Honest tips on book cover design, genre conventions, indie publishing, and what actually sells. Eleven years of pattern recognition, given away free.
How to design a memoir book cover — 5 design rules, color palette, typography, and 5 mistakes that make memoir covers look amateur. From a studio that's designed 120+ memoir covers.
Read the guide →How to design a self-help or business book cover — bold typography, strong subtitle promise, and the "airport bookshelf" aesthetic that sells.
Read post →How to design a literary fiction book cover — minimalist composition, elegant typography, abstract imagery. New Yorker aesthetic explained.
Read post →How to design a horror book cover — dark backgrounds, distressed fonts, single creepy elements, and 5 mistakes that turn horror covers…
Read post →How to design a sci-fi book cover — futuristic typography, space imagery, color palette, and 5 mistakes that sink sci-fi covers in…
Read post →How to design a thriller or mystery book cover — 5 design rules, dark color palette, sans-serif fonts, and 5 mistakes that…
Read post →How to design a fantasy book cover — 5 rules, color palette, typography, and mistakes to avoid. Sword & sorcery, urban fantasy,…
Read post →How to design a romance book cover — 5 design rules, color palette, fonts, and mistakes that kill romance cover conversions. Contemporary,…
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I’ve spent half of my life trying to save indie authors from ugly book covers. It’s a lot of work, because authors…
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One cover can change everything. The next bestseller in your genre is going to have a great one — it might as well be yours.