How to Write a Cover Brief
Hello all and welcome back! For those of you that are new, welcome in! My name is Susan and I’m a freelance fiction editor, specializing in sci fi, fantasy, and romance.
Today we’re going to talk about creating a cover design brief for your book! The goal of a cover is to catch the readers’ eye and give them an instant feel or idea for the type of story.
With that in mind, a cover brief is an overview of the key details about your story, your design preferences, your ideal comps, and any other details you think might be important as you approach designing a cover—whether that be through a publisher, an independent designer, or doing it yourself!
Having a clear vision of what you want and the market can not only save you time and money, but it can also help you reach the right audience and sell more books.
I’ve created a free cover brief template for you to download—so feel free to check that out and follow along as we break down the different sections on the brief so you can design the perfect cover for your upcoming story!
Book Details
The first section is pretty self-explanatory, but still vital—book details. This includes the title, series title and book number (if any), the author name, genre, subgenre, and book formats.
Let’s break that down a bit:
Title
Consider how your title is going to fit on your cover, with the image or cover idea you have in mind. Should it be short? Long? Is there a market trend you want to follow or bend?
For example, when A Court of Thorns and Roses rose to fame, not only did the number of fantasy romances increase, but the style of title also became popular. Which led to successors like:
A Serpent and the Wings of Night
From Blood and Ash
The Song of the Marked
Curse of Shadow and Thorns
I could keep going!
Notice similarities in title, font, colors, symbols, and style.
Looking at the style, the design, the rhythm of the title, you can see the influences of ACOTAR, whether intentional or not.
So thinking about your title in terms of design is key as you decide the direction you want your cover design to go.
Series Title and Book Number (if any)
If you are writing a series, having the series title and book number on the front and spine of your book is key to help readers navigate and find the correct title in the series.
Most people assume the spine, but that only works if it is going to be in print. If you are doing e-only, having it on the front is important as well.
Author Name
If you’ve already chosen your author name, this one is self-explanatory. But if you are a new author, or writing under a new pen name, consider how your author name is going to look on the cover. Like with the title, do you want it to take up space? Be minimal? Do you have any awards or titles that you’ll want to include with it that will take up space?
You may be thinking, “What does the style or size of my name matter if I’m new? No one will recognize my name.” True. But that doesn’t mean that will always be the case. You are building a brand, and starting that early can only help as you gain traction with your audience. So have a think on how you may want this to look not only now, but books down the line!
Genre and subgenre
It is important to include genre, and if possible, subgenre in your cover brief so your cover artist can consider any audience and market trends.
And subgenre can make a big difference, so it is something to include if you can.
For example, all these books are classified as fantasy. And they are. But they are wildly different types fantasy—subgenres with the fantasy genre—and therefore appeal to different readers within.
So being as clear as possible is key to make sure you’re grabbing the right audience!
Book Formats
Consider what your book format may change for your cover design. If you are considering publishing ebook only, at least at first, your cover is generally going to be quite small on the screen for the most part. So you may want to consider bigger images, bigger type, or a more bold design. If you know you’re going to have a print format, make sure you let your cover artist know so they can design with that size in mind (hard cover is a very different size than trade paperback or mass market!)
Story Details
This section dives into what the story is about, the feel, and specifics you may want shown to connect the story to the image. We’ve all seen the covers where the main character’s description doesn’t match the cover and how frustrating that can be. Don’t let that happen to you! But it can be more than that as well:
Story Hook/Log Line
While these can be used interchangeably, they are actually two different things. For the purpose of the cover brief, we’re going to divide them up. A story hook is a line of copy that is a, well, hook for the story. You’ll commonly find this on the cover of books, or as the first line of the back cover copy.
Slightly different from that, a log line is a sentence or two that shows what the story is about by highlighting a contrast.
You’ll want both on your cover brief—the first is a great line to consider including on the design of a book, like these here, while the second gives the cover designer more of an idea of the story without needing to read the full draft (as it may not even be finished yet!)
Main Character Descriptions
Whether you decide to have a character-led cover or not, it is always a great idea to include short character descriptions in your cover brief. And this includes not only physical descriptions, but also a sentence or two of personality traits as well. Like with the story hook and log line, this can give the designer a feel for the story, and also the voice.
A great example of this is the Legend of Eli Monpress. If you haven’t read this series, I HIGHLY recommend it. It is one of my favorites. But the big takeaway from this cover is the energy and personality of the main character, just from the image. You can tell he’s a bit of a troublemaker, cocky, and ready to take on the world. Without knowing anything else about the story, you can tell that from the cover. And that is because the design brief included his personality, which is a key aspect of the story, not just his looks.
Core Setting Descriptions
While I’m sure there are a number of settings in your story, giving the cover artist an idea of the core setting is helpful as they decide the backdrop of your design. And that doesn’t mean it has to be a real city or town. If your story takes place in New Orleans, obviously that is helpful. But even general setting feel can add a lot to your cover and help your audience get an instant idea of what your book is about. If your story is a sci-fi, is it mainly in space, on a ship, on a foreign planet? If your story is a romance, is it small town, big city billionaire, paranormal?
Any Key Symbols or Visuals
Are there any symbols or visuals that would be eye catching or fun easter eggs for your readers?
Cover Details
Looking past the story, what else do you, your designer, and or your publisher need to know to create the perfect cover for your story?
Comparable Title Covers
Pull at least three, if not more, covers of popular titles that are comparable to yours to give the cover artist an idea of what is currently trending and working in the market. You’ll want them to be within the same genre, have a similar story feel (if possible), and be published within the last three years or less to make sure they are current market comps.
This will tie into a lot of the preferences you’ve included above and may change some of your answers. Linking back to title size and length, character, setting, and more. And then you can decide if you want to go with the current trend, or break the mold.
Favorite Covers
Pull some of your favorite covers. While it is helpful if they are in the same genre as yours, that isn’t a requirement for this. These covers are more to give the cover designer an idea of your style, what you gravitate toward, and what catches your eye. Ideally, then, they’ll be able to find a good balance between this and the comparable title covers to find something you love that your readers can’t wait to buy!
Image Inspirations
Any images that you love that might help inspire your cover designer or give them ideas.
Color Scheme
Author branding or color preference.
The above questions gave the designer all the information they’d need to create any of these options, but this is your chance to tell them exactly what you want.
Depending on how you publish, you may or may not have full control of these choices, but it is always good to have a firm idea of what you like so you can give as much feedback as possible.
Big Title or Big Picture?
Character, Setting, or Symbol?
Photo or Illustrated?
Do you want to leave room for quotes/story hook?
And finally, budget.
While you may have already budgeted to hire a designer, you’ll also want to consider how much the actual cover is going to cost. Depending on what you decide, you can go quite minimal—stock images, free use font—or you can decide to buy images or have something specifically drawn or designed for your book. These costs would be outside of hiring the designer so make sure to keep that in mind as you budget.
As you can see, there can be a ton of work that goes into a cover design brief, but making it as detailed as possible can go a long way in making your cover process smooth and successful to lead to more readers and book sales!
Hopefully this has been helpful! Don’t forget to download the free Cover Brief Workbook if you haven’t already, and while you’re there, check out the other workbooks and courses I offer to help you along your writing and publishing journey!
Don’t hesitate to comment if you have any publishing questions, I’d love to hear from you!
And until next time, keep writing!