Wattpad 101: Your guide to the world of Wattpad

Artists, Illustrators, and Book Covers

First off, let's get this out of the way. This is NOT a tutorial on how to draw. I'm not an artist. In fact, one could say I have almost no artistic talent at all. I'm a decent enough writer though, which is why a lot of my art needs to be purchased by hiring illustrators and photoshoppers. One could say I have a LOT of experience hiring illustrators. To date, I have hired over $10,000 worth of images. Yeah. That's how much experience I have. So, in step with the rest of this book, I wanted to offer some advice on the things I've learned. While I've hired art for all manners of reasons, this chapter is mostly going to assume you're looking for a book cover. Since I haven't done a listicle in a while, here are five things you need to know about hiring art.

Book Covers Matter

You might have seen some really crappy cover on a book, or maybe none at all, and still, see that book doing well. This happens. However, I like to think of it as the exception that proves the rule. Book covers do affect people's perception of your book. In previous chapters, I have often said that when presenting a book, you always need to create the environment you want. Readers will come to your story based on how you prepped them for it. If your story meets their expectations, then they are happy and will go on to praise it. If they were expecting something else, they will hate your story, and condemn it.

In an ideal world, only people who would like your story would then be attracted to read your story. One aspect of obtaining this dream comes in the book cover. It's the first thing people see, and it fundamentally tells people what they can expect when they read your book. A bad book cover can really hurt your book and keep it from doing well. Just look at my book cover for Hawtness. That's an example of a bad book cover.

The bold red lettering, the black background, and the muscular guy... well, it looks like an erotica. That's... part of the joke... but plenty of people don't even reach the summary to catch that it is a joke. I've thought about getting a better book cover for years, but it's kind of a catch twenty-two. The cover I would want is expensive, and I've never gotten a dime from that novel. So, the novel isn't successful enough to get a cover, and because I don't have a decent cover, it may not be as successful. Maybe, one of these days, I'll splurge and it will become unexpectantly popular, but I'm not holding my breath.

Your book will influence who your audience is, and it's the first thing most people see. Thus, it's something worth investing in.

Now... on Wattpad, just about everyone has made some kind of cover for their book. Maybe you've used some kind of generator online. Maybe you have asked someone in our help section to make it for you. Maybe, you just slapped something together. If you don't have a cover, chances are your book is going to be overlooked by a lot of people. Many won't even look in your direction unless you have a cover at least. Not having one just shows a lack of concern. If you can't even be bothered to put out a cover, then why would they be bothered to read your story?

That said, the likelihood that you have any right to your book cover is extremely suspect. It is likely composed of copyrighted material that you do not own. This is because...

There is a Difference Between Illustrators and Designers

Most people on Wattpad that create book covers are book cover creators/designers, not illustrators. There is a distinct difference between the two, and if you want to create a book cover that is distinctly yours, you're going to need to use the talents of both.

A book cover creator takes preexisting assets and puts them together in an interesting way. The simplest term for it is photoshopping. They take images from the internet and then they will compile them into an image you can use. Here's the problem. You don't own those images. You also don't own that font. In many cases, neither can be used by you legally to sell your story.