You've just published a story that you've put hard work and time in, and now you're waiting for the reads to roll in. But hours pass, and your reads remain firmly at 0. Sound familiar? We're here to help. With two major sections, writing help and al...
Fact: Wattpad books with covers receive 10x more reads than books without covers.
Covers are the first thing your readers will see. Despite the saying "don't judge a book by its cover", the sin is still committed by every person out there, regardless of how much one tries not to. Wattpad has millions upon millions of stories; if your readers choose you, out of all in the sea, it's like winning a lottery.
To make a good cover is to set a good impression on your readers at first glance. A good cover says you care enough about your story to go that extra mile—to work hard on it, to make it look good, for them.
Also, we believe it is integral in society that pretty things catch your eye. A pretty cover will do just the trick. Not just a pretty cover, either; a cover that matches the genre of the story you're writing.
If there is one rule, and only one rule, to live by for the art of covers, it is this: you can never go wrong with Photoshop. Of course, there are some things that can go wrong, but the concept of using it to get that extra glimmer or lighting trick is worth it. There are many free websites and apps (provided by Wattpad or not) that you can also use. It's all good. Going that extra mile will help in the long run. Don't get lost behind.
Elements of a good cover, by the person who made the very cover of this guidebook:
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Title: Right there. In-your-face. Easily readable font that matches the genre and what you would expect. Simple, right? . . . Not really. You see, different fonts and colors evoke different emotions and feelings in your reader. You want to match the emotion and overall color scheme of the genre you're writing.
Subtitle and author's name: Smaller than the title, but still readable. My tips for getting font to stand out it to use drop shadow or other text effects. Using colors that differ from the background is also very helpful!
Image: Since this is a simpler cover, we have a simple image. The images used should always add to the text, not take away from it. Simple images may work for romance, slice-of-life, or similar genres. For genres such as fantasy and sci-fi, manipulated images tend to work better.
Color scheme: Let's take a look at the colors used in this cover. First of all, we have a bright orange that stands out right away and draws the viewer's eye. Orange is associated with success as well as being the color of the Wattpad logo. Neat, right? We also use blue for the background that contrasts nicely with the orange but not garishly, and white to round it all out. Remember: when in doubt, black and white will help you out.
Unity: Unity of a cover is, in a sense, how appealing overall it is. You want all the elements listed above to round each other out, to provide a sense of aesthetic. This is extremely important to keep in mind!
If you have any questions or concerns, leave them in an inline comment here ➸
Now that you have caught your reader's eye with a stunning cover, their eyes hover over to the next crucial item on the list: the Title.
