Never Judge an eBook by its JPG Image

You know the old adage, “Never judge a book by its cover”? Of course, however unfairly, everyone DOES form an instant impression of the contents of a book from the design of the cover. People by their very nature make instant judgments in all manner of situations especially using visual first impressions. If this is true of a regular printed book, then it is even more so when people form an impression of an eBook when seeing the digital image that illustrates it. Since you cannot use tactile or other sensory input, you literally only have that single image to inform you of the potential merit of the eBook.

eBooks are becoming increasingly popular because of the ease of publication, not to mention the logistics of delivery. eBook authors do not have to find a publisher willing to promote their work, prepare the print run and finally find stores actually willing to carry the finished product. Instead, they can create the eBook in PDF format using free software and deliver the product by electronic download to potential buyers all over the world for no more than the cost of their existing internet connection. The actual online promotion of that eBook is another matter outside the scope of this article.

Nowadays there are a number of graphic software packages that will allow you to create sophisticated electronic images. Photoshop is of course the prime contender is this realm, although many other software programs have just as many advanced graphical features. However, most sophisticated graphic packages have a steep learning curve, and even if you are willing to invest months, if not years, mastering these programs, this does not guarantee you will be able to produce a compelling eBook cover design. Understanding design elements is another skill that needs to be mastered over an extended period of time.

Covers for normal printed book covers are a specialized form of artistic expression and an eBook cover even more so, considering the very limited canvas to work with in a typical eBook. Clearly you need to write very compelling text to entice potential customers to buy your eBook, but no matter how effective this promotional copy might be, if the accompanying images are not highly polished and professional, you will instantly lose many of your prospective buyers.

There are many possible mistakes that can be made in eBook design. One of the most common I see is that there are far too many design elements crammed into what is, after all, a very small resolution image. The visual elements are placed randomly without though to a coherent flow which means that the eye does not focus on any central theme.

Good eBook design should make the subject matter very clear with coherent visual elements that highlight the text of the title. The goal should be to display a cover that has a ‘clean’ design that illustrates and clarifies the subject matter of the eBook. All of the elements should be coherent while still conveying a compelling message. A professional 3D effect with ‘shadow’ will help to give some ‘dimensionality’ to the image.

The advent of more choices in eBook Readers ensures that the volume of digital material will continue to escalate dramatically. The readers using electronic ink (Kindle, Nook etc) and those using traditional technologies (iPad and other ‘tablet’ computers) will lead to further expansion in the eBook market. The traditional print book will continue to survive for a long time to come, but the trend is very much in the direction of the printed word being delivered electronically. Expect to see a lot more great (and not so good) digital images that represent your future ‘virtual’ eBooks.