Authors – most particularly indie authors – are learning the hard way that getting potentials readers to land on the cover image of their creation cannot be taken for granted. Authors need a hook. And a clean, interesting cover must be the default starting point.

There’s a lot of research evidence out there to support the notion that more than 75% of book sales are earned by the quality of their covers. It’s easy to understand that a strong title and graphics will grab a buyer’s attention – and in a marketplace with more than a zillion titles floating around, an author needs all the edge he or she can get.

Let’s face it, there are some real car crashes out there and no matter what lies between the covers it’s unlikely these books will ever get more than the briefest of glances before a potential reader’s eye roams quickly to the next in line.

So how do authors give themselves a fighting chance of getting noticed? It’s simple – get a cover that makes people pause when they scan the bookshelves or run through the endless pages of listings on sites such as Amazon.

A knock-‘em-dead summary of the book’s content is, of course, just as important as a strong cover – but that’s a subject for another day.

Let’s look at what makes a good cover. Everyone will have their own choices but most readers I’ve spoken to tell me their preferences run something like this:

• A great title (in as few words as possible).
• An evocative image that creates a sense of what the book is about.
• Overall professional design (not a cut-and-paste or badly photoshopped job).

So where do authors turn to for those killer designs? The choice of designers floating around the Internet is mind-boggling, but so too in many cases are their fees! For new indie authors looking to make an impact, most of these designers are simply outside their budget with the result that many, regrettably, have to turn to self-creations or seek the help of friends with a bit of graphic design knowledge.

Too often this results in amateurish, poor quality work that will undermine all other efforts to promote their cherished product.

The good news is that there are some really great professional choices available to authors. Prices ranging from £10 (yes, you read that right!) to £300 are available, with the higher prices charged ostensibly because more than one ‘stock image’ is required – these things have to be bought and ring-fenced for just the one title, hence the growing cost if you look to add too much to your shopping cart. At least, that’s what some designers will tell you.

So, if you keep it simple, you can grab a bargain and yet still have a professional, quality design to put you ahead of your competitors. In many cases you’ll find designers with low-cost pre-made covers for eBooks and paperbacks – they just add your title and author name. Hey, if it works, why not!

In my opinion, however, the best available resource under one roof is the Fiverr site. They have literally hundreds of book cover designers willing to take on your project at extremely modest costs. The response time and quality of work is excellent, as is their willingness to undertake numerous revisions. Check it out here: www.fiverr.com

Note: I’m not paid for this endorsement, more’s the pity. It’s just that I’ve used the site regularly and can vouch for the completed work.

Whichever way you go, here’s an important note. Before you start engaging a cover designer (or cover creator, as some like to refer themselves as), put a bit of thought into what you want. It will be difficult to convey your ideas to a designer if you haven’t taken the trouble to formulate some basics.

Here’s a simple guide for creating a paperback cover (you may wish to only have an eBook cover, in which case you can skip some of the steps):

Images: Check out stock images on sites such as Shutterstock, iStock, Adobe etc. Again, there’s no endorsement incentive for me to mention these.

Once you open one of these sites the selection is mindboggling, but don’t let that put you off. You’ll need to use the search box to narrow your hunt e.g. gunman in busy city street. If you find one or two that are close to what you’re after, you can right-click and save them to your desktop. Don’t worry about the website imprint/bookmark. This is simply to give the designer an overall idea to look for similar images. If you want to go with a particular image, the designer will have access to the image minus those imprints/bookmarks.

Front Page: Decide on your title and any secondary title, plus your author name style – your full name, or just initials. Do you want it to say just Joe McCoubrey or By Joe McCoubrey?

Spine: Usually this is added by default and contains the book title and author name. If you want to add something else, such as a logo, let the designer know.

Spine Width: An important thing to remember before you engage a designer is to know the exact page count of your manuscript. Before proceeding, you will need to convert your file to your required page size – 6” x 9” and 5” x 8” are the two most popular. After doing this, you will have a page count – essential for a designer to know in order to set up the spine width on your paperback cover.

Back Cover: This is where you need most thought. Start by deciding the book blurb (something you will probably have already done for a descriptive text on Amazon etc.). Keep it simple. Don’t clutter it with a lengthy diatribe about the book. Work on getting this right – usually about 3 or 4 paragraphs is more than enough.

Next, you should add an author pic and a short bio (about 8 to 10 lines) for insertion in the bottom section of the back cover.

Barcode: You don’t need to worry about this. The designer will create the space for it to be inserted later.

And that’s it! You’re good to go. Have this information to hand so you that you can copy/paste into the designer’s instruction boxes where you can also upload any images you found in your search of stock photos.

I think you’ll be surprised by both the pricing and the quality. I’d love to know how you get on, so feel free to drop me a line. If I can help in any other way, please use the contact box on this site.

Let’s for a moment overlook the obvious comparison of marathon versus sprint, ignore the temptation to talk about hurdles to be overcome, and skip the image of taking the plunge. The preparation needed to be a Book Olympian (roughly translated as an author with a completed work) is every bit as dedicated as athletes who cloister themselves in training camps and pound the miles in daily exercise routines.

I’m not suggesting the physicality of writing is anything like that required by Olympians – but authors too have daily routines, and they can be just as lonely, tedious, and draining as those experienced by their muscular counterparts.

There has always been a lively debate about how authors should make room in their day for a set writing routine. How many hours per day? Is there a recommended daily word count?

I’m happy to admit being a bit haphazard about routines. I believe we are all so different in our lifestyles and commitments that it is impossible to be generic in advising standard writing schedules.

Writing is a creative process which by definition requires creativity before one word is typed. The progression of ideas necessary for completing a novel must be allowed to grow and nurture within us, before we can give them expression on a blank page. That’s just a fancy way of saying you can’t write when the ideas aren’t exactly queuing up in your brain. Conversely, when they are there, you MUST find the time to get them down onto paper.

One great tip for when you’re in the mood is never to finish at the end of a chapter. If you’re on a roll, keep ‘er lit! Start into the next chapter (no more than a paragraph or two) – that way, you’ll have something to get your teeth into at your next session.

I guess what I’m saying is that for most of us the urges will come in fits and starts. There will be times when we can’t face turning on the computer, but other times when we can’t walk away from it. I’ll bet you’ve all been there!

Most of us try to spend as much time as we can to review and increase our output on a regular basis. For what it’s worth here are a few handy tips I employ during those times when I’m not sure what direction to take the story:

• Read back through your previous few chapters. Sure, you know what’s written there but the exercise of going over the ground again might spark an idea of how to move forward a bit more. If nothing else, the time can be used to proof and tidy up what you’ve already done – and that’s never time wasted!
• If you’re still stuck with the problem of seamlessly shifting to the next chapter, try to jump even further ahead by tackling a fresh chapter chronicling events later in the book. The gap in between can be filled on another day, by which time I often find it easier to make the leap.
• It’s not ludicrous to suggest writing the last chapter, even if you’re miles away from the finishing post. Many writers have a great ending in mind so don’t wait to walk a long road to get there – do it now and it will empower the thought processes of what needs to happen in between. I’ve tried it – and it works!

All the above is valid, even if you have taken the trouble to storyboard your book from the outset. It’s all very well plotting out what seems a logical sequence of events, but too often – and rightly so in my opinion – a story will take you to places you had not originally thought to go. These ad hoc deviations will, I promise, add greatly to the impact and credibility of your story. Be prepared for them and embrace them wholeheartedly.

The biggest problem we face as authors is rushing to get the word count moving, and then falling into the trap of trying to speed up the whole process. All we want to do is get the book finished – but using this approach is a recipe for disaster. Don’t be afraid to let the story mature like a good wine.

Take your time, have the patience to be methodical, and, above all, put yourself on the side of the reader who wants to be entertained and challenged, not dragged headlong across a jumble of words and paragraphs which seem to be designed only to suit the author.

Avoid at all costs those who preach parameters and lecture you on how you must have a daily discipline. Authors are individuals, thank God, who enrich the world with an explosion of ideas which erupt from minds too diverse to be regulated by standard rules. Do it your way and pay scant attention to people like me who pretend to know the answers!

My own routine? I try for at least two hours each day, with at least one major session per week (usually lasting most of the day). I try to bite off the novel in 5,000-word segments per week, which provides for a 20-week book completion schedule. I’ve been known to knock out 10,000 words in a single weekend, but this kind of burst is commonly followed up by a downward output over the following week or so.

And therein, I believe, is the crux of this debate. Like most of you, I do what I can when I can, and when I most feel the urge.

Book writing for me has roughly three distinctive phases – the starting third, the middle third, and the final third – and each provide different mood swings and impetus for an author.

When we first plan a novel, the enthusiasm to get started with a great scene-setting opening will take us through the first 3,000 to 5,000 words almost effortlessly. That momentum will keep going, albeit at a slower pace, as we build the story. The brick wall usually comes in the middle third when we try to assemble plot conversions, while at the same time keeping the overall story ticking over in a natural way. That’s the period when we hit the slowdown button, grapple with the many directions we should or could go and end up with what can best be characterised as the staring-at-the-screen phase.

Once I get over that angst, I’m on the downhill third – and boy can I motor! This last section, even if it’s as long as 30k, can be the most exhilarating, both in terms of pleasure and output.

Knowing I’m within spitting distance of the end always seems to make me find more time and energy to devote to my writing schedule.

Some of what I’ve said might find resonance with many of you. For those who don’t buy into these ramblings, and who take entirely different approaches to their writing, rock on! Do it the way that suits you best.

But whatever you do, do it!