The cover of a book is the first thing a potential reader sees. Many authors are primarily concerned with what goes between the covers, but in this case a good outer appearance can make a huge difference in whether or not someone will pick it up and take it home. Additionally, the cover is an accent to your writing; if the cover doesn't match, not only will readers feel the work was misrepresented, but you may feel less happy about your work overall.

Cover Art and Font

Depending on how the book sits on the shelf, a prospective reader will either see the spine or the front cover first. I'll start with the cover art, since it's more overt. You may or may not have much say in the cover art and design, depending on who you're publishing with. If you do have some input, especially if you're fortunate enough to get to choose the artist yourself, here are some things to keep in mind:

--A lot of pagan books have rather formulaic covers that don't particularly stand out from the rest. Go for something that's unique, rather than trying to make it look "like a pagan book should". On the other hand, make sure the cover fits the content. Your book on druidry probably won't do so well if you have a picture of a cow in a field being attacked by a velociraptor. Additionally, a book on raising pagan children would probably look better with bright, sunny colors rather than a Gothic theme of black, red, silver and/or purple (unless you're targeting parents of Goths-to-be, of course).

--Speaking of that, if you get to choose your artist, whether freelancers or from a group of in-house artists, take some time to evaluate prospective artists' styles. Look for someone who is skilled as an artist as well as has good ideas. If the artist works in several different media, go for the one that s/he shows the most proficiency in.

--The medium an artist uses can go a long way in making or breaking a piece of art. I've seen some rather subpar covers that were done with computer imagery by someone who was obviously not that skilled; the figures (people) looked stiff and unnatural, and the color blending wasn't all that great. Additionally, obviously computer-generated cover art can make a book look more like a manual for a video game than a book on magic.

--If the artist hasn't done much cover art, you might have hir talk to your publisher's art director (if you're self-publishing, that may very well be you!). The art director may have suggestions as far as how to place elements of the artwork to make room for the title, author name and other words that will be added later.

This last point brings up the idea of fonts. I'll admit that I'm guilty of using a couple of the "7 Worst Fonts" (link: http://www.urbanfonts.com/blog/the-7-worst-fonts/ ). However, used with care, a good font can really accent your cover art. Many of the fonts found in layout programs work well for titling, though there are custom-created ones that can be bought for reasonable prices online (be nice--don't steal peoples' artwork, fonts included).

Blurbs

Cover blurbs are brief, usually one to three sentence quotes about a book that are placed either on the cover or somewhere in the first few pages. These are generally written by people respected in whatever genre the book is in who have been given advance copies of the manuscript for preview. Later editions of the book may also have blurbs from book reviews.

It's usually easier to get blurbs from people you're acquainted with, or friend of a friend situations. Some people, especially those who may be busy (such as other authors) may not have the time to look over a manuscript, especially not from someone they don't know. Rather than sending people a galley without any precursor, it's better to contact them first and see if they're even interested in looking at your manuscript.

If you're small press or self-published you may need to create the galleys yourself. You have two basic choices--a .pdf file, or a small run of galleys through a print on demand provider such as Lulu. With .pdfs, I prefer to only send selected chapters rather than the whole thing so as to help prevent piracy. In the case of printed galleys, I print out a couple more than what I think I'll need; if nothing else, you can always give the extras away as promotional tools (and keep one for the memories if you like). I generally don't worry too much about layout at this point if the book isn't quite done yet; the previewers will primarily be interested in content anyway. You should probably give the reviewers a minimum of a month after they receive the galley to get you a blurb; however, make sure the person putting the cover design together has ample time to do so.

Once you have the blurbs, decide which ones you want on the cover of your book. Depending on the cover art, you may be able to have a brief blurb somewhere on the front cover, though most blurbs are reserved for the back. Depending on how many blurbs you have, you may not be able to fit all the blurbs on the cover. In that case, I usually put cover blurbs somewhere before the table of contents in the book itself.

Back Matter

Blurbs are just one aspect of back matter. After a potential reader has picked up the book (no doubt attracted by your stunning cover art and promising title in the perfect font), the next thing s/he'll probably do is look at the back cover. Here's where you get to tantalize hir with teasers about the material inside.

I usually divide the back matter into three paragraphs:

1 - Present a problem of some sort. Start it with something that catches the attention, like "Have you ever....?" or a statement such as "For years, pagans/occultists have searched for information about....". You may continue for anotehr sentence or so, elaborating on the problem or presenting another problem that the book can answer. Then end with a beginning of an answer, such as "(Title of book) can tell you how....".

2. Here's the meat of the back matter. This is where you get to summarize the specific topics covered. You don't need to tell a whole long story, but do hit the highlights. Make them sound like something unique, presented in a manner that piques the curiosity. If your book stands out from others on similar topics, accentuate those differences (without bashing other peoples' works--think constructively!)

3. Reiterate a problem: "So if you want to.....then (Title) is for you! You'll....." etc.

Cover blurbs can then be added into the mix. I prefer to keep them at the bottom of the back cover, after the back matter, with maybe one at the top. Some people like having a blurb inbetween every paragraph, but I find that this breaks up the back matter too much.

You can also have a brief bio if you have the room. Some people choose to have a picture of themselves as well. Just make sure if you're designing the cover yourself that you allow enough room for everything, including pricing info and the ISBN barcode.

So there are the basics of creating a good cover. You may find details that I didn't mention; by all means, if it works for you, use it! Your cover can be the deciding factor in whether someone picks your book up or not; make it count.

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