100

Now we arrive at a point where the magic starts to happen

At this stage the author has finally realized they need to get a really good, professionally designed book cover

They pick out one of the really good book designers such as www.GoOnWrite.com or www.damonza.com and they go for a premade cover

1. If you cannot afford a custom cover, then make sure you get a ‘one of a kind’ premade book cover
2. Make sure you get it from a world class designer such as the two ones listed above
3. Make sure you pick carefully, based on what genre your book is in

With premade covers, especially at good book cover designer websites, you get

1. Top 10% of premade covers which are as good as a custom cover you will have to pay $1,000 for
2. Middle 40% or so of premade covers which are very good, and an absolute steal for the money. Worth $200 to $500, even though they are premades and much cheaper than that price range
3. The bottom 50% which you want to avoid

It is unavoidable, even with world class designers, that such a distribution exists

1. If you can devote the time, then study the bestseller lists in your category, so you can pick one of the Top 10% of book covers
2. If not, at least give some time and thought, and make sure to pick from the middle 40%

At this stage you have a cover which will lead you to success

If you are tired of book covers, then you can step aside and focus on other areas

If not, read on

Two Big Warnings before we move on to the Higher Levels of Cover Design Mastery

WARNING 1: After this stage, it’s all about how much money you have, and how good of a cover designer you can afford. If you want to live in some dreamland where you think you can work with a world class designer on the cheap, then kindly stop reading

WARNING 2: Equally as important as having money, is having the ability to pick out a world class designer. This is a real trap because there are loads of people with close to zero talent charging high amounts. Somehow, you have to attain the ability to tell which cover designer is actually world class and worth the high price

WARNING 3: There is absolutely no level of ‘mastery’ of cover designs, which involves you, the author, designing the cover. The first acceptable level (the previous one) is buying a pre-made cover from a world class cover designer. All subsequent levels involved buying custom made cover designs from world class designers. You are NEVER the one making the cover

It is absolutely impossible for authors to make world class covers that sell very well. You might be able to overcome a bad cover you made yourself, by using very good marketing or writing a very good book. However, you should not miss out on the opportunity to improve sales by getting a professionally made book cover

Let’s get a very good cover designer to make me a cover for $150 to $500

Your first steps into getting a very good cover designer to make you a custom cover are critically important

1. Make sure it is a world class cover designer
2. Make sure that books using this cover designer’s covers are selling well
3. First go with a more reasonably priced cover ($150 to $500 range), if that is an option
4. Let the expert do his work. Don’t micromanage. In fact, don’t manage at all
5. Do not try to force the cover designer to make ‘your vision’ of what the book cover should be

The test of how good the cover designer is, is how well the book sells

Nothing else

Let’s LEARN what a good cover designer IS, and then do a cover for $150 to $500

Unfortunately, the first few times you spend $150 to $500 on a good cover from a professional cover designer, you are likely to pick the wrong cover designer

Which brings you to the next big breakthrough

1. You must develop the skill to find a really good cover designer

This includes

1. World class design, despite the relatively low $150 to $500 price range
2. Demonstrated successes with covers that this designer has made i.e. good sales of the books using these covers
3. Must be a cover designer who does not let you interfere in the creation process
4. Must have rich experience. Must have lots of cover designs he has made, including at least some that are made for successful authors
5. You have to read up on design and fonts and do some market research. You have to develop the ability to ‘tell when something is beautiful’ even though you yourself cannot create beautiful covers

This is a very important stage because you suddenly understand perhaps the biggest lesson you will learn from this journey

1. Readers have spent a lot of time reading books and have figured out how to tell which authors are world class, which authors are very good, and which authors are mediocre
2. Every decision you take with your book, every aspect of your book page, every thing about your book – is a sign, which readers use to determine what type of author you are

If you mess up your book cover, you are not going to succeed, because readers know that very good authors almost never mess up their covers. Because readers know that world class authors almost always have world class book covers

Just the way you are learning how to identify world class cover designers

Readers have learnt how to identify world class authors

Suddenly, a lot of things should become clear to you

1. Why spelling mistakes and typographical errors are absolutely unacceptable
2. Why books should follow genre conventions
3. Why book covers are so important
4. Why you can’t cut corners
5. Why the book sample is so important
6. Why it is OK, and perhaps even necessary, to spend a few days on your opening paragraph, and a few weeks on your first chapter
7. Why you should only be this business if you are motivated to be the best and write absolutely beautiful books

Let’s get an excellent cover designer and do a book cover for $150 to $1,500

The next big breakthrough is when you have two big realizations

1. A good book cover can get 5% of people who see the cover to click on the cover and go to the book page
2. A great book cover can get 25% of the people who see the cover to click on the cover and go to the book page

AND

1. A good book cover can get 5% of the people who go to the book page to buy the book
2. A great book cover can get 25% of the people who go to the book page to buy the book

Yes, it is indeed a 5 times difference at each stage. A 25 times difference in all

At this point, you make a firm commitment to devote a larger part of your budget to getting an absolutely world class cover (which sells) from an excellent cover designer

Let’s get a cover designer used by the Big Publishers & let’s do a cover for $1,000 to $3,000 (after verifying his covers sell)

At some point you will realize that you should be getting the best possible cover. The absolutely massive advantage it gives you over everyone else

Then you start looking at $1,000 to $3,000 covers from the best of the best cover designers

You can only go for the ‘very best book covers’ if

1. You earn a lot of money from your day job
2. You already sell a lot of books
3. You have some other means of having a large budget

We strongly recommend not spending this type of money ($1,000 to $3,000) unless you can afford it

We also strongly recommend not spending this type of money until and unless you have mastered the art of telling how good a cover designer is (please read the section two sections back, to understand what we mean)

If you can afford it, then it is important to set down what this type of budget should afford

1.  A world class cover designer who is one of the best
2.  Demonstrated expertise in designing book covers that sell
3.  Multiple bestselling books. If the cover designer is truly world class, then he should consistently be creating bestsellers (just the cover alone is powerful enough)
4. Absolutely does not allow any interference from you + willing to walk away if you start giving attitude
5. Client list that includes large publishing houses and very large bestselling authors

Make sure all 5 aspects are covered

Let’s get the best cover I can afford (given my financial circumstances and how much my books are making)

The best selling paid app we ever made, which sold upwards of 300,000 copies, had an app icon (equivalent of a book cover) which took weeks of work and 120+ iterations

The designer did think we had gone completely crazy. Except the app went to #1 in the charts four separate times over a 2 year period. Then the designer suddenly didn’t mind that he had to redo his work 120 times

A cover is similar to an App Icon

Regardless of how important you think a cover is, it is more important

So, perhaps the 2nd highest level of Mastery you can reach, is to realize that you should be getting the absolute best cover you can afford

So the target is not $500 or $1,000 or $3,000

The target is – Get the absolute best cover I can afford (while making sure it is from a world class designer, whose covers sell books)

The cover is the single most important determinant of success (tied with Product Market Fit)

The cover is something that can keep getting better and better

The highest level of cover design mastery is when you realize

1. The cover can keep getting better and better

If you are an incredibly good writer

1. You realize that you know only 5% of everything there is to know about writing, and you can always improve

If you are an incredibly good marketer

1. You realize that you know only 5% of the magic of marketing, and you should constantly be improving

It’s the same with covers

1. You can keep improving the level of your cover
2. You can keep improving your understanding of cover design and your ability to pick a world class cover designer
3. You can keep pushing the cover designer to do more brilliant work, to surpass even his own high bar

At this stage, everything flows very smoothly, and time slows down

Higher Levels – Unknown

We don’t know what the higher levels are, just that there are higher levels