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Publishing guide
A Book Cover Design Checklist
Use this book cover checklist to judge genre signal, thumbnail clarity, spine, back copy, and print specs.
Readers decide whether to look closer from a very small image. A cover can be beautiful and still fail if it looks like the wrong genre.
Check the signal
Put the cover next to eight current books in your category. If yours could be mistaken for a cookbook, a thriller, or a textbook by accident, the signal is wrong.
Check the thumbnail
Title and author name should be readable when the image is about the size of a postage stamp. Fine scripts and low-contrast type fail this test.
Check the whole jacket
Spine text must be upright and readable. Back copy should tell a reader what experience they are buying. The barcode needs clear space. Ebook and print files are not the same export.