Finding the Best Stock Photos for Your Book Cover
As complicated as it may sound, a book cover is not about if you feel the book will look “good”, but about the reader and the genre. A design that agrees completely with its genre and to effectively convey this to the reader is a design that strikes the bulls eye. The color and the photo used on the cover should be in perfect harmony with what the story is about. The closer it is, the more successful the book is. The biggest reason for that being the ability of the cover to effectively get the kind of readers who appreciate the subject. Getting those readers in sufficient numbers and generating enough reviews further propel a good book into being a hit. That is how important a cover is.
“After all, the first impression is the last one. A cover is the first impression of a book”
Understanding what the book is about: Unless you are the author, read what the book is about, give it a brief read and understand the story in general at the least. This will go a long way in getting the right theme for the book. Forget generic themes like horror, love story etc. The cover needs to strike right at the heart of the story. It should be as close to the story as possible.
Stick to the main theme and add details: A great book cover will reveal the underlying main theme of the story and then add details. You could use mixed media and use several stock photos to achieve a unique look. Smaller details should be relevant to the details presented in the story. Together, these elements should be able to create a sense of story that a reader should expect.
Genre and the emotion of your main graphic: The front cover should be in line with the genre. A drama novel should relate and show a dramatic story in its details and not suggest fast action for example. Sticking closely to the pace of the story and the emotion behind it is the key to a successful cover.
Use of colors: Colors relate to the magic that a great cover invokes. Use of suitable colors closely following the mood of the story are thus important. Use of highlights and composition is important here too. Do you need a monochrome look, sepia look with deep coloured fonts up at the front? The story of the book should be your inspiration to choose the right colored image.
Copyspace: Plan where your text will appear, see how it will look by using a preview image to create a sample of the images that you have narrowed down on. Use a light box to place potential selections into, this should make your work easier while selecting the final few. Do not forget the back, where will the barcodes and publisher information appear, will a small synopsis be written at the back?
Searching for a book cover on Dreamstime:
Be specific: Stick to the main theme of what you are looking for. If your book is about a spooky vampire story with a twist of humour, look for “halloween” rather than “horror” and you should get better results, choose illustrations if it suits your design. See if you need people photos or not, in other words, use the image search filters wisely. This will help you narrow down quickly and save a lot of time and energy.
The right keywords: Avoid “book cover” keyword and see if it helps you get better results. This will include images that do not contain those keywords and give you more choices. Use your main theme as the keyword and see what kind of results you get.
Narrow down and test: Download previews and make a mockup if possible. It’s quite easy to do in photoshop and will show you how your book will look. Then ask yourself if this is the right design. Is it close to the genre? Is it up to your readers expectations? Does it stay close to the details? Does it look attractive? Does it have the required copy space?, is it a powerful picture that intrigues? How will it look on a store shelf or as a thumbnail on amazon? If you feel that your questions have a positive answer, do show it around to see what others think.
So go ahead and find yourself the perfect book cover! Thank you for reading.
