The importance of book covers – Part two
If you’re self publishing you have the choice of what will be on the cover. If you’re traditionally published you may not have a lot of influence regarding the cover image but you should always try to make some suggestions, at least. Publishers are just as concerned as you are that the book will sell, although there’s still always a chance that you may dislike the cover once it’s done.
The packaging of your book also includes the back cover. The text may be composed by the publisher or at least added by them but you should try and influence this if you possibly can. However, even if you don’t really care for the back cover text, these days authors have websites and Facebook pages where the back cover text is mentioned and you do have control over what goes on these.
While the cover on the front of the book is very important, the back cover is also a very important pat of the process when it comes to attracting potential buyers and readers. The title and the cover will grab the reader’s initial interest, but they will then be looking at the back of the book. This will tell them what the book is about, if it matches the cover to some degree but also if it’s something that they believe they’d like to read. If they like what they see they’ll next turn to the first pages of the book to get a feel for the story. If the first part of the story is sufficiently gripping, the reader will be hooked.
The back cover of a book usually features a short synopsis of the story. It is very concise, intriguing, mysterious, even exciting, giving just enough detail to get the reader interested to want to read more. Consider what your story is all about and create a back cover for your book. Remember, it can’t be too long and has to be so effective that anyone reading it will want to dive into your story immediately.
