Everyone Judges Every Book By Its Cover: Don't Be Unsold Due To Prejudice

"Have you read that New York Times Bestseller by Doom A. Floppy? It was called "Untitled: An Unsubtitled Book." Fascinating read."

What? Never overheard this at a popular coffeeshop? Maybe that's because no publisher, self or otherwise, is going to put a book out with no title. If that were the case, there would be thousands of books in bookstores with no cover either. No title, no need for a cover. Welcome to the naked book revolution.

So, desperate authors, start with a Title. Be engaging, be inspiring, but mostly, be accurate. Here are three tips off the top of my head. Who am I? I'm a writer (frustratingly so), a graphic designer (for hire... I'm here to help), and more importantly, a reader.

1. Keep it short.
Don't count words, letters, or syllables, but keep the title to a reasonable length. Remember, a book cover is only so big and the spine is only so big divided by six. Save the verbose titles for hideously designed websites.

2. Keep it snazzy.
Why be boring with your title? Boring titles lead to boring covers, which in turn lead to boring books, which then become boring bank accounts. This is your best chance to be clever, so drop convention on a nearby cat and show some wit.

3. Keep it succinct.
I feel the need to reiterate keeping a title short. If your book is about real estate law, "Real Estate Law" is better than "Real Estate Law: A book about Real Estate Law and all things related to Real Estate Law, including graphs and facts about Real Estate Law." Get the picture? Oh, and another thing to remember: a designer will have no idea what to layout if your book has no title.

So, start with a title that is short and snazzy. Don't bore the would-be buyer with something long or uninspired. If they want to buy something long or uninspired, chances are they are in a college bookstore about to buy an overpriced textbook on the history of the Roman empire. So, unless you happen to be breaking into that market, make your title remarkable.

Believe what you want to: the moon is made of cheese, self-publishing your book is a one-way ticket to financial independence, and creating book covers can be done by anyone. DIY book cover design is a no-no, unless you are a writer who happens to be a competent, skilled, talented, handsome, and sweet-smelling (ah, coffee!) designer.

Leave it to the pros. Like me. I could do your book cover for you. Check out my website and see some of the covers I've done.

What you don't know about me is:
1. I spend a LOT of time looking at book covers. My office is filled with books. I sneak away while my wife is looking at shoes and head to the bookstore to bask in the great, glorious rows of books. I spend more time at Amazon.com than in my email's inbox. This is called being well-researched.

2. I don't own clip-art. This is like a day care center filling a child's bookshelf with porn. It just makes me feel dirty. Clip art is for church youth groups. (Wow, "church youth groups" and "porn" in the same paragraph -- why haven't I heard of this guy before?) This is called being professional.

3. I don't charge an arm and a leg. At least, not yet. I'm just starting out, and maybe you are too. Just finished your book and searched over here to find an idea of what to do for the cover? Let me solve this for you: hire me. Have a concept? I can charge you less. Have no clue? I will be gentle.

Now that we've been properly introduced. (<-- intentional fragment.) Read on.