Clarity
- Is your message clear?
- Are you confusing your audience with multiple messages?
- Your brand logo and your book cover need to be easy to read for every occassion, whether as big as a billboard or as small as a business card.
Consistency
- From cover to cover, and everything in between, does your book follow the same theme?
- Beyond your book, does your overall branding have the same core “look” as it is expressed across multiple markting outlets (website, blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
- Over time, your fans should be able to recognize your books and your brand because of its consistency.
Professionalism
A professional presentation is a must. Nothing screams amateur more than these five pitfalls:
- Low quality photo or illustration used for your cover. A snapshot from your last beach vacation might not be the best option. A good photographer or illustrator pays attention to composition, horizon placement, drama, light and dark, film grain, color selection and more.
- Boring or irrelevant visual composition. A photographer, illustrator, or designer can take your concept and develop something custom that is unique to your book.
Low resolution. It is imperative to start with a high resolution photo or scan for every image used in your book and your marketing materials. Using proper software to layout your project will keep- the resolution high when it is sent to press.
- Pre-press errors. While printing is not an exact science, there’s a
- lot that has to done to the file in order to get the most optimal print quality possible. Failure to do any one item poses the potential for a complete printing disaster. A professional designer knows exactly what needs to be done in order to get your book (or any printed material) to be the treasured keepsake it was meant to be.
- Fonts. Font selection is important. There is an unpublished library of fancy fonts that are overused and abused. You will recognize many of them since they come preloaded on your computer. If you want to make your designer cry, pick one of these notorious fonts:
Trust your designer to help you pick fonts that are fresh and in alignment with your branding message, there are hundreds of top-notch fonts to choose from.
Memorable (there’s no shortage of average books)
- Pull your audience in with unique visuals.
- Connect with your audience’s emotions.
- Keep their attention with compelling copy.
- Show them something they haven’t seen before.
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