Don’t Get Caught in the Details

In our newest instalment to the ‘What makes a Good Cover’ series, today we’ll talk about details. More specifically, how not to get caught up in them.

I know how easy it is to go overboard when creating an awesome cover. You want just the right hint of grunge yet enough elegance to depict that your character is a royal and a rebel. You want your character’s favourite weapon on the cover, but also want to make sure your readers know that they’re from a tiny town on the coast of the Chinese mainland. You want enough blue glow on the cover so they know there’s a fantasy element to it, but also that your MC’s eyes are the bluest blue. Details man! They get us.

Now, usually, less is better. It’s better to pick one aspect of your story, or your character and incorporate it on the cover. You can get away with two or three max, but they have to be very well done. Take ‘The Mortal Instruments’ covers. Very simple yet complex. You’ve got a person (or people) overlayed with the runic tattoos, and a city on the bottom. It’s just grungy enough to let you get the very realistic feel of the book, all without going overboard.

You want your cover to be bold and eye-catching enough to produce a sale, but you don’t want it to be so cluttered the reader has no idea what genre the book is or what it’s about and so does not want to read it.

Food for thought.

Like our Facebook page!