In a fraction of a second potential readers scroll past dozens of covers before finding that one that succeeds in its task of capturing attention. For every cover that intrigues those book-loving shoppers, there is one that makes them cringe. Your novel could be pure gold behind that one image, and the reader may never know. When it comes to books, people do really judge quality by the cover.
Today, I'd like to share with you a few major cover design mistakes that may be costing you those sweet pennies from every sale. If you are opposed to using a pre-made cover (an affordable option), here's some free advice in basic design. These tips are just as relevant to graphics used for blog posts and advertising.

1. The Stretched Image
I'm sure you've seen at least one cover where the author has taken an attractive image and just stretched it out a little bit to make it fit the cover requirements. Please do not ever do this. Even if it doesn't seem like it's that bad, it's bad. This counts for fonts too. Increase the font size, change the spacing, or choose a different font. Don't stretch it. Instead, choose a larger image and crop.

2. MS Paint
Don't use it. Unless you are a professional artist, your drawing is not going to attract readers. Trust me. Instead, find a nice stock photo and roll with it. Use Adobe's tools, or go with the freeware versions. If you're looking for easy and free, check out Canva. Personally, I use GIMP and Inkscape. 

3. Font Choice
One of the most frequent mistakes I see with self-made covers is poor choice in font. I get it. Before jumping into graphic design, I didn't realize how much fonts mattered. Many times it's the one thing that pops out and screams 'amateur' at potential customers with a single glance. They may not know why, but they'll know something's wrong. For this, I suggest research and trial and error. Get a boatload of fonts and see what you like. If the font is too different in style to the other covers in your field, that may be because it suggests a feeling that you aren't going for. What do I mean? Check out these great posts for more:

• DIY Book Covers has a great list of fonts, what they look like, and what genre they work for.
  
• This post by Knockin' Books has some great examples of what to look for in the text, and what feeling those styles give the reader.
  
• Find something you like, but have no idea where to get it? Check out WhatTheFont! and take the guesswork out. The website can scan an image for you and tell you what font the artist has used. Neat stuff!

Love this post? Leave me a comment and tell me so. Want to know more about how I design my covers? Check out this post: Author Toolbox--Free Must-Haves for Cover Design

Today I wanted to share a different kind of post, a look behind the curtain. This is my eleventh month of publishing paranormal romance novels, and marks a year since I first decided to try my hand at becoming an author. It's been a wonderful, crazy, busy year that has taught me so much. And I'd like to share some of that knowledge with aspiring authors or anyone interested in the craft.

Going indie means a lot of things. First, that I get to control everything. Which also means I have to handle everything. Sounds like the same thing, right? Well, having total creative control is wonderful. No one tells me what my next book has to be about. I can tell the stories I want to tell, in the way I want to tell them. But, it's up to me to make sure that the quality is professional, the cover and blurb are on point, and that somehow the wonderful world of paranormal romance readers realizes I exist. And all expenses come out of my pocket. There's no advance. But, that means the success I find is mine, and it's oh so gratifying.

There are a lot of great tools that I use to create my books from cover to cover, paperback and ebook alike. For the indie author on a tight budget, who also is artistically inclined, I definitely recommend checking out these amazing freebies. Just for the record, I'm not saying you should pass up buying a cover. If you use MS Paint and you can scroll down Amazon's search page and spot your cover because it looks like it doesn't belong with the rest, you definitely should buy a cover from a professional. If you don't, you're only hurting your chance of selling the novel you've put your blood, sweat, and tears into. That said, I love digital art and have found a lot of amazing tools for both covers and other graphics.

Here's a few favorites from my Author Toolbox:

Gimp
I know. I know. Everyone says you need Photoshop. I have an old version of Photoshop that I've used a bit. Now, Adobe offers a pay per month subscription to use their tools. If it's within your budget, go for it. Personally, I've had a great experience with freeware. Gimp works a lot like Photoshop and is great for photo editing and putting together covers. If you check out my first batch of covers, I had not yet discovered the awesomeness of Gimp.
https://www.gimp.org/

Inkscape
Inkscape is a vector program. So if you scale up an image, you don't get the pixely weirdness you would if you were working with a photograph. I like to draw freehand, with pen and paper, then scan in my sketch and make it smooth and perfected in Inkscape by drawing over the image with vectors. This allows me to play with sizes, symmetry, and color. I use Inkscape for my logos, and the kind of font work that gimp doesn't support.
https://inkscape.org/en/

1001 Fonts
There are a lot of great fonts out there. 1001 Fonts offers a wide variety. Some are free for commercial use. Some aren't. So be sure to read the terms that come along with each.
http://www.1001fonts.com/