It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. At first glance, your front cover should clearly communicate what the book is about while grabbing the readers attention and convincing them to inspect the back cover. How to write a back cover book synopsis pen and the pad. Testimonials are incredibly persuasive in transforming potential readers into readers. Design your cover in the design layer, using the template pdf or png file as the guide layer.
The back of a book cover is the perfect place to put this social proof. Not to mention, once your book arrives, the back layout can color readers expectations as much as the front cover. How to write a back cover for a book writing a back cover identify your audience. Nov 18, 2016 im a published novelist, and i participate in several writing groups and online communities. You dont want to drag down exciting hooks with arcane plot and other unnecessary details. Soft photo cover with a thick cardstock cover, your photos are showcased on the front and back in an easytoflip softcover book. If you dont have a print version of your book and its only sold online, everything in this article about back book blurbs can be applied to your book description in online listings. Canvas book cover maker makes designing book covers amazingly simple even for nondesigners. This book was a really thoughtprovoking read for me. Design a book cover in seconds with this tool placeit.
Nonfiction back cover copy for nonfiction, establishing yourself as an expert and differentiating your book from the others written about the same topic will help sell your book. It is a brief description of a book and book plot that should immediately attract the attention of your readers. Customize your book cover design by typing in your book s name, changing the background, choosing a color scheme, and selecting your fonts. Endorsements work great for nonfiction covers as well. Because almost every author makes the horrible mistake o. Also on your back cover, youll include a description of your book. Nonfiction book back covers are a little different. Although your back cover is critical to your book s marketing plan, your author bio is another key aspect to building your reputation and making money as a selfpublished author. The blurb that appears on the back cover of your book, and on your amazon page, will either. In your new mindset you will see in a few minutes why you need to provide categories on your book. Harry potter and the philosophers stone first hit shelves in the united kingdom on june 26, 1997, arriving stateside as harry potter and the sorcerers stone on sept.
My son brought this book home one day from school and i decided to read it years later when i became an aspiring writer. How do i cite descriptive copy or a quotation from a book. You dont want to reinvent the wheel with your back cover. This should be broader in scope than the reasons you put in your bulleted list. For book cover text if you are citing descriptive copy or a quotation printed on the cover of a book, its preferable to incorporate the necessary details chiefly, the author of the copy or quotation you are citing, if known, and the source where the copy or quotation appears into the body of your text and then create a standard entry for. As you add text to your cover, make sure it exactly matches the book details e. We explored the impact typography has on human emotion, cognitive recognition, and ultimate action plus, some book cover designs that. There are plenty of awesome and interesting book mockups in many variations, but most of them are need to be purchased. Learn how to write a back book cover blurb that not only intrigues readers but gets them to buy. That means you have a limited amount of space to tell a potential reader why your book is worth their time and money.
Back cover definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Back cover should provide about a paragraph or two of your storys protagonist, what they yearn for, and the obstacles that are certain to get in their way. As readers themselves, authors understand how the average person approaches buying a book see above, so they know the importance of a back cover blurb. Fail to engage your target readers in that sense, a good blurb is anything but subjective. You already know that, in fact, everyone does judge a book by its cover. You want to look at the bookstore in a new way, as a publisher. Use all your writing skills to make it the best it can be. The tool allows you to customize your cover with a variety of layouts and fonts.
Done correctly, the back cover copy is the primary ad for your book. Be clear about the benefits of buying your book, and youll deliver an irresistible message. Book cover or book board the front and back covers of books are often referred to as book covers or book boards as they are often made of bookbinding board and cover the book. After all, if you cant write a good blurb, why would anyone want to read the rest of your book. Book covers today are often simple, revolving around a central imagery thats symbolic and can capture the essence or theme of the plot with one glance. Its design matches the front endpaper and, in accordance with it, contains either plain paper or pattern, image etc.
Front and back matter in books alliance of independent. Two of the most common mistakes that nonfiction authors make in crafting their back cover is. Many cover creator templates allow you to choose an image from our image gallery or upload your own image. Then ma tells jack the truth, about outside, about her home, and asks him to do something that will change both of their lives forever, to escape room. Design book cover for free with online templates adobe spark. Also, no front or back cover text should extend into the spine area.
Aug, 2015 put the bulleted list in the middle of the copy you write for your back cover. Its the essence of your book s most exciting features, distilled into a few hundred words. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and are now found on web portals and news websites. Apr 28, 2016 the back cover copy you write for your book is among the most important marketing messages youll craft. Sample book back cover a man can never truly run away from his past, jack preacher thought, as four mysterious horsemen appeared from beyond the desert threatening to throw the quiet and dusty town of cameron into disarray. Design book covers with canvas free book cover maker. The image must be the cover art, or a professional scan or professional photograph of the cover.
You have a few paragraphs about the book andor its author on the back about 100 to 200 words to hook the potential. The image must be of the correct edition of the book, if the editions have different cover art. Remember this is just a starter layout, you can customize your covers, or any area of your book to your liking using the wealth of bookwrights editing tools. Dont squander this moment by going into a blow by blow of what happens in your book. Work by convincing readers to take a chance on it, or. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The purpose of your front cover, back cover and spine. Its the essence of your books most exciting features, distilled into a few hundred words.
Open the pdf or png file for the paperback book cover template in your image editing software. Creating a book blurb, while still technically writing, is closer to a science than an art. Amazon started offering the ability to see the back cover in early 2017, much to the joy of selfpublishers. Cover creator uses the book details you enter during title setup and adds your book s isbn to the barcode area of the back cover. Author julie broad shares 5 back cover tips that will help sell your nonfiction book on amazon and elsewhere. That sounds complicated enough but take the sheer amount of book genres out there, and coming up with a book cover to attract readers can be a monumental task.
With exciting images and profound imagination, stephen hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation. Im a published novelist, and i participate in several writing groups and online communities. As paperback publishing developed, readers began seeing the blurb appearing on the back cover. Besides the blurb there are also some other elements that are included in the back cover of the book. Not only will it appear on the book itself, but youll probably use it as your amazon description. But once that reader picks up your book and flips to your back cover, this is your chance to sell your book. How to create a back book cover blurb that sells kindlepreneur.
Aug 29, 2011 a short video tutorial on how to reattach the cover to a hardcover book. And, that most authors, emerging and experienced, miss. Focus on your genre romance, scifi, historical nonfiction, etc. Think that most people buy books online, so they wont ever see your back cover. The back cover copy you write for your book is among the most important marketing messages youll craft.
You can adjust your color palette to reflect the genre or create an emotional impact, and you can even put a filter on your background image if you need a unique effect. Oct 26, 2018 the back of a book cover is the perfect place to put this social proof. Front cover, spine, and back cover of the dustjacketedit. Now it is the job of the back cover to draw them in so much that they feel compelled to buy the book. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps. Simple front and back cover book mockups and free to download is here, now is time to show your print design, especially book cover design in more realistic and effective way, quick and easy without any hassle. Focusing too much on a description of the books content, rather than how the content will help, inform, or entertain the reader. Did you know that your back cover information is, after the front cover, the best way to sell more books. Remember, your back cover copy can be just as powerful a marketing tool as your front cover. Feb 28, 2017 back cover your front cover did its job if the shopper made it to the back cover. Some informative blog posts have addressed techniques for creating an effective front cover, but an often overlooked aspect of book cover design is the back of the book.
As you can see in the back cover book design that it is very simple and is using all the elements visual imagery and text and they designed that the illustration is. It typically serves as the foundation for your online book descriptions, as well as any press releases or pitches you make to the media. But its not just any description as you have approximately 200 words depending on your font type to grab the reader. A novel of literary, historical, and political importance. How book cover typography can enhance the book itself luckily, understanding how fonts can work in your favor is easier than you think. Heres the thing with telling someone about your book be it in person, or in an ad, or via the back cover copy youve spent arduous hours perfecting.
Super simple to customize with your own sizing and design, this book cover template is the perfect canvas for creating your own printready layout. One way you can help them is by printing the principal category the book belongs in on the back cover. Where the crawdads sing by delia owens, hardcover barnes. You also know that you have only two or three seconds to attract a potential reader with your front cover. A boring back cover text will cause the reader to lose interest and put the book back on the shelf. Mar 10, 2018 this free book cover template includes a full front and back cover for a paperback or softcover, including an adjustable spine. The spine of the book is an important aspect in book design, especially in the cover design. Writers use the term blurb to describe the text on the back of the book. Blurbs are what sell your book when your front cover has attracted prospective readers enough to click on the novel from a huge list of options. Back cover copy is the blurb on the back of a book. A blurb is a short description of a book that is written for promotional purposes. I really suggest you go on a field trip to a bookstore for this exercise. Images should be the full front cover art, and fill 100% of the image frame. It goes without saying that the cover of your book is key.
Where the crawdads sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming of age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. If your page count is under 100 pages, you shouldnt add spine text. When your front cover is complete, click on the back cover and edit the text fields to your satisfaction. Maxine hong kingston, in an endorsement on the back cover of viet thanh nguyens the sympathizer, calls the novel a magnificent feat of storytelling. The back cover often contains biographical matter about the author or editor, and quotes from other sources praising the book. Its gets right into the story, grabs you and keeps you there. Traditionally, it would be found on the inside back cover of a hardback. This entry was posted in marketing on march 17, 20 by admin. When a buyer picks up your book in a bookstore or book signing event, he or she will usually look at the front cover first, then flip to the back to learn more about it. Youve done the hard work and created an amazing book. Make sure it sells out by creating an awesome cover design. When the books are stacked up or stored in a shelf, the details on the spine is the only visible surface that contains the information about the book. For nonfiction, establishing yourself as an expert and differentiating your book from the others written about the same. Done correctly, the backcover copy is the primary ad for your book.
The goal of your back cover is to turn a book browser into a book buyer. With so many books in their stock, so many new books coming out every week, and so much change in the publishing business, booksellers have a hard time keeping up. Generally, 150200 words are more than enough for a full blurb. The backcover copy also functions as the primary ad for your book. Our friends at bookbub carried out an ab test in which they sent group a a book description with a testimonial and group b a version without a testimonial. The summary on the back cover of the book is called blurb. Nov 15, 20 it goes without saying that the cover of your book is key. On the inside of the back cover page, extending from the facing page before it, is the endpaper. Back cover copy includes the book summary and author bio.
Customize your book cover design by typing in your books name, changing the background, choosing a color scheme, and selecting your fonts. The back cover blurb is often what convinces a reader to buy your book. A front cover will often be the first thing a reader will see when they stumble across your book and possibly the only thing youve needed so far, if youve. After the book title and front cover, the back cover is the next thing readers look at when deciding whether to make a purchase. Make sure you make your summary thorough so your reader knows the general subject. The sympathizer, by viet thanh nguyen, grove press, 2015. Above the list, speak directly to the readers, and give them the primary reason why they should read your book. Before you start designing your back cover, take a trip to your local bookstore and check out what else is on the market. Now you know the basics of how to use this e book cover creator to form your book cover, but you can take as much time as you need to ensure your artwork is spoton. Ill wager that nobody remembers whats on the back cover of their favorite books.
Adhere to specific guidelines when writing a back cover summary to pique potential buyers interest. However, most books on amazon have the look inside feature, allowing the potential reader to view the back of the book before ordering. List on a sheet of paper who, what, where, when, and why see reference 1. A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. Englischdeutschubersetzungen fur back cover book im onlineworterbuch deutschworterbuch.
How to design your books back cover ny book editors. How the back cover of your book can sell your book. But there are parts that you can write at any stage of the process. One way to write this primary reason is to present it as a question. Book promotion expert ben cameron always says writing the blurb is the hardest 100 words youll ever write, and many authors are also stumped when it comes to writing the front and back matter another task that usually falls just when youre feeling least like writing another word, after completing your book s final edit. How to create a back of the book cover blurb that sells 1. How to build the back of a book cover with template. Books with great back cover texts usually go up in high sales. Joint the joint of a book is the small groove which runs vertically down the book itself between the book boards book cover and the.
Put the bulleted list in the middle of the copy you write for your back cover. On average, a person spends 58 seconds on a cover that they find interesting, in contrast to spending only seconds on covers. These words are the basic guidelines for any story. On the cover, the publisher calls viet thanh nguyens the sympathizer a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. Canvas free book cover maker is ridiculously easy to use even for the novice or notsotechsavvy writer. Tv isnt real, and outside isnt real, jack knows this. Once your cover design is just right, hit the download button and use your new image to promote and advertise your newest book. Room is an eleven foot square windowless box, but to jack, room is the whole world. What is the summary written on the cover at the back of a. Below are a few examples of back cover copy for fiction. The back of a book cover is called different things, but the back matter on the cover is really important no matter what you call it. The third example shows how part of the back cover copy the author bio, in this case can show up on the inside flap of a hard cover book. Summary and synopsis are also used but, in my experience, are used only in. Dec 08, 2017 how the back cover of your book can sell your book.
510 601 169 158 863 1206 588 1356 1129 955 91 831 702 435 1568 797 189 163 1429 825 545 146 322 1244 874 1356 464 79 417 1383 363 69