What Makes a Great Book Cover? The Back

As we said in the first part of this series, the book cover is the most important element to attracting the attention of your potential readers and the first important step to convince them to purchase your book.

However, with most authors opting for self-publishing and digital only releases, the back cover is not as important; actually, its pointless.

Where the front cover of your book gets potential readers to pick up the book while they shop in a store, the back cover does all the heavy lifting in closing the deal.

There are just four essential elements for a great book cover. 

1

The first element in selling your book and some would say the most important, is a back cover review. This applies only if you also have a powerful review blurb for the front cover. If you do not have a review for the front cover, don’t put one here. If it’s important enough to put on the cover, it belongs on the front.

Just as with the front cover review blurb, it needs to be special. It needs true impact. It needs validity and power.

In our example, the publisher, Conscious Living Media, was able to secure a cover review blurb by Howard Falco, the author of the best-selling book, I AM.

See the first part of this article for what make for a great cover review blurb.

2

In a previous article, “The Importance of a Well-Written Book Blurb,” we discussed the important elements in writing a book blurb that helps close the deal. The “Who. What. Why. And, Why you?” concept.

WHO is the main character? WHAT is the challenge? WHY do they need to overcome the challenge? And, WHY YOU need to read this book? Why will it be important for you?

In the case of “Unity in Everything that Is” by Frank Coppieters, Ph.D. from Conscious Living Media, the WHO is Frank Coppieters. The WHAT, the challenge, is his search for meaning. The WHY he needed to overcome or achieve meaning in life was to bring this information together to present to humanity. The WHY YOU should care is “…the possibility for everyone to find deep satisfaction in an enlightened warriorship that contributes to the quality of life on earth.”

3

The author's bio and photo are just as important as the other elements on your back cover. It’s the piece that helps the reader feel connected to you, how they can relate to you.

The style of your bio will be determined by what it is you’ve written. A bio for a non-fiction book will be about credentials, your experience in the area you are writing about, etc. A bio for a fiction book allows for some flexibility and even some fun; but please stay away from “… lives in Maine with her two children and a dog named Sparky.” If you’ve written other books, here’s the place you can mention your faves “… also wrote “Bob Dies First” to critical acclaim.” 

In our example, “Unity in Everything That Is” is a non-fiction book so his publisher focused on his experience. Frank has a degree and they’ve mentioned his critical history.

4

The publisher logo is also important; as is the URL to their website.

What if you are self-published? That’s easy. As a solopreneur you can create your own publishing entity. Judy Nedry, the author of the Emma Golden Mysteries, did it with Regions Northwest Publishing. 

You are in the business of writing. You want to write what you love and you want to be successful, of course, so you should seriously consider creating an actual business name and registering it as a business, especially if you intend on doing this long-term. 

Now, some might ask, why go through all this trouble? The answer is simple … readers and authors believe that having a publisher means you’re a better, more important, author. It’s a fact of life. Take this extra step to do it right.

And there you have it, the perfect back cover to your book.