THE IMPORTANCE OF BACK COVER DESIGN
It’s easy to overlook the importance of back cover book design. We all know having a well designed front cover is your number one marketing tool when it comes to publishing your book. However, attracting a reader’s attention is only step one. Your back cover design is essential to making the sale. It’s a deal closer.
Back Cover Book Design 101 : Formatting & Elements
When considering a back cover it is important that the design looks professional, that the tone mirrors that of the front cover, and that the information is legible with a clear hierarchy of information. The design should be clean and not over crowded with elements. Font sizes should neither be too large nor too small.
The back cover of a book typically includes the following:
- Tagline
- Blurb
- Author bio (optional)
- Testimonials (optional)
- Practical details (ISBN barcode, cover designer credit, website, publisher logo etc.)
Tagline & Blurb: Your Elevator Pitch
Once your reader picks up your book, or browses the “look inside” feature on Amazon, they already have one foot in the door. Your book cover has done its job. The reader has declared their interest, now your job is to reel them the rest of the way in. This is where you get to give them your elevator pitch, the back cover blurb. Your tagline and blurb must be well crafted, intriguing and leave your readers wanting more.
Design Recommendations:
- Tagline font size: between 10-12 points (bold, all caps optional)
- Blurb font size: between 8-10 points, (regular & legible font, do not set this copy in all caps)
- Keep back cover blurb lengths between 150-200 words
Writing a blurb can often be one of the biggest challenges for authors. Dale E. Lehman has some helpful strategies if you’re looking for inspiration.
Author Bio: A Personal Touch
Why not let your readers know a little more about you? If you feel comfortable enough, adding an author bio can make your book look professional, and give readers an opportunity to connect with you. Just remember to keep it simple. Less is more when it comes to writing an author bio.
Design recommendations:
- Including an author photo is recommended. Ensure the photo is high resolution.
- Your author bio must be clearly set apart from your blurb. Common convention for author bios is to place them below the blurb at the bottom of the cover. Another option to is align the author bio in a column to the left of the blurb. See image below for reference examples.
Testimonials: If you've got 'em, use 'em!
If you’re one of the lucky ones, you may already have book reviews. These can be very strong endorsements for your book and, as such, they should stand out. Make sure you highlight the credentials of those endorsing you (ex. Best Selling Author of…CEO of…Journalist for etc.).
Design Recommendations:
- Use a maximum of 2-3 testimonials
- Ideally, the quotes should be no longer than 2-3 sentences. The shorter and more concise, the better. Feel free to shorten the quotes keeping in mind citation styles.
- Font size: 10-12, italic
- Do not over crowd your back cover with quotes and give them space
Practical Elements
Elements like the ISBN barcode, design credits, and publishing company logos may not be of much interest to your readers but they nonetheless have an important role. Displaying these components on your back cover will subconsciously tell your reader that what they’re looking at is professional. You don’t want your back cover to make you look amateurish.
Design Recommendations:
- Have your designer create a publishing company logo for your own company if you’re not using a traditional publisher
- Add your website (above below ISBN), this not only promotes you it gives you more authority
Back Cover Design Take-Away
If you’re designing your own cover the most important thing to keep in mind is to keep things short, sweet, and clean. Do not over explain or over design!
Have you designed your own back cover? Share your experience in the comments below.
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