We have already discussed fonts in a previous blog post, but let's delve into them a bit more. Your choice of images can impact the feel of your cover a great deal, so can your choice of fonts. If you choose something that is off genre (yes, fonts can be considered genre specific) you may confuse readers.
If the images and your title scream "this is a romance book" but your font yells over them, "oh no, this is a horror book" readers will likely scratch their head and move on. Do some research into types of fonts. Google your genre. All you need to do is put in "fantasy fonts", or "dystopian fonts" or whatever your genre might be. It can give you an idea of what's out there. So can taking a stroll through the book store to see covers on other books in your genre.
The fonts you choose will tell a story whether you want to believe it or not. The type of font will affect how a reader looks at the title.
Let's look at an example of how fonts affect how something reads -
Bebas New bold - it makes the sentence read as demanding. This makes the book appear as if it's going to be an abused spouse story
Alansky - this font gives of a sweet romance vibe, which is likely what you'd want for this title
Double Feature - this one is pretty self-explanatory. It immediately makes this into a horror story
Times New Roman - the title is quite simply, well ... boring. It doesn't really evoke much of an emotional response
Tweaky - readers are now wondering what sort of dystopian/Sci-Fi nightmare this book could possibly involve.
You can see how your font choice would affect your cover. If you aren't consistent throughout your design it can confuse readers. People have short attention spans, if the explanation for something isn't in front of them then most won't dig deeper to discover answers on their own. They want to buy a book not go on a scavenger hunt. They'll simply move on and choose a book that puts all the answers right in front of them, one that they can immediately understand what genre it is.
Here's another example of how font choice can change the feel of a cover -
Choose your fonts carefully and if you aren't certain or your stuck between several choices it never hurts to ask for a little help from your friends. Even other authors or your social media followers can assist.
However you decide, make certain the fonts fit with the genre and the images you've chosen so readers will be drawn to your book.
Comments