Lesson 7: Why Not Hiring a Cover Designer for Your Book Could Sabotage Your Career as an Author
- Chelsea ✨
- Nov 24, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 1, 2022
Professional book editor in the UK explains why hiring a professional cover designer for your novel could boost your book sales!
Lesson 7: Hire a Professional Cover Designer
Hello again and welcome to the final lesson of this free blog course. I hope you've learnt at least one this from this series, and I hope you'll stick around and check out some of my other blog posts!
In lesson 6, we discovered why it's crucial for writers to hire a professional editor, especially if they plan to self-publish their book. In this last lesson, you will learn the importance of hiring a professional book cover designer for your novel.
If you missed lesson 6, you can get it here!
As mentioned above, hiring a book cover designer for your novel is essential if you want to attract more readers. Your book cover is the first thing potential readers see, so you want yours to stand out from the rest!
But Chelsea!
I knew this was coming.
Cover designers are expensive!
Yes, but try to remember that most cover designers are self-employed and need to earn a living too, especially from their raw talent!
But what if I spend all that money and no one likes the cover anyway?
It’s impossible to impress every single reader, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so someone WILL like your cover, especially if it's been designed by a professional.
What if I don’t like it?
This is why it’s super important to research different cover designers before you hire. You'll probably find that most cover designers remain loyal to the author’s preferences, so they'll likely ask you an abundance of questions about your book and how you imagine your cover to look.
Can’t I just make the cover myself? I have Canva!
Haha! Although many indie authors use Canva to create their own book covers, it’s quite risky to do this yourself, especially if you want to have your book published in hardback and paperback. There are specific measurements and dimensions that need to be followed when creating a book cover to ensure that everything is right, so it’s best that you leave it up to the experts who can create a beautiful cover for you!
Phew! I never thought the questions would end, but yes, if you plan to self-publish your book, you will need to hire a professional book cover designer as well as a professional editor. You may still think you can design the cover yourself, but in the publishing world, covers are as important as the written content they protect, so it needs to be perfect.
As children, we’re told never to judge a book by its cover, literally or metaphorically, but when many readers are looking for their next book, they are DEFINITELY judging books by their covers, so you need to make sure that yours is the best it can be.
Trust me, having an expert create a stunning cover for you could be the difference between selling four to five books a month or forty to fifty.
Best wishes,
Chelsea x
ABOUT CHELSEA
Hey! I'm Chelsea and I'm a professional book editor at Stand Corrected Editing, my editorial business in the UK. If you need professional book editing services and are currently looking for a manuscript editor, please get in touch and we can get started today!
With my book editing and proofreading services, I hope to spread my knowledge and expertise on how to make your novel a success, and be a mentor to others who desperately want to pursue a fruitful career as an author!