There are more than 130 million books available around the world today. If you’re an author hoping to get your book noticed by readers, you need to find a way to stand out in the crowd.

The best way to do that is to design a stunning cover for your novel.

Your book cover page design is your novel’s chance to make a first impression, and to get people to pick it up, or if they’re shopping online, click on it to find out what it’s about and decide whether they want to read it.

If you’re ready to start designing a stunning cover for your book, keep reading. We’re breaking down what you need to know to nail your cover design.

Start With a Style

Unless it’s directly copied from another publication, every book cover is unique. But while each may be slightly different than the next, it will share plenty of qualities with thousands or even hundreds of thousands of other titles that are already on shelves.

That’s because each book cover reflects a certain style of covers.

One common style that many readers will recognize is the Sci-Fi novels of the 1980s and 1990s. Many Sci-Fi books from this time period featured detailed graphic images of the subjects they were about, like robots, alien lifeforms, space shuttles, and more.

Another common cover style that is often mocked in the media, but continues to be used today, is the romance novel. These paperback books often feature a couple in an embrace on the cover, with the man usually shirtless.

Once a certain book cover page design becomes popular with a certain genre, fans of that genre come to expect it. This prompts cover designers to continue to use it, creating an endless cycle.

If the genre of your novel has a common book cover page design, you might consider using it to help fans of that genre find it. Or you can choose to utilize a different style.

One common style of book covers today is minimalist covers, which often feature bold text on a plain or patterned background. These usually don’t have pictures or too much decoration besides the title and author’s name.

Choose Your Font

While the colors, patterns, or pictures on your book cover page design might help to draw in readers, the title is usually the first thing they’ll pay close attention to.

This means that you need to carefully consider the font style you’ll use to display it.

Choosing a font style that is overly ornate can make it difficult for readers to decipher it. But choosing too plain of a text will result in a boring, generic book cover page design that’s unlikely to stand out on the shelf.

Consider Color Choice

Another important decision you’ll need to make is what colors you’ll utilize in your cover design.

While one color isn’t necessarily a better choice for a cover than another, how different colors on your cover work together is something to consider.

Certain color combinations bring to mind certain things in a viewers mind. For instance, red and green might remind your readers of Christmas, while light pink and purple hues might come across as young and feminine.

Your color choice should not only be appropriate for the genre of your book but should also complement one another to give your cover a pleasant look that will stand out on the shelf.

Pick a Graphic, Photo, or Other Decorative Element

Once you’ve established the basics of your book cover page design, including the style, the text, and the colors, it’s time to actually design your cover. This means choosing the decorative elements that will tie everything together.

You might choose a graphic or illustration that reflects the subject of your book. Or you could design a pattern to decorate the background of your cover.

If you’re handy with a camera, you can even put Photoshop to use and utilize real pictures on your cover.

If you were going for a minimalistic cover, you might not need any decorative elements. Titles in a bold text on a plain background can stand out just as much as a cover that features detailed illustrations or pictures giving away the subject of the book.

If You’re Going to DIY It, Use the Right Tools

Authors spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on their book cover page design. But if you don’t have a budget for commissioning a professional cover, you can also DIY it.

There are tons of tools out there that make it easy to design your own cover, even if you don’t have graphic design experience.

This company simplifies the process, making it simple for anyone to create a stunning book cover.

Not using the right tools is likely to leave you with a cover that reflects that. A book cover design tool will allow you to create a professional-looking cover without spending a fortune.

Do a “Shelf Test”

Now that you have a cover design ready, it’s time to perform the shelf test.

To do this, place your completed cover design on a shelf alongside other titles. Then, take a step back and consider how your cover looks from a short distance away.

Does it stand out, or blend in with the other covers? You can even have other people take a look to see whether they believe it stands out.

If it doesn’t, it’s a good idea to go back to the drawing board. If it does, you can assume that readers in a bookstore or shopping online will notice it while shopping and want to take another look.

Designing the Best Book Cover Page Design for Your Publication

Now that you know what it takes to design a book cover page design that will help get your novel noticed, it’s time to get started.

One great trend you need to try is utilizing the latest graphic design trends to create a modern cover that will appeal to young audiences. Click here to learn about a few graphic design trends that are popular now that would be great additions to any book cover.