Lecture on Book Marketing and Cover Design

Introduction

• Presenter: Mallory, known for expertise in Facebook ads and graphic design.
• Focus: How to market books effectively by understanding reader expectations and genre norms.

Background

• Mallory's experience: Graphic design since 1997, 30 years of Photoshop use, designed over 350 book covers, worked with hundreds of authors.
• Key realization: Books not marketable without proper cover and blurb alignment to genre and reader expectations.

Key Concepts in Book Marketing

Understanding Your Book

• Every book is a mix of genres and tropes.
• Importance of identifying major tropes in your book.

Importance of Tropes

• Tropes are common story elements or themes that help classify and market books.
• Examples: Lit RPG, rags to riches, enemies to lovers, chosen one, etc.
• No wholly original ideas; the value lies in unique combinations.

Analyzing Market Trends

• Successful marketing requires studying what bestsellers in your genre are doing.
• Examine covers and tropes of mid-list authors who are thriving; they often better reflect current market trends than big-name authors.

Cover Design

• Covers should reflect genre and trope expectations to attract the right audience.
• Example: Saul Herzog changed thriller cover norms with action shots and unique text placement.
• Covers must convey key elements of the genre and story.

Detailed Elements of Book Presentation

Fonts and Colors

• Specific fonts and colors convey genre emotions (e.g., sans-serif for thrillers).
• Use genre-specific color palettes to signal book themes (e.g., orange and blue for action).

Cover Imagery

• The imagery (e.g., characters, scenery) on the cover should align with the book's tone and genre.

Titles and Subtitles

• Titles should add clues about genre and tropes.
• Use the series name to convey additional information.

Keyword Stuffing

• Incorporate keywords into titles for better searchability.
• Especially useful for e-books, less so for print.

Blurb Writing

• The blurb must establish the status quo, introduce conflict, and highlight stakes.
• Reinforce genre and trope elements to align with cover and title.

Practical Tips

• Continually revise and test covers to align with changing reader expectations.
• Do not fear changing book covers and titles if they no longer align with expectations.
• Use sites like tvtropes.org to identify common tropes.
• Consider testing multiple covers to find the most effective one.

Conclusion

• Successful book marketing requires a cohesive strategy aligning cover, title, subtitle, and blurb to genre expectations.
• Stay adaptable and informed about market trends to keep your book presentation effective.