Wattys 2022 Boot Camp

Workshop 5 - Book Covers

Why do covers matter?

Like it or not, people judge books by their covers. We know we're not supposed to, but we do it anyway. With the thousands of books you compete against on Wattpad, cover design is the most effective way to catch a reader's attention and communicate what the story is about.

Covers also convey how serious a writer is about selling their story to their intended audience. Think of it as your story's billboard. You wouldn't post a billboard if you didn't have a product you were confident in. Next to a well-written blurb, the cover is king!

What makes a great cover? 

A prominent title

The title communicates the essence of your story. It should be the primary focus of your book cover and must be clearly visible. Once you have chosen an appropriate title, follow these tips for best results:

> choose a font that is easy to read

> use a font size that is easily visible even in a thumbnail image

> select a font color that stands out from the background

A simple design that is not over-crowded

A crowded design makes it difficult to pick out the important stuff. When a reader is scrolling through covers, they're simply browsing. Don't make them work too hard for it. They're not ready to invest in your story yet.

> don't allow other text and graphic elements to compete with the title

> use no more than two fonts, this includes title, author name, and subtext. More than that can make the cover look too busy

> leave plenty of 'white space' (a design term meaning blank space without text or design elements). Your design should be uncluttered so that your message is conveyed without forcing the reader to search for it.

A design that showcases the story's genre

Genres exist for a reason. They help a reader guess if they'll like your story or not. And each genre has its own cover design style. When a reader browses, they generally choose stories based on their preferred genres without even reading the title.

When searching cover design ideas, start by browsing other popular books in your genre. What colors, layouts, fonts, and graphic elements are common in that genre? Which of those elements make sense for your book?

A design that features a key theme from your book

If you're looking for cover design inspiration, look no further than your own writing. The best path to a creative cover design is to visually represent a specific element or idea from your writing. Think carefully about the most intriguing or unique story element to feature there. You don't want to overwhelm readers by trying to convey too much.

How do I actually design a cover?

We're glad you asked. Wattpad created some videos that offer pointers on how to design great book covers in Canva. Even if you don't use Canva, many of the ideas shown in the videos below can be useful to your creative process.

We look forward to seeing your designs in our book-cover-workshop channel on discord. This is always a fun workshop, as everyone is encouraged to chime in and offer their feedback. Please, remember to add the GENRE of your story when you share it. This will help folks understand the mood you're trying to create.