Cover Craft: Examining Four Online Top Sellers' Covers & My Own Attempts

A first attempt at a cover design for my upcoming long short story.

Shelley here once again and wondering how two weeks could have passed so quickly since my last bi-monthly post! 

As I've been hard at work on my Strawberry Moon Mystery story--which will be a long short story or short novella depending on my ability to edit, pare, and trim--I've pondering what I might do with it once it's complete. 

I've been giving some thought to publishing it as a One Hour Short Read on Kindle. These are stories from between 33-43 pages, which is about where I expect Strawberry Moon to end up (15-20K words). As I have a bit of interest in design and art, though untrained, I wondered if I could create a passable book cover on my own, using Canva, that would align with the covers of my two Olivia Lively Mystery books published by Encircle Publications. 

I'd worked with the cover designer of those two books, giving her drawings with my ideas, so the concept was already clear in my mind. I had designated comp books with a similar vibe: The Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano and Where'd You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple. I wanted a female character in bright colors, flat design, and a kind of "chick lit" energy. 

The designer, Deirdre Wait, executed these wonderfully. 

If I'm going to self-publish, I wondered, could I do the cover myself? And is my design style choice still working in today's competitive market? I moseyed over to Amazon this afternoon to look at the Best Selling Kindle Mystery Private Detective books to see what the covers looked like. 

Okay, the #1 book in that category today is Homemaker: A Prairie Nightingale Mystery that is due out next month. Written by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare, it is published by Thomas & Mercer which just so happens to be an imprint of Amazon Publishing. 

Does the book's #1 status  have anything to do with the fact that Amazon is publishing it? And not until next month? Ummm...

Self-serving retail tactics aside, I am very heartened to see the cover design. I like the handwriting fonts and the big eye in the magnifying glass, the flat art, the vibrant colors, the female sleuth image. Not only does the story sound like a good comp for my titles (Prairie is an amateur sleuth, at least she starts out that way, so I'm not sure why it's in the Private Detective category), but also the character is tangled up with an FBI guy--just like my Olivia Lively character. 

Actually this is GREAT news. It just means that there are readers out there who want these kinds of books, and I've written a couple of them. 

The book in the #2 spot is Murdle, Volume 1 by G.T. Karber, published by McMillon/Griffin. Again, we have the flat art and color. Interestingly, the SAME colors. Again, I'm baffled by Amazon rankings because guess what? This isn't really a Private Detective story, either. It's a collection of mystery logic puzzles. 

Moving on. 

In the #3 spot is The Beast of Littleton Woods by T.E.Kinsey. This is book 12 in the series and it's published by . . . you guessed it. Thomas & Mercer. This looks much more like a cozy mystery with the dog image and the yellow eyes peering out from the roots of the tree. The curly script is also more cozy than my preferred Women Sleuths and Private Detective categories. 

(Even though it pops up as #3 on the Private Detective click, when you look at the book's bestseller rankings, Private Detective isn't even listed. It shows up as #1 in Amateur Sleuth and #2 in Cozy and #3 in Traditional Detective.) 

But okay, Amazon. 

Last one from Amazon. This is Closer Than You Know by Debra Web, published by, yup. Thomas & Mercer. 

The cover is more realistic with the author's name and book title getting equal play. The simple sans-serif font looks clean and simple. To me this looks more like a police detective or even a thriller cover that would appeal to both men and women readers. Sure enough, two of the rankings are for Police Procedural and Serial Killer Thrillers. The protagonist is actual a crime analyst. Is that a private investigator/detective? I really don't think so. 

NONE OF THESE FOUR BOOKS RANKING IN PRIVATE DETECTIVE MYSTERY IS REALLY A P.I. MYSTERY.

Whaaaat???

Yes, I could slightly tweak my search and end up with different books on the list. This baffles me all the time on Amazon best-seller rank listings. It's almost comical. In this case I searched by choosing: Best Seller/Kindle/Mystery & Thrillers/Mystery/Private Detective. 

Isn't it interesting that 3 of the top 4 ranking on Amazon in this category are published by an imprint of Amazon? 

On to my cover. 

This is the potential cover for my Strawberry Moon Mystery that I created using Canva Pro. Originally, the colors were slightly more muted and gray, but after feedback from readers on the blog, I found a way to change the colors of the images to better reflect their suggestions. Of COURSE the moon had to be pink. Or pink-ish! Does it make any sense that Olivia's wearing sunglasses at night? Nope but it continues the trend from the two full-length books. Also, the moon woudn't be reflecting in her glasses because the moon is behind her. But it makes for a more compelling image, right?

It doesn't have the panache of that handwriting font. It seems a little stiff in comparison, not as "messy" which is what they are trying to get across, I think. I might need to add a nose and some shading. Maybe I should play with some handwriting fonts. I might need to hire a cover designer to make it really work. 

And it's NOT red and black. 

But in a pinch? Maybe I could get away with it. I think this plays in the same sandbox with my comp titles, which will now include the Prairie Nightingale book as well as Finlay Donovan. Olivia, unlike these two, is actually a licensed P.I. running her own Lively Investigations business, but I think she fits in.

Getting good coverage

Let's talk book covers.

Very important thing, your book cover, because it's the first wave of the flag for the story you have laboured over, sweated over, wept over, perhaps even done over, for months, maybe years.

I'm not an expert on such matters. It takes a particular skillset to know how to create an image that will do the job. My publisher asks for my input but generally I draw a blank or give such a vague non-answer that I might as well as saved my breath. I trust them to do the right thing. After all, my job is to string the words together in some semblance of order - the packaging and selling is their area of expertise and I am no salesman, I'm afraid. I learned that the hard way, by taking a job as a salesman.

Your cover has to draw the casual bookstore wanderer sufficiently to at least pick it up, read the blurb and then - praise be - part with their folding green.

It also has to somehow reflect the content of the book.

We all know that there are trends in covers. There's the woman facing away from the reader, perhaps in a yellow coat. Or a red one. Or a grey one. There's the man facing away from the reader, perhaps with a. gun in hi Han d. And wearing a jacket. Or a coat. Both generally dark. 

There are the covers where the title, maybe three or four words, is in a san serif face (like Bob Dylan, publishers have shot the serif) and the spacing between the words is large enough to fit in the author's name and then a catch line.

There are those with a woman's face in the foreground and some sort of cityscape in the background. Less common is a man's face in the foreground and some sort of cityscape in the background. In fact, I can't think of a single one.

Readers can respond to innovation but they take comfort from the familiar and trends in covers tells them immediately what they can expect from their selected read. Similarly titles - how many novels did we have with the word Girl or Woman in the title? As soon as we saw it we knew we were in for some psychological, domestic chills.

Of course, covers are part of your 'brand'. Each subsequent book in series will have a similar look, even down to how your name is presented.

That's happened to me with my Rebecca Connolly series. I have been branded, which sounds painful although they didn't need to rope me, throw me to the ground, sit on me and wield a red hot iron. Well, perhaps not for the book cover but there was that time when...

But no, let's draw a veil over that incident. I'm not proud of it but things happen when you're drunk.

The first in the series, Thunder Bay, had two covers. This was the original:

It was also used on the US edition and it looks great on the hardback. Even so, I liked it but when that first book became a series a new 'branding' was necessary so Thunder Bay was given a fresh look:

Looks good. Moody. Conveys the sense of foreboding and the general atmosphere of the novel. And my name is of sufficient size that my ego is satisfied. And it's that look that has continued through the next two in the series.

But then it was sold to other territories. As I said, Skyhorse/Arcade Crimewise retained the original cover for their release and a damn fine piece of work it is.

But the Danish and German markets went their own way. Here's the former:

Pretty darned cool, I think. And the title means 'The Rest is Silence', which also fits the subject.

The Germans went in this direction:

Again, eye-catching and reflects the subject matter. A slight title change - The Dead of Thunder Bay - which again fits. My name is not nearly big enough, though. (I'm joking, of course. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

The object of this exercise is to show how different publishers can approach the same book in various ways and yet still find common ground in their presentation. My hat is tipped to those designers and salespeople who know how to find the correct visual for each story.

I am thrilled that the books are available beyond Scotland and very pleased with the efforts every publisher makes to get the cover right. They are all experts in their field and authors just have to trust them.

Oh - and here's something else that thrills me - the idea that my book is in the wild (in bookstores) overseas. A reader, Carmen Thomas, sent me this shot of Thunder Bay's German edition in Vienna, Austria! 

I am, as we say in Glasgow, fair chuffed, so ah'm urr.

You Can Tell a Book by Its Cover

By Vicki Delany

Or, you should be able to.

A book cover, as well as the title, is a hint at what lies within. The cover should set the mood and the tone, maybe tell you a bit of the setting. If it's a historical novel, it definitely has to say that right up front. In crime writing, it should give you an idea of the subgenre (thriller, cozy, suspense etc.).

A good cover should entice the reader to pick it up, but most importantly it needs to entice the right sort of reader. I, personally, don’t care for men’s-fiction of international intrigue and rogue tough guys. Thus a cover image of the US capital at night, or rain-soaked Kremlin square won’t attract me.

I also don’t read romance, so I don’t want bouquets of roses or overuse of the colour purple.

And that’s okay, because there’s little point in getting me to pick up the book if I’m only going to read the blurb and decide it’s not for me.

Conversely, of course, you don’t want me to pass over a book that would be perfect for me because the cover says it’s something else.

The cozy novels put out by Penguin Obsidian and Berkely Prime Crime are perfect at this. Look at a cozy cover and you know EXACTLY what you’re getting. Your only decision, as a cozy reader, is if you prefer dogs or cats in your books.

This has come to mind because next week I am having a joint launch with my good friend and occasional Type M contributor, R.J. Harlick. (Tuesday Nov. 17th, 7:00 pm. Heart and Crown Pub in the Byward Market in Ottawa) Have a look at the two covers on this page.

I can’t imagine two more opposite images. They are, all on their own, a pretty good illustration of the range of crime fiction these days.

The light and the dark of it as, Barbara Fradkin said.

The colors of my book, the cute little dog staring at you, the Christmas imagery, and the decorations around the series name. On Robin’s book, the tracks in the snow, the use of black and white, the gloom of the forest in the distance. We hope that Robin’s book gives you chills and that mine makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, and maybe nibble on a Christmas cookie.

Not only the covers tell you something about the books, but the titles do also. What would Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen be but a cozy! And Cold White Fear, is going to be pretty chilling!

Two crime novels. Both set at Christmas. But they couldn’t be more different. The title and the cover images tell you exactly what you are going to get.

What is the deal with CAPITAL letters on so many book covers these days?

by Rick Blechta

I know I’m going to step on some toes with this (even with some of the crew here at Type M), but dang it, I’m getting a bit tired of seeing entire book covers with nothing but capital letters for their front cover copy. (I’m also getting tired of seeing the slab-type fonts that are being used more and more these days, but that’s another beef for another post.)

Having designed many book covers myself, I know why this is happening. If you’re a big-time author, your books have been done this way for years. In that case, it's to alert everyone within 100 feet in a bookstore that JOE BLOW’S latest book is out. I get that. Add this to the fact that publishers like having an author's books display a certain “family look” — presumably so readers can identify them more quickly — and I personally feel as if I’m being shouted at when I walk into a book store. If your store has a James Patterson section (and many do these days), go there and you’ll instantly see what I mean.

Caps are a bit of a slam dunk design-wise. They'’e less problematic to set. They certainly attract notice more quickly, especially if they're in a neon colour, are embossed, or one of the metallic colours is used. They scream a practically audible “LOOK AT ME!” when executed that way.

When a publisher also makes the author's name bigger than the title of the book, you know the author is considered a Big Deal. I actually once overheard a bookstore browser say to his wife while holding up one of these books, “Honey, do you know this author? She must be important.” (Honest!) After the man walked away with the book in his mitt, I noticed two things about the book’s cover: it was rather thick (a good 2") and the author’s name took up more than half of the real estate. I mean it was H-U-G-E. And that’s sort of what got me thinking about this trend.

Now I’m on record here as saying that a book’s cover should also act as a poster for the book. From that viewpoint, it makes sense to use caps, especially when you consider that many people only look at book covers online where the images are pretty darned small. Caps definitely do help get the critical things across.

However, with some thought and a good dash of design knowledge and experience, a very successful cover can be worked out that has some design flair and gets the promotional job done — and doesn’t use caps.

Maybe the problem is publishers being more interested in keeping costs down. Lots of covers now use stock photos as a matter of course because commissioned photography and (especially) illustrations are a lot more expensive. If the design department has a few slab fonts (or “heavy” cuts of other serif or sans serif fonts) that do the job for them, why not just throw these on, squeeze a small moody or otherwise appropriate stock photo in at the bottom, and you've got another cover done with time to do two more before you knock off for lunch.

Problem is, the book will eventually wind up faced on a bookshelf with any number of other titles that have similar covers (like in the JUST OUT section). Trouble is you’ve completely shot your bolt and there’s no way to amp up anything that would distinguish your cover from any of the others following this design trend.

Like most authors, I’ve spent countless hours in bookstores. In watching shoppers interact with books, I would still put money down on a book with a really interesting, well-designed cover, coupled with an intriguing title and some solid back cover or inside flap copy. Browsers consistently pick up these kinds of books. They don’t shout; they just catch your eye with something that piques your interest.

Maybe it’s time that less should become the new more.