For me to design the best cover possible I need input from you. You will need to think about:

• Colors
• Characters
• Important elements
• Background image
• Setting
• Real pictures vs Illustrations

In addition to that I will need a description of your story, what is it about? Who are the main characters, what happens in general terms. Don’t need the whole book, just enough to give me an understanding. You are also very welcome to mail me pictures of book covers you like so I can get a feel for the style you want.

If you want a custom illustration, please send me pictures of what type of illustration styles you want. It could be a book cover in the style you like.

Remember that people who see the cover, don’t know the story yet – so you don’t have to depict a special scene, but more a general feel of the book.

There really is no right answer to this. A lot of paperbacks are 4 x 7 inches, but there are many sizes to choose from. Instead think of this. A book is shelved in a bookstore either with the front out (for the few lucky ones) or the spine out. So, you will want a spine wide enough for easy recognition when people skim the shelves. If the page/format of the book is big, you can either go with a bigger font size, or get fewer pages. Fewer pages means a thinner spine. So it comes down to the balance between font size, page size and spine size. The latter decided by the two former. 

In a normal paperback you’ll have aproximately 250 words per page, so divide your word count by that and you’ll have a number for how many pages you will have in your book. Then, go visit your bookshelf and find a matching book to get a feel for it 🙂

Amazon provide a ASIN number – that’s their version of ISBN. It is enough if you never want to go anywhere else. If you plan to publish with others later on it would be better if you purchase your own ISBN and use that for the book. 

Please note that you’ll need a ISBN for each version of your book, so e-book, physical book and audio book requires separate numbers, as does different versions and languages. 

If you’re in the US you can buy them at Bowker. Check your local country for where to buy. Some countries even let you have the numbers for free.  

Please check carefully as some companies might sell you these at an overprice.

On the back page of the cover you will find the Blurb. A short, enticing text that draws in your reader. A good way to put it together is to remember these four points:

1. Tagline
2. Introduce the protagonist
3. What is the main problem
4. What are the stakes?

Keep it at 100-150 words to make it easy to read, and help you sharpen it up. 

In addition to the blurb some authors chose to write a short bio, perhaps with a picture. The back page is also where the ISBN number goes.

Especially fantasy books have a need for a map inside. This will help the reader visualize the world. Maps can be small and simple and large and complex and even small maps takes time to create.

If you need a map in your book you should make a crude sketch of how you see the world – even just some circles with names in it can help. Write important places and note if there are mountains, deserts, oceans or other things important for your story.

Don’t make the map bigger than needed. The bigger the map, the less place for details. So zoom in on where the action is!

If you have an example of the style you’re looking for, send it along with your query.

Some authors make a map before they write the book, to help them visualize while they write – and keep travel time correct between areas in the story.