Lynda Young & Book Covers

 My good friend Lynda Young has released her Christian devotional Cling to God and is here to talk about book covers.

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The Art of Book Cover Creation

Thanks, Jemi, for hosting me today in honor of the release of the new edition of Cling to God: 365-Day Devotional. The topic I’ll be talking about is book cover creation.

Whether you’re doing it yourself or hiring someone to create a cover, it’s so important to know what fits for your market. It’s not just about having great art or a clever design. If it doesn’t match the expectations for the genre, then readers will struggle to find your book.

While I strongly recommend most authors hire a professional, I do have a graphic design background, so I took on the cover design for Cling to God: 365-Day Devotional. The first thing I did was research. After gathering up a long list of comparative books, I learned exactly where my book best fit. I also discovered a clear pattern in the style of covers:

Flower art on a white background.

Without the research, I would’ve gone with flower photography, a mistake. The hand-drawn art took longer to achieve, but it was worth the effort. I must admit my first attempts did not pan out. I tried all sorts of different art styles, including watercolor. I ended up going with the clean simplicity of vector art. I wanted it light, bright, and fresh.

Other factors to consider when finalizing a cover design is the typography. The size, the balance, the colors. Each genre has its own style of fonts too. Don’t pick your favorite font. Pick the font that works for the market. A heavy sans serif works well for crime fiction or even many non-fictions, but not so much for young adult fantasies. A floral font with scrolls works well for YA fantasy or romance, but definitely not for science fiction. Again, do your research.

There’s a whole psychology behind color choices too, composition, and visual depth, which I won’t go into here. One last thing to truly understand is this:

Simplicity is key. At a glance, the reader should know where your book belongs, without even reading the title. Cover it with too much detail or noise, and you start to lose that clarity.

What elements on a cover make you pick up a book?

Cling to God: 365-Day Devotional

This special devotional book is a year-long journey with daily inspirational messages and uplifting scripture to help you spend time with God. It includes short Bible-based teachings that will encourage and refresh. It is faith-building and thought-provoking with reassuring reminders of God’s love.

365 days of inspiration and Bible wisdom to lighten your heart.
365 devotions to bring you peace in uncertain times.
365 ways to Cling to God.

Ebook, Paperback, Hardcover

Lynda R. Young has written devotionals, multiple Christian articles, and other inspirational non-fiction, given Bible-based talks, and is always looking for other ways to encourage and uplift. She is also an author of fantasy novels, an editor, game developer, artist, and dabbles in photography and all things creative. She lives in Brisbane with her sweetheart of a husband. You can find her here: Blog, Twitter, Goodreads

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Thanks Lynda! I love the cover you designed!

Genre conventions are so important when designing a cover. I did my own for Dancing with Dementia, but I'm glad I've turned over the task to a cover designer who has a lot more talent in that area!

How about you? Do you design covers? Any favourite fonts out there? Any favourite styles of covers right now?