Jolake Bivins asked Jackson Dean Chase:

Jackson, Starting out, did you prefer making your own covers or having them made? And why?

Jackson Dean Chase Great question! I don't do my own cover art, but I do the cover design because it saves money. Quality eBook covers can be bought cheaply, but they try to upsell you on the print version, which can double or triple the cost. To avoid that, I learned GIMP (a free Photoshop clone) to design my eBook and print covers (the fonts, colors, blurbs, descriptions, etc.). It's worked out great for me, but I only recommend this route if you have an artistic eye and have made a study of what makes a good cover design by looking at a ton of traditionally published books in your genre.

Great art and bad design will kill sales, and vice versa, as will bad descriptions. They have to work in harmony. Picking the right fonts in the right size and colors is crucial. Many authors will be better off leaving the design work to the artist, but the problem is that not all artists are good at design. They tend to focus on the art, which may not leave enough room for the title, blurb, and your author name.

By the way, it's good to have a consistent look across all your books, and one way to do this is with an author logo that is simple and easy to read. At the very least, you want your last name big enough to be clearly read in thumbnail. Think of how big Stephen King and Dean Koontz make their names on their covers; a tiny author name that gets lost is not only bad branding, but gives the impression you lack confidence in your work. On the other hand, you don't want it so big it looks ridiculous. Striking that balance between confidence and egomaniac is a fine line. ;-)

The art must also stand out in thumbnail, because that's how most people will first see your cover. When choosing cover art, don't settle. Always pick a cover that looks like one you'd see on the shelf at your local bookstore. See what the best sellers in your genre and/or category are doing with their covers, then copy that... or go with your gut. While I keep my audience in mind, I only buy covers that I would personally want to pick up and that look like they belong with the rest of the books in my catalog. Note that some variation in the art and fonts is OK within different series/genres/categories to help distinguish them from each other. Just be sure your author logo remains consistent across the board. Hope this helps!

PS: If you're going to get GIMP, only download it from the official site; other sites often bundle it with adware or malware.

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