Make a book cover with AI

Why is a book’s cover important?

A compelling book cover stops a potential reader in their tracks. Think about the last time you grabbed some new reading material on a whim from the library or bookstore; was it because it was something you’d been looking for or because the cover grabbed your attention and kept it?

People are visual creatures; a well-designed book cover helps define the book’s genre, reflect the author’s style, and give a hint of the overall theme and mood of the book’s contents. Whether you’re self-publishing a book or creating the first draft book cover mock-up for your publisher, use generative AI prompts like these to get started:

• What visual elements are common on [genre] book covers?
• Describe the ideal book cover style for a young adult vampire fantasy novel.
• Give me design inspiration for a book that’s a modern interpretation of Norse myths.

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Book cover ideas for visual direction

AI helps brainstorm themes, moods, and imagery for your book. Give it information about what you’ve written and the overall tone and theme of the text to see what it suggests. Ask for specific book cover recommendations or something a little less concrete like a mood board or stylistic suggestions. Even if you’re not sold on anything it generates, these AI interactions are an excellent jumping off point and may serve as a springboard for your own imagination. Try prompts like these:

• Suggest a color scheme and imagery for the book cover of a sci-fi tale about time travel.
• Help me brainstorm book cover ideas for a poetry collection about nature.
• Describe a mysterious, atmospheric cover design for a historical fiction novel.
• Create a mood board for a book cover for creative essays about motherhood.

Use AI tools to generate book cover artwork

AI image-generating tools offer enormous help if you’re creating cover art for your book. The trick for using an AI image tool is to know what you’re looking for and write an effective prompt to achieve the desired output. Of course, these tools also help you determine what you don’t want, so use the process of elimination to create an image that works for you and your book cover. Try prompts like these:

• Create a book cover illustration featuring a haunted forest and glowing moonlight.
• Generate cover art for a cyberpunk detective story set in a futuristic city.
• Design a minimalist book cover with abstract geometric shapes and cool tones.
• Generate a book cover about Louisiana swamps and bayous. Do not include any New Orleans or plantation imagery.

Putting your book cover together

Once you have a design that you like, or you’re headed in the right design direction, it’s time to think about the layout and how you’d like the title and your byline to look. There are countless fonts available in a variety of typography styles. You’ll want the title to be immediately readable, but also visually interesting. Use AI design tools to try different design and layout options for your book cover with prompts like these:

• Suggest font pairings for a thriller book cover.
• Where should I place the title and author name on a vertical book cover?
• What typography style matches a fantasy adventure novel?
• Show font options that look hand-drawn and whimsical.

If you’ve written a book that you want to share with the world, don’t stress about book cover design. Instead, let AI help make your publishing dreams a reality.