3 Hard Truths About Your Book Cover Design

It’s okay to take a step back and reevaluate!

Shelby Sullivan
5 min readSep 3, 2024

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Image created by Shelby in Canva! (Because I can’t stop making things in Canva)

Designing a book cover can feel deeply personal, especially when it’s for your own work. Yes, you’ve poured your heart into writing your book, and naturally, you want the cover to reflect your vision.

But here’s the hard truth: your book cover isn’t just about you and what you think is “pretty” or “interesting”.

A book cover plays a critical role in marketing your book, connecting with readers, and aligning with genre expectations. Not only is it a work of art, but it is also an advertisement, a sales tactic, and a sneak-preview into your story.

I want to talk about 3 hard truths that authors need to face when it comes to building (or buying) their own book covers:

1. Your Book Cover Isn’t for You — It’s for Marketing, Reaching Your Reader, and Meeting Genre Expectations

Some of my favorite designs I’ve made in Canva!

One of the biggest mistakes self-published authors make is designing a cover that reflects their personal taste rather than what appeals to potential readers.

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Shelby Sullivan
Shelby Sullivan

Written by Shelby Sullivan

Hey, I'm Shelby! I'm a professional writer, editor, blogger, and cover designer. Learn to make book covers and contact me at linktr.ee/sulliwrites !

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