Meraki the creativity (May I help you?)

Chapter 4 - "Uncover the secret of a good cover..."

It is said that"Don't judge a book by its cover." Well, I think it can go with human qualities, however, if we take the actual meaning of this line, I think a cover makes a book more intriguing because the cover is the first thing which impels us to lift the book in our hand. Even the synopsis comes later. So, let's talk about how we can make a cover more attractive and relevant to the story.

👉Theme and background: Theme is the soul of the cover. If the cover fails to depict the theme then it loses its meaning. Many times, I have seen that despite being a superb and creatively awesome cover it lacks to convey the meaning of the story and if the cover can't reveal the plot then it's no use of this creativity. For example:

Most of the time GDs choose the background of a cover which consists of fog, stairs or clocks. However, how is it relevant to a romantic storyline? Similarly, if the plot demands a dark emotion, GDs shouldn't use any happy image of the respective characters. Understand the theme, feel the storyline and then choose the background.

Secondly, choose the colour of your cover according to the theme. It can be bright, colourful or dark. Feel the mood of the characters and go for the right choice.

👉Number of images: Well, the story can have multi-characters but it doesn't mean you have to use all the character's image. Because it can make the cover crowded and clumsy. Instead of that, you can choose symbols which can go with the genre. For example:

For a romantic genre, you can choose Maple leaves or rose petals and for suspense genre, you can use cobweb or mask. Leave the cover simple, clear yet relevant.

👉Picture merging: This is very important otherwise; the borderlines of the selected images spoil the finesse of the cover. Blend the outline and merge the images with the background in such a way that it looks like a single picture. However, practice and experience improve this skill.

👉Filter: Choosing a filter is very crucial for a good cover. It can affect the pixel of the images. Avoid to choose the Pop, Accentuate, HDR, Glitch, Silhouette or Vintage filter for any contemporary or teen romance story cover. You can choose Retro, Vintage or Black and white for classic love stories. I always try to use the Beauty, Halo, Gleam, Smooth or Morning filter for romantic plots while for dark romance I usually go for Black and white, Silhouette or Glitch.

👉Size: Usually for Wattpad, Inkitt and other Ebook covers should be 3:4 or 9:16 ratio.

👉Font: I have already mentioned in the 2nd chapter about the best apps for fonts. However, don't use more than 3 fonts on a cover. It spoils the symmetry of the picture. You can use a strong font to highlight the strong word of the title. Use the shadow and shade to make it prominent. Curving the title is a good option to create a movie effect. Feel the plot and the meaning of the title and choose the font accordingly.

👉Author's name and watermark: This is very important to highlight the author's name. You can write as Author......., or written by...., A novel by.....etc, etc. If you want to put your watermark in the centre of the cover then minimize the opacity or you can put it in a corner with maximum opacity. After all, it's your creation and hard work and people should know about your creativity.

So, these are some tips and advice about making a good cover. Hope it will be helpful for you. Let me know if you have any suggestion about it. I will be happy to follow them in my forthcoming works.

Love❤❤❤

Suk

Author's note: I will discuss the writer's block in the next chapter. Stay tuned.