Books guide

Brief a designer for your book cover

Write a clear brief, agree rights and file formats, and give useful feedback, so your book cover looks right in its genre and works in print and online.

Estimated time: 1–2 hoursUpdated: 28 September 2026

Use this guide when you are self-publishing and want a professional cover rather than designing one yourself. Have your final title and subtitle, author name, a short description of the book and your trim size if it is a paperback.

Step by step

  1. Study covers in your genre

    Look at current bestsellers in your category online and in a bookshop. Note common fonts, colours, imagery and layout, because readers use these cues to recognise a genre instantly. Save a handful of examples you like and a few you dislike.

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