Guide to Fonts

57.9K 1.1K 211
                                    

Without fonts, your cover would not have a title. Without a title on your cover, your cover would not technically be a cover. Therefor, fonts are pretty important, right?

Don't be shy. How many of us look at all the fonts offered on an editing site, find one that we really like, and then say to ourselves 'Hey! I really like this font! I really want to use it!' . I sure have. It's just a normal thought. We see something, we like it, we use it (*Ariana Grande voice, I see it, I like it, I want it, I buy it). Problem is, those fonts may not go with the cover. At all. And what's more, the fonts may clash with each other if you chose to use more than one. 

As a general rule, I would say only use two fonts at most. One for one or two words in the title that can stand out more, and one for all the rest, including the author's name. The first font, the one to accent a couple of words in the title, should be something that goes with your story and of course, is easy to read. It also shouldn't totally outshine your other font. This font should not be used for the author's name. The second font, the font for all the other things, should be a basic font. I would say Georgia or Times New Roman. Something that looks clean and professional. This way, the font that you picked for the accents won't clash. 

That can be changed... you don't always have to use two. But we're going over basics, and for people just starting out, the general rule should be two. 

You have to be very careful with anything else you decide to do. Fun fonts can be fun, but they can also walk on a thin line between 'that looks cool' and 'that's damn the WORST'. 

Remember, the author's name should be in the same basic font. It may look unprofessional if not. There are a few instances where this isn't the case, but for the sake of argument and learning how to make covers, lets just say... don't do that. 

Some examples: 

What NOT to do:

Things you CAN do (please also note that the cover I am using is thrown together as an example, and not actually one of mine

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

Things you CAN do (please also note that the cover I am using is thrown together as an example, and not actually one of mine. The picture is also super basic, for the example's purposes). 

Traditionally I have always put my name on the bottom or top of my covers

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

Traditionally I have always put my name on the bottom or top of my covers. 

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

And because the bottom of the cover looks a little empty:

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

And because the bottom of the cover looks a little empty:

And because the bottom of the cover looks a little empty:

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.


Hope that helped! Any questions welcome and I will TRY to get back to you. Please vote and comment :)

How to Create A Bestselling Book Cover on WattpadWhere stories live. Discover now