A Peek at Our Book Cover Review Service

Some of you may already know that 1106 Design offers a comprehensive book cover review service. This service is for any author or publisher who would like an objective, outside opinion about the suitability of their cover design…in essence, a review before publication, when there’s still time to fix any problems.

We thought you might like to see an actual transcript from a recent review: The text under the headline in each of the 10 “mistake” categories details the book industry standard requirement(s) for that category. Our evaluation is below the asterisks.

First, here are the front and back covers:

Dear Charlette,

Thank you for the opportunity to review the book cover design for
Peace in the Heart and Home. Following is our review of your book cover.

1. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #1: THE BOOK COVER DESIGN DOES NOT FIT ITS
GENRE.

Buyers, distributors and retailers favor books that “belong” in
their genre. A history book should look different than a cookbook or a
spiritual book. Most of all, the book cover should look like current
bestsellers in its category. Does this cover look like it belongs in
its genre?

***

The beautiful type and the lotus image are very much in keeping with
self-help books.

Your cover rating: Excellent

2. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #2: THE BOOK COVER DESIGN IS NOT APPROPRIATE
FOR THE TARGET AUDIENCE.

A book cover should be designed to appeal to those most likely to
buy it. A book that contains fashion advice for teenage girls should
look different than a book targeted to CEOs. Is this cover appropriate
for the intended audience?

***

The cover is excellent in this regard as well. The overall design
does say “peace” to the prospective buyer.

Your cover rating: Excellent

3. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #3: THE BOOK COVER ELEMENTS ARE POORLY
ORGANIZED.

A book cover is like a billboard. It must communicate its message
to the buyer quickly and efficiently…in less than 7 seconds, in
fact. A book cover that contains too many elements can confuse the
prospective buyer and fail to communicate any message at all. The
elements should be arranged so that the buyer’s eye moves logically
from the most important to the least important information. Is this
cover properly organized so that it “reads” quickly and effectively?

***

The cover elements are well organized and easy to read. The eye moves
methodically from the title, to the subtitle, to the lotus image. The
dark-colored tile at the bottom anchors the design, and makes the
reader focus first at the top.

Your cover rating: Excellent

4. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #4: THE BOOK TITLE AND/OR IMAGES DO NOT TELL
THE BUYER WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT.

As the author, you know all about your book. But the buyer
doesn’t know anything…yet. We have to tell the buyer, in an instant,
what the book is about. Is the title of this book informative? Does it
encourage the buyer to learn more?

***

The lotus image is a perfect representation for this title.

Your cover rating: Excellent

5. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #5: THE COLORS USED ON THE COVER ARE NOT
APPROPRIATE FOR THE SUBJECT MATTER OR THEY CLASH WITH ONE ANOTHER.

Color communicates a subliminal message to the buyer. Blues and
purples convey a sense of peace and stability, honesty, royalty and
devotion. Reds and oranges convey power, energy and love. Greens evoke
nature, growth and life. Yellows convey happiness, cheerfulness and
warmth. Are the colors on this cover appropriate for the subject
matter? Do they harmonize well with one another?

***

Gold and black feel a bit jarring for this genre. Self-help books
often use blues, pinks, and purples to connote calm, healing,
well-being and other positive emotions.

Your cover rating: Fair

6. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #6: THE FONTS CHOSEN GIVE THE COVER A
SELF-PUBLISHED LOOK OR THE TYPOGRAPHY IS NOT SKILLFULLY EXECUTED (THE
SPACING BETWEEN LETTERS, WORDS AND LINES IMPEDES, RATHER THAN ASSISTS,
COMPREHENSION).

Fonts, like colors, send a message to the buyer. Serif fonts are
serious and authoritative. Sans Serif fonts are more casual, yet still
easy to read. Scripts and other decorative fonts convey formality,
levity, or a host of other emotions. Do the fonts in this book cover
evoke the desired buyer emotion about the content? Is the typography
skillfully rendered?

***

Excellent use of typography. The font is very appropriate for this
title and this genre. The typography is executed with the utmost
skill; the elements are perfectly spaced and proportioned.

Your cover rating: Excellent

7. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #7: THE COVER DESIGN IS NOT VISIBLE FROM A
DISTANCE.

A cover should be clearly visible from a display table or a shelf
to attract buyer attention. A book cover that fades into the
background is a sales opportunity lost forever. Is this cover visible
from a distance?

***

The gold and black background would be clearly visible from a
distance, say to folks strolling in a mall, but the title may not be
visible from 15 feet away, due to the light weight of the fonts used.
Up close, when the buyer is standing at the shelf or display table
this is less of a problem, but please see the response to #8 below.

Your cover rating: Fair

8. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #8: THE COVER DESIGN DOES NOT CONTAIN ENOUGH
CONTRAST TO BE VISIBLE IN SMALL SIZES ONLINE OR IN BLACK AND WHITE IN
CATALOGS OR ADS.

Colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel are most
visible in any design. But care is necessary to make sure the chosen
colors are still visible when the cover is converted to black and
white or displayed online in small sizes. The best way to test this is
to print your cover at 25% or less of its full size in both color and
black and white. A red title on a black background, for example, will
look very dramatic in actual size, but disappear in smaller sizes or
black and white. Does this cover contain enough contrast to be visible
in black and white and small sizes online?

***

The tiles in the background are quite busy. This makes the reader
“try hard” to read the text, even up close. I would recommend ghosting
back the tiles, or perhaps making them half as large, so that the
mosaic concept remains but doesn’t distract from the title. If this is
done, then the colors of the text will be fine. If not, then I’d
consider making the text a bit darker so it stands out better than it
does now. Also, if the dark tiles at the bottom are meant to depict a
tabletop, floor, or other surface on which the lotus is reflected,
then some perspective should be added to these tiles and the
reflection of the lotus. There would be no reflection otherwise.

Your cover rating: Fair

9. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #9: THE SPINE IS POORLY DESIGNED AND WILL
NOT STAND OUT WHEN DISPLAYED SPINE OUT ON A SHELF.

Sometimes, the spine of a book is very small and there’s very
little that can be done to create an eye-catching design. But if your
book doesn’t fall into that category, then adding color and/or visual
elements to the spine, in addition to the title and author name, will
go a long way toward helping it stand out when it’s shelved spine-out
with many other books. Is this book spine the best it can be, given
its size?

***

No spine was submitted as of this writing, but I’ll be happy to
review it when it’s available.

10. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #10: THE BACK COVER DOES NOT CONTAIN THE
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS NEEDED BY THE BUYER OR THE BOOK TRADE.

The back cover text should be as short as possible, preferably
with bullet points that quickly summarize the content. Buyers are
busy, and we have all be trained by the web to expect our information
in small portions. Back covers that contain too much text, or text
that doesn’t quickly get to the point, will simply not be read.

In addition to the text, every back cover should contain a bar
code, ISBN, and sales price in U.S. Dollars and in other currencies if
applicable, as well as the publisher’s name. The back cover should
never contain an offer to sell the book directly to the buyer, as book
stores will not then carry it.

The back cover should also contain an official subject heading from
the Book Industry Study Group (available at www.bisg.org) so that book
store employees will know where to shelve your book. Creating your own
heading is not recommended. Does this cover contain effective text and
all the recommended elements?

***

The back cover is excellent, though I would repeat the concern about
the busyness of the tiles as on the front cover. All the elements are
in place (assuming you’ll place the barcode in the space indicated).
Regarding the subject code, here’s a link to the latest listings from
Book Industry Study Group:

http://www.bisg.org/what-we-do-0-136-bisac-subject-headings-list-major-subje

cts—2009-edition.php

I don’t see the specific category you have used
(Psychology/Relationships) under Psychology, but Self-Help seems to
contain useful descriptions. It’s important not to invent categories
because book store employees won’t be sure where to shelve your book.

Your overall cover rating: Excellent

I hope you have found this review helpful, Charlette. All the
suggestions are optional, of course. Please let me know if you have
any questions.

If you would like a review of your book cover, similar to the example above, please visit http://covers.1106design.com. The cost is just $75.