There are only ever a few reasons as to why we are compelled to pick up a new book from Amazon or our local bookstore:

• It’s one of those must-read titles.
• One of our friends or family members mentioned it.
• It’s mandatory to pass our upcoming high school test.
• Our favorite author finally finished another book. Like maybe the sixth book, George?
• Or…we liked the look of the cover.

I can easily think of a few books that I picked up for one of those reasons, and I bet you can too!

The importance of a cover

Your book cover is the first thing a reader will see, it will determine if they look past it on a shelf, or if they keep scrolling down while shopping online. Your cover is important, I can’t stress this enough; it is also one of the biggest contributors of creating a successful book as a self-published author.

Let’s break the cover down to its elements: a cover is essentially a title and an image. While the title is usually a few words or a phrase that describe the content or the story of the book, an image is a bit more than that. The image is a picture that introduces readers to the story. It can be used to convey themes, plot points, characters, and it can even foreshadow events to come.