1. BOOK COVER
SECRETS THAT SELL
Derek Murphy

2. ABOUT DEREK
Book editor, PhD Candidate, over 1000
book covers made, DiyBookCovers.com

3. GROUND RULES
#1. A good cover won’t save a bad story
#2. A good story can survive an ugly cover
#3. A good story AND a great cover will
make everything much easier

5. WHAT’S IT FOR?
The cover’s job is to tell the (right)
readers what’s in the book
• Cover Clichés
• Emotional/Cognitive
• Hook Attention
• Sell the Book

6. COMMON MISTAKES
• Focusing on scene or symbolism (head, not heart)
• Illustration vs Stock Photos
• Matching all the exact details
• Trying to be different or interesting
• Trying to give readers something to figure out or a surprise
• Book awards
• Badly used text or font (dropshadow, bevel or spacing)
• Illustration vs. Photoshop
• Author Name vs Series Branding
• Designing for Thumbnail View

7. COMMON MISTAKES
• Focusing on scene or symbolism (head, not heart)
• Matching all the exact details
• Trying to be different or interesting
• Trying to give readers ‘something to figure out’ or a surprise
• Book awards
• Badly used text or font (dropshadow, bevel or spacing)
• Asking for Feedback
• Illustration vs. Photoshop
• Author Name vs Series Branding
• Designing for Thumbnail View
• Dimensions: 1.6 (5”x8”) / 1.5 (6”x9”)
A beautiful landscape can trigger the right
heart muscles better than something more
meaningful/symbolic.
(The cover isn’t to explain. It’s just to attract.)

8. HOW TO WIN
• Make it ‘pop’
• Lots of space
• Make it clever (for NF)
• Use small text

9. HOW TO WIN
• The right fonts/effects
• Make it personal
• Go simple

10. From 50 downloads a day to 90.
CASE
STUDIES

11. From 4 copies a week to 286
CASE
STUDIES

12. From 30 to 58 sales a month
CASE
STUDIES

13. CASE STUDIES
CASE STUDIES

14. CASE STUDIES
CASE STUDIES
YOUR COVER SHOULDN’T NEED WORDS

15. WORKING WITH A DESIGNER
• Revisions/costs/refunds?
• Find a some samples you like (less than 5).
• Craft a short summary.
• Think simple.
• Listen and get feedback (half the time, the best cover is
not the one you like).
• The cover sells the book to people who haven’t read it.

16. DOING IT YOURSELF
• Stock Photography
• Bigstockphoto.com
• Depositphotos.com
• Photodune.com
• Flickr Creative Commons (or not) -
www.flickr.com/creativecommons
• DeviantArt
• http://www.deviantart.com/resources/stockart

17. DOING IT YOURSELF
• Stock Photography
• 123rf.com
• Istock.com
• Bigstockphoto.com
• Depositphotos.com
• Photodune.com
• Flickr Creative Commons (or not) -
www.flickr.com/creativecommons
• DeviantArt
• http://www.deviantart.com/resources/stockart

18. DOING IT YOURSELF
• Fiverr.com
• Canva.com
• Iphone Apps (WordSwag)
• DiyBookCovers.com
• Spine
• Barcode
• Lightning Source vs Createspace

19. MARKETING WITH IMAGES
• The Facebook Cover Test
• Community Voting
• Image Quotes
• Social Gallery Plugin
• 60% of consumers are more likely to click on a business
whose images appear in search results
• Posts with visuals receive 94% more page visits and
engagement than those without

20. • The Facebook Cover Test
• Community Voting
• Image Quotes

21. RESOURCES
DEREKMURPHY@CREATIVINDIE.COM
@CREATIVINDIE
WWW.DIYBOOKCOVERS.COM
WWW.CREATIVINDIECOVERS.COM

22. From 30 to 58 sales a month
THANKS!