A document, made into a book.
A cover has about one second to say what kind of book this is and whether it was made by professionals. Everything at this stage is about that second.
Covers we
have made.
Every one of these is a real cover on a real book. Open one and look properly.
Bipolar SunsetDavid Summerville
Bipolar SunsetDavid Summerville
Frank's Guide to Caring for BonsaiFrank Weaver
The Mystery on Greenfarm RoadGail Simmons
The CPO & The WrenGeoffrey Spinks
The Complete Guide to BarberingGeorge Bembridge
Grandpa Billy's Book of LifeWilliam H Webster
The Adventures of Bert the WormJade Entwistle
Honour Amongst MercenariesJames Vincent O'Donnell
Little Hedgehog and the MoonCat Rushton
The Fathers in my LifeLouise Wynne Jones
Reg Dudley's Camping Memories
William and the Secrets of the Enchanted ForestIdris James
Life Is Full of SurprisesMason Chambers
The Silent ReturnFranklin Josue Rutayungulwa
Four decisions
that show.
- 01
The cover
Designed for your book rather than picked from a set. It has to sit on a shelf next to the books yours competes with and not look like the cheap one.
- 02
The typesetting
Margins, leading, running heads, where chapters start. Nobody notices good typesetting and everybody feels bad typesetting — it is the difference between a book and a printed Word file.
- 03
The specification
Trim size, paper, binding, whether it is matt or gloss. Decided for the book you have, not defaulted.
- 04
The thumbnail test
Most people will first see your cover at the size of a postage stamp. If the title is unreadable there, the cover has failed regardless of how it looks at full size.
Four rounds,
and you have the last word.
Nobody designs a good cover in one pass, and no designer should be guessing what you meant. This is the order it happens in.
- 01
You tell us what the book is
Not what you want the cover to look like — what the book is, who it is for, and the three titles a bookshop would shelve it beside. Almost every bad cover starts with an author describing a design instead of a book.
- 02
We come back with routes, not one answer
Different arguments about the same book, so the conversation is about which idea is right rather than whether you like a typeface. You are choosing a direction at this stage, not a file.
- 03
One route, taken properly
The chosen direction is drawn out to full size and tested where it will actually be seen: at thumbnail on a retailer, face-out on a shelf, and greyscale on an e-reader. A cover that only works at full size has not been finished.
- 04
The interior is set to match
Trim size, paper, binding and typesetting decided for this book. The last file is print-ready and it is yours: you can take it to any printer in the world and they can make the book from it.
A cover is a sales
document, not a picture.
It has one job, and the job is not to be beautiful. It is to make a reader who has never heard of you stop, understand in about a second what kind of book this is, and want to know more. Everything else is downstream of that.
The three sizes it has to survive
It will be seen at roughly a centimetre high in a search result, at about four centimetres in a recommendation strip, and at full size only if the first two worked. A design that has to be looked at properly to be understood has already lost the reader who was going to buy it.
Why the category decides half of it
Every shelf has a visual grammar, and readers use it to sort books before they read a word. A memoir that looks like a thriller does not read as original, it reads as confusing, and the reader moves on. Knowing which conventions to keep is most of the work; knowing which single one to break is the rest.
What you keep
The print-ready files, and the final say on the cover, the title and the text. It is written into the agreement rather than said on a call.
What our authors say
On platforms we do not own and cannot edit. The covers they are talking about are on the shelf above.
- Grand Publishers especially David Alonsa were brilliant
Grand Publishers especially David Alonsa extremely helpful and talked me through everything. He was also very patient with me.l would certainly recommend you all and have already done so
Gail Simmons - Book publishing and promotion
Jason and David and the team have worked hard to get my second book into the public eye, and have made some really good social media pictures and promotions. "The CPO & The Wren" is now selling on both sides of the Atlantic. Geoffrey Spinks
Mr Geoff Spinks - I can't tell you how amazing it has…
I can't tell you how amazing it has been working with Grand Publishing. From the very beginning, the experience has been outstanding. When I first reached out, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to publish a project I had been working on for quite some time. Jerry gave me a call and patiently walked me through the entire process. He answered all of my questions and genuinely motivated me to move forward with publishing my book. I was then introduced to David Alonso, who became my project manager. He has been fantastic throughout the journey, keeping me updated every step of the way, answering any questions I had, and making the whole process smooth and stress-free. As a first-time author, I couldn't have asked for a better experience. If you're hesitant about publishing, I'd encourage you to speak with the team. If you don't come away from that conversation feeling confident, then I'll have to call myself a liar! Thank you, Grand Publishing, and especially Jerry and David, for making this such a positive and memorable experience.
Booker Odena - Outstanding Service from Grand Publishers
I had a very positive experience working with Grand Publishers. As a new author, I really needed guidance throughout the process, from editing to preparation for publication. David and Jerry, who were incredibly helpful, professional, and supportive, made a significant difference. They took the time to explain each stage clearly and did an amazing job with the marketing, illustrations, and overall development of my book. Their dedication to making the final result as strong as possible was exceptional. I would highly recommend Grand Publishers, especially David and Jerry, who were fantastic to work with.
Juliet - My book, In my happy place.
Some while ago I submitted a raw manuscript to Grand Publishers. Honestly, at first I was cautious about their enthusiasm, in fact I thought it a sales ploy. How wrong I was! The project has been managed by David Alanza, with input from Arthur J Wayne the marketing director. At every stage I have been afforded full control of the artistic direction and have now got a highly polished book that I could never have produced. I'm now in the launch phase and the marketing so far is beyond my wildest dreams. I know that there's much more to come, but wanted to highly recommend anyone with a book that they believe in to listen to and trust Grand. To verify everything I've said, please search Vernon Smith I my happy place and see for yourself.
Vernon Smith - Helpful and professional
Helpful and professional
Elikem Debrah
Design
questions.
You get the final say. We will tell you when we think a choice will hurt the book, and then it is yours to make.
eBook, paperback and hardcover. Which make sense depends on the book — a children's picture book and a business paperback want different things, and we will say which we would recommend and why.
Yes. Tell us at the start so the schedule and specification are built around them.
Yes. The print-ready files and the cover artwork are yours.
See the shelf before you decide.
The catalogue is the portfolio. Every cover on it was designed here.