Back cover copy also called flap copy is the text that goes on the back. However, with canvas design templates at your disposal, you can easily come up with a beautiful book cover of your own without having to hire a designer. The cover of your book is important because its the first thing a reader sees. Learn the anatomy of a book cover to take your cover to the next level. For book cover art i would recommend looking at the publication information for some of this info, and include as much as possible. Back cover copy is the blurb on the back of a book. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others.
Nine things that need to be on your book cover alicia dunams. In the history of handheld physical supports for extended written compositions or records, the codex replaces its. Why you need a category on the back cover of your book. Self published author 8 mistakes that will absolutely. Some informative blog posts have addressed techniques for creating an effective front cover, but an often overlooked aspect of book cover design is the back of the book. Cut out every bit of repetition so you can stuff lots of information into. Authors use their back matter to offer readers further context or information about the story, though back matter can also be. How the back cover of your book can sell your book. Above the list, speak directly to the readers, and give them the primary reason why they should read your book. If it makes sense, include your blog, social media links, or other books in the series toward the bottom of the page. Self publishing, book printing free book templates. It typically serves as the foundation for your online book descriptions, as well as any press releases or pitches you make to the media. Once we remove the cover image, you can upload the correct cover image using the author central books tab. If your page count is under 100 pages, you shouldnt add spine text.
The tipping point, blink, outliers, what the dog saw, and david and goliath. Internet address and password organizer logbook with alphabetical tabs. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and are now found on web portals and news websites. Nov 23, 2015 whatever you put on your back cover it needs to set readers expectations for whats between the covers. Back book cover information is crucial to book sales.
As you add text to your cover, make sure it exactly matches the book details e. As a nonfiction reader you want the information to be. Authors use their back matter to offer readers further context or information about the story, though back matter can also be extremely simple. Theyll be set up so that you can send us a single pdf file with back cover, spine and front cover all together on one page. Summary and synopsis are also used but, in my experience, are used only in. The front matter contains the nuts and bolts of the books publication information such as title, author, publisher, isbn, and library of congress data. Nov 15, 20 it goes without saying that the cover of your book is key. Apr 28, 2016 the back cover copy you write for your book is among the most important marketing messages youll craft. Once you wow your potential readers with an excellent front cover, the next part of your book thatll hook them is your back cover copy, which is publishing speak for the information that appears on the back cover.
Im a published novelist, and i participate in several writing groups and online communities. Self published author 8 mistakes that will absolutely kill. Nonfiction back cover copy for nonfiction, establishing yourself as an expert and differentiating your book from the others written about the same topic will help sell your book. The book cover templates for word, however, will be a little different. Book cover or book board the front and back covers of books are often referred to as book covers or book boards as they are often made of bookbinding board and cover the book. This is not an original front and back cover of the book. The sympathizer, by viet thanh nguyen, grove press, 2015. The cover of a book comprises not just the front cover but is a set of elements that also includes the back cover and the spine edge, and less frequently an inside cover and an inside back cover where the print is double. Youll want it to have a design that grabs their attention and portrays an accurate idea of what your book is about. Click the publish button at the bottom of the page.
Now it is the job of the back cover to draw them in so much that they feel compelled to buy the book. The backcover copy also functions as the primary ad for your book. Make the back cover your first area of concern, says susan howard, director of consulting services at the top publishing firm, the jenkins. The goal of your back cover is to turn a book browser into a book buyer.
If, however, you feel that your platform takes a back seat to the information in your book, you should include your photo on the back cover. Depending on your topic, your writing should emanate authority, compassion, wisdom, insight, humor, suspense, intrigue, mystery, etc. How to create a back of the book cover blurb that sells 1. One way to write this primary reason is to present it as a question. How to create a back book cover blurb that sells kindlepreneur. Learn to write book back cover copy that is so good it makes readers want to buy. Whatever you put on your back cover it needs to set readers expectations for whats between the covers. If your book is already printed, you can have pressuresensitive labels produced for placement on the back cover. This free book cover template includes a full front and back cover for a paperback or softcover, including an adjustable spine. Front and back cover copy for book covers cover design. Canvas free book cover maker is ridiculously easy to use even for the novice or notsotechsavvy writer. A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. Book cover design and the problem of symbolism 5 great fonts for book covers selfpublishing basics.
How to build the back of a book cover with template. This is a huge mistake, even if a book is only sold online. The title pages of an item, the verso of the title pages, any pages preceding the title pages, and the cover. The bio on the back of the book cover should be the nutshell inside of the nut. After the book title and front cover, the back cover is the next thing readers look at when deciding whether to make a purchase. This should be broader in scope than the reasons you put in your bulleted list. Writers use the term blurb to describe the text on the back of the book. The parts of a book for self published authors bookstand. The less fun but very pertinent graphic information. Dec 08, 2017 how the back cover of your book can sell your book. Think that most people buy books online, so they wont ever see your back cover.
The purpose of your front cover, back cover and spine. If you crawl into the mind of nonfiction readers, theyre basically asking, what new information will i gain from reading this book. The book cover templates for publisher will be pretty straightforward. Make sure it sells out by creating an awesome cover design. Microsoft word is really not designed for page layout and design.
If you dont have a print version of your book and its only sold online, everything in this article about back book blurbs can. It will get reused and refashioned for dozens of purposes. If you choose to use a short bio on the back cover, make sure the author sounds like the ultimate authority on the subject. Publishing information your publishing information is usually placed at the bottom of your back cover. What is the summary written on the cover at the back of a. Beyond the familiar distinction between hardcovers and paperbacks, there are further alternatives and additions, such as dust jackets, ringbinding, and older forms such as the. Nov, 2019 the back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book. Malcolm gladwell is the author of five new york times bestsellers. If you dont have a print version of your book and its only sold online, everything in this article about back book blurbs can be applied to your book description in online listings. Back cover copy includes the book summary and author bio mill. A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper bound together and protected by a cover. In this video, well share with you five important tips to keep in mind when submitting your.
Wondering what the back of a book cover is called and why its so important, then this is the article for. Put the bulleted list in the middle of the copy you write for your back cover. A book cover is any protective covering used to bind together the pages of a book. If you are citing a book cover, or part of a book cover, make sure to keep in mind that you are still citing a book. Aug, 2015 put the bulleted list in the middle of the copy you write for your back cover. Now that your front cover has convinced them that this is indeed a book worth looking into, you have to keep their focus. The third example shows how part of the back cover copy the author bio, in this case can show up on the inside flap of a hard cover book. It goes without saying that the cover of your book is key. Front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. This is typically the last page of a book and is on the left hand side. He is also the cofounder of pushkin industries, an audio content company that produces the podcasts revisionist history, which reconsiders things both overlooked and misunderstood, and broken record, where he, rick rubin, and bruce headlam interview. Books have been published for thousands of years and on thousands of different subjects. The back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book. However, nonfiction authors must include an author bio as part of their back cover copy to convince readers of their authority.
Feb 28, 2017 back cover your front cover did its job if the shopper made it to the back cover. About the authora brief biography, nor more than 1 page, about the author. Its the essence of your books most exciting features, distilled into a few hundred words. On the cover, the publisher calls viet thanh nguyens the sympathizer a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. Once the front cover draws the bookstore browser in, it is expected that the back cover will provide clear reasons why this book is right for them. Our friends at bookbub carried out an ab test in which they sent group a a book description with a testimonial and group b a version without a testimonial. Also, no front or back cover text should extend into the spine area. Its so tempting to think if everyone is doing x and i do y. The book industry uses the bookland ean bar code, not the upc. Author julie broad shares 5 back cover tips that will help sell your nonfiction book on amazon and elsewhere.
Youve done the hard work and created an amazing book. If blank, media and book buyers will know the book was not professionally published. This is typically done for a scholarly, nonfiction book. Note the front cover, back cover, spine, layout, picture, fonts, and other. Maxine hong kingston, in an endorsement on the back cover of viet thanh nguyens the sympathizer, calls the novel a magnificent feat of storytelling. Nov 17, 2019 front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. Canvas book cover maker makes designing book covers amazingly simple even for nondesigners. Ask first if the book cover be used in print, ebook or both. Although the cover of your book guide your readers to buy your book, the. This should be broader in scope than the reasons you put in. Aug 17, 2010 if, however, you feel that your platform takes a back seat to the information in your book, you should include your photo on the back cover. Joint the joint of a book is the small groove which runs vertically down the book itself between the book boards book cover and the. For a nonfiction book, authors should make a bullet point list of the book s main features and actually put that list on the back cover.
Use three to five bullet points only odd numbers are best, marketing research shows, and tell what the book will do for the reader, or what the reader is going to learn from your book. Book promotion expert ben cameron always says writing the blurb is the hardest 100 words youll ever write, and many authors are also stumped when it comes to writing the front and back matter another task that usually falls just when youre. Under select details, select update information about a book. A novel of literary, historical, and political importance. Learn more about timelines for updates to published books. Regardless where you choose to put it, your photograph should always be included somewhere on the front or back cover of your book. What do book publicists want to see on a book cover. People go from the front cover to the back cover with the desire to be convinced that their gut reaction was correct, and that the content of the book will be as good as the design of the cover.
The back of a book cover is the perfect place to put this social proof. How do i cite descriptive copy or a quotation from a book. That means you have a limited amount of space to tell a potential reader why your book is worth their time and money. Back cover definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Learn how to write a back book cover blurb that not only intrigues readers but gets them to buy. Design book covers with canvas free book cover maker. Make the back cover your first area of concern, says susan howard, director of consulting services at the top publishing firm, the jenkins group inc. How to write successful back cover copy mascot books. Super simple to customize with your own sizing and design, this book cover template is the perfect canvas for creating.
That sounds complicated enough but take the sheer amount of book genres out there, and coming up with a book cover to attract readers can be a monumental task. Nora rawlinson, past editorinchief of publishers weekly, says, why not judge a book by its cover. Listing is for a reprint of the atom ant sticker fun book front and back covers only. Our friends at bookbub carried out an ab test in which they sent group a a book description with a testimonial and group b. The item is printed from a highquality file of the original item which was scanned at 300. Jul 30, 20 the front cover works in a very subliminal way.
Book covers today are often simple, revolving around a central imagery thats symbolic and can capture the essence or theme of the plot with one glance. How to build the back of a book cover with template reedsy blog. Choose a voice for your back cover that matches your book and fuel it with emotion. Practically, the back cover of fiction books tend to include a tagline also known as a logline or the shout line, a blurb, possibly a brief author. Bookfactory password journalpassword organizerpassword booklogbookpassword keeper, 120 pages, 3 12 x 5 14, durable thick translucent cover, wireo binding jou120mcwa password 4. If it makes sense, include your blog, social media links, or other books in the series toward. You can use the author bio template provided in this post on creating a memorable author bio. Five tips for a professional cover design authorhouse. Front and back cover copy for book covers cover design studio. Back cover copy includes the book summary and author bio. Its the essence of your book s most exciting features, distilled into a few hundred words. This information usually falls into one of three parts. Aligning the textblock spine and cover spine with one another, place the textblock back into the cover of the book. The back cover copy you write for your book is among the most important marketing messages youll craft.
The front matter pages usually arent visibly numbered. Not only will it appear on the book itself, but youll probably use it as your amazon description. Create a definite, confident voice for your back cover. The top two thirds of the back cover should be reserved for information pertaining to the book in hand, but the lower section can promote other items related to the book. However, a few sentences about the author with an optional photograph can be included on the back cover. Books are separated into sections, or parts, to make reading and finding the information you are seeking. Pack the rest of your information in the middle, then end on a high. Testimonials are incredibly persuasive in transforming potential readers into readers. The author biography should either be on the last page of the book, or on the cover of the book but not both.