Finding a quality design for book covers has become increasingly important in recent years. This is evident by simply looking at the book cover design of older books and their lack of quality. As technology takes on more of an entertainment value, quality book covers become an important marketing tool.

Book cover art and design education and training will carve out a place in the market for a talented artist. Book cover art and design education and training should teach the following concepts:

1. Book cover artwork needs to have a strong commercial viability and work as a powerful marketing tool.

2. A book cover design's main purpose is to arouse interest and curiosity.

3. The aesthetic quality of book cover art and design is alone extremely important.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn book cover graphic design

Graphic design programs can help you train for a career in book cover design. Many genres of fiction and non-fiction books favor book cover art done digitally.

I recommend: The Art Institutes International has great two-year or four-year graphic design programs and locations across the U.S. The International Academy of Design and Technology offers both an Associate and Bachelor degree program online in graphic design.

Study illustration to become a book cover designer

Some genres of books use mostly illustration for book cover art, especially children's books and romance novels. Learning the art of illustration in addition to graphic design is the best way to become a well-rounded book cover artist.

I recommend: The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and The American Academy of Art in Chicago both have excellent programs in illustration.

Understand how book cover artists make it in the publishing business

It is essential for a successful career in book cover art that an artist learn the 'ins' and 'outs' of the publishing business, including what publishers are looking for and how to most effectively sell work.

I recommend: Educate yourself on the business of publishing with a series of articles about publishing at Morris Publishing or learn all about the publishing business at PublishingCentral.com.

Become an expert with book cover design software

Learn how to use the different programs used commonly for book cover art, so that if a publishers expects a certain product you know how to deliver. Using different programs efficiently will allow you to create a wide variety of looks and styles in your designs.

I recommend: Try BookCoverPro.com; it's inexpensive and user-friendly and allows manipulation of image, graphics and text for book covers and ebook covers. Most pros simply use Adobe Photoshop, from Adobe Systems Incorporated, which doesn't have templates and book cover-specific tools but allows much more creative freedom.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Network in as many ways as possible; most successful book cover artists know someone in the publishing business.
• •  Be willing to design for book covers at no charge to gain experience and get your work out on the market.

Your book needs book cover art that will attract enough attention for a reader to pick it up and look inside. Book cover artists are available to help you design the most fitting book cover artwork for your material.

Art for book covers is available for any type or size of book. Whether your book is fiction or non-fiction, hardcover or softcover, small or large, you know the material best and can assist in the book cover art and design. A few considerations will get you started:

1. Know what your budget can afford since an experienced book cover artist will be expensive.

2. Share your ideas with professional book cover designers and let them incorporate your vision into their process.

3. Extend your artistic ability from writing to designing and investigate software that allows you creative control.

4. An e-book publisher will usually offer a design for book covers as part of their publishing package.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Hire a professional in book cover design services

Book cover graphic design can be an expensive endeavor if you hire a business or experienced individual. It is an art form that requires talent and creativity, and your book deserves to be noticed. Book cover design services can include working with you throughout the entire process, or designing book cover art with minimal input from you.

I recommend: Provide ideas and color preferences to The Writing Shop and they can deliver custom cover art work for your book. Morgan Printing can work with you on book cover design and save you money if your needs fit into their specialties.

Seek a package deal with book cover production

If your manuscript ends up with a publisher, your book cover production needs will be addressed. Traditional and e-book publishers will offer you many options, including whether you want them to handle book cover production fully, with your involvement, or in concert with a designer of your choosing.

I recommend: Get a free book cover design estimate from Printusa.com. iUniverse includes the option of custom covers or professional art direction with any books they publish.

Save money and use book cover design software to create your own cover

A little creativity can get you far if you are willing to try book cover design software on your own.

I recommend: Test drive a trial version of BookCoverPro. The fully-featured package offers you the ability to design any size and style of book cover from booklets, magazines, hardcover, softcover, coffee table books, and DVD case covers. There is nothing to lose with PagePlus SE since it is a free downloadable book cover design software package.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Let your hard work get noticed; hire a book cover design service that can make your book stand out on the shelf or in a stack.

Because most people do jactually udge a book by its cover, book cover art and design are critical marketing tools. Book cover art and design call for a unique combination of visual creativity, sensitivity to content, marketing savvy and technical expertise. Whether you are designing your own book cover or hiring a book cover artist or designer, there are some key technical terms you'll need to know to make sure you're on the same page with the publisher, printer or manufacturer.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Flat size

The flat size is the size of a one-piece book cover (one that includes the front, back and spine), before it is folded or trimmed. Another size term you'll need to know is full-bleed, the size the book cover art will need to be if you want it to bleed, or go to the edges of the cover. Full-bleed artwork needs to be slightly larger than the trim size, or final finished size of the cover, to allow for slight variations in automatic trimming.

I recommend: CreateSpace has more on size-related terms for book cover design, and offers downloadable templates for standard book cover sizes and types. Click on the Trim Size & Artwork tab.

Spine

The spine of a book is its 'backbone,' the strip that covers the page binding. Because most books are shelved spine out, the design of the spine also serves a marketing function.

I recommend: See Book Cover Design 101.1 at Grow Your Writing Business for tips on good spine design. How much room there is for spine design is dependent on how many pages your book contains and the weight, or thickness, of the paper it's printed on. Self Publishing offers a handy spine-width calculator.

Dust jacket

Hard cover books, or casebound books as they're known to publishers, often have a separate paper wrapper known as a dust jacket. The dust jacket folds around the book and is held in place with two flaps that tuck inside the front and back covers. The front flap usually carries a teaser or summary of the contents known as a 'blurb;' the back flap may carry an author photo and biography, as well as quotes from favorable reviewers.

I recommend: SUN Editing & Book Design gives tips on dust jackets in a discussion of book cover art and design.

Camera-ready art

Artwork for a book cover design needs to be prepared and submitted in a format suitable for printing. The term camera-ready art initially referred to art pasted on boards and delivered physically to the printer. The term is still used, though most book cover printing today is done digitally.

I recommend: CafePress.com discusses the common digital file formats and color specifications used for book cover art. A Better Idea! outlines the requirements for traditional camera-ready art.

Embellishment

Book cover art and design can include more than type and images. Cover coatings improve durability and added elements like foil stamping or embossing add visual interest.

I recommend: Artful Dragon discusses the applications of various book cover coatings. Explore the possibilities of embellishments like foil stamping and die cuts at LPI-Letterhead Press.

Bookland EAN, ISBN-13

A key element of book cover design is the bar code information that appears on the back cover and allows the book to be catalogued, inventoried and sold. Book bar codes, known as Bookland EAN or ISBN-13 bar codes, differ from the codes found on other retail items, because they encode publishing data. Precise rules govern the generation and placement of these bar codes.

I recommend: Bar Code 1 from Adams Communications offers a detailed primer on Bookland EAN and ISBN-13 bar codes.