stubs. This just confuses people, and confused people become repelled. And don’t fall into the trap of believing your cover is a billboard, and every inch of space on it is real estate that needs to be filled up with the biggest possible words. Type needs to sit within the appropriate amount of emptiness in order to be readable. What is NOT on your cover is just as important as what IS on it. A quality designer will intimately know the appropriate font sizing for subtitles, blurbs, and author titles. Asking for them to be bigger is merely going to drain the impact from your design. 3. DOES IT INDICATE WHAT THE BOOK IS AND WHO THE BOOK IS FOR? Not only does your book stand out, but at a glance your audience ought to know: • The general genre of your book • The general subject matter or focus, and • Some idea of the tone or position of the book A truly great book is one that captures the book inside in some fundamental and perhaps unforeseen way. At the same time, don’t fall into the trap of feeling it has to show the content of the book or show an element or scene from the book (no one will know that is correct until after reading the book anyway). 4. DID YOU EXPLORE TOO MANY OPTIONS? Some authors spend far too much time trying to find the perfect cover. Usually, this is because it’s a way to work their anxieties about publishing out during the cover design process. It’s the major creative part of the publishing journey, and many people are nervous about what will happen when it ends. They force hOW TO gET A grEAT BOOk COvEr · 289