Dear masters of the digital arts,
My name is Daniel and I am just about to self-publish my very first eBook on a very interesting method for losing weight and living a longer, healthier life. While I hope that I did a pretty decent job on the writing part, I unfortunately know nothing about design. Probably the most I could do with Photoshop is double-click the launch icon. As I am pretty sure that an appealing book cover is just as important as the content itself when it comes to sales-figures, I am here to seek your help.
I hope that many of you support my small project by offering their creative ideas and unique skills in order to submit a book cover that makes everyone seeing it curious for the content. :-)
As I stated, my knowledge in graphic design is less than basic. However I tried my best to make this briefing as precise as possible. In case that important information is missing or some of my requirements do not make sense, please let me know! ;-)
I am looking forward to some amazing cover suggestions from you!
Good luck!
Target audience:
It might be helpful to start by giving you a short description of what the book title promises: Become healthy and slim/lean with short term fasting –You can eat what you want and still lose weight (without having to keep any diet)
The main target groups are obviously people who want to lose weight but are disappointed with regular diets. Also the will to improve health might be a motivator of the target audience, as the concept described in the book also has proven to lead to very positive health effects and a longer life. So the reader’s motivation to buy this book will very likely be that he or she hopes to achieve a slimmer, healthier and therefore happier life.
I would estimate the average reader to be rather female than male and in the age of 20 to 40 years, probably mostly around 30.
Book Description:
My book is about how short term fasting can lead to a healthier and longer life while at the same time enabling easy weight loss. The results of many scientific studies as well as the author’s experiences are used to describe the astonishing effects of this simple change in eating patterns. The reader of the book does not only find profound background information on the subject but also easy to follow step-by-step instructions and helpful advice on how to successfully adapt to this new lifestyle.
The concept presented is quite simple: phases of free eating are followed by short phases of fasting. These fasting periods usually last between 16 and 24 hours. A further change in food choice or physical activity is not required. Nevertheless, as these two aspects can certainly increase the overall effects of the short term fasting, the book also offers detailed information on how to make healthier food choices and how to design a workout that leads to maximum results.
However, for many of the readers the aspect of losing weight without having to change their food or doing sports might be a key benefit of this specific concept. Therefore I would suggest to keep these two topics off the cover. The emphasis should be made on becoming slim / attractive and healthy.
Requirements:
The first and probably primary sales channel of this book will be the Amazon kindle shop. Therefore the design should mainly fulfill the requirements needed to attract potential readers on this platform. A clean design with rather big and easy to read fonts is preferred so that the cover also looks appealing in the small scale preview.
Whether you want to choose a photo (e.g. a happy slim / sportive couple) or just some illustrations (e.g. scale, watch etc.) is up to you. In the end my decision will be made on the overall appearance and attractiveness of the cover.
The following are three examples of related cover designs I would find quite appealing. However you shouldn’t feel bound to these and might want to come up with entirely different ideas.
Nice cover with picture:
http://www.amazon.de/Die-Hormonformel-wirklich-Einzeltitel-Ern%C3%A4hrung/dp/3833816708/ref=sr_1_18?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367897131&sr=1-18&keywords=abnehmen
One with objects only:
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/3866162340/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1TRSZB5KY34MZXY9YH7Y&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463375173&pf_rd_i=301128
And a pretty nice compromise:
http://www.amazon.de/Schlankheits-Code-pers%C3%B6nlicher-Schl%C3%BCssel-Abnehmen-Altproduktion/dp/3833811471/ref=sr_1_31?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367897166&sr=1-31&keywords=abnehmen
The front cover should come as a jpg optimized for publishing on Amazon (I saw that color space on amazon.de is RGB, concerning optimal size / ratio you sure know better than I do).
I also plan on self-publishing a printed version and therefore I would need a version with back and spine as PDF and jpg, too. However, there is no need to spend a lot of effort on spine and back cover. It just has to fit nicely with the front.
Concerning the print edition there are the following requirements:
Book Format: 13,5 cm x 21,5 cm
Bleed: 0,5cm all sides
Type safety: 1cm all sides
Spine Type Safety: 0,25cm left/right sides
Resolution: 300 dpi (--> sufficient?)
As title and texts might be changed slightly in the future, it would be great if the winning designer could also provide a ‘free of text’ version of his work. For now I kindly ask you to use the following:
Book title: Gesund und Schlank durch Kurzzeitfasten
Sub title: Wie Sie Ihre Ernährung selbst bestimmen und ganz ohne Diät abnehmen
Author name: Daniel Roth
Text for back cover (I hope it’s not too long – otherwise I’ll shorten it):
Kurzes Fasten, langes Leben. Mit dieser einfachen Aussage lässt sich die erstaunliche Wirkung des hier vorgestellten Ernährungskonzepts bereits treffend zusammenfassen. In Anbetracht der beeindruckenden gesundheitlichen Auswirkungen des Kurzzeitfastens wird der eintretende dauerhafte Gewichtsverlust fast schon zum schönen Nebeneffekt.
In fast 80 Jahren Forschung hat sich das in diesem Buch vermittelte Ernährungsprinzip nämlich nicht nur als besonders effektive Methode zur Gewichtsreduktion, sondern auch als wahre Allzweckwaffe im Kampf gegen die größten Zivilisationskrankheiten unserer Zeit erwiesen. Neben spannend und kurzweilig aufbereiteten Erkenntnissen aus der Wissenschaft sowie eigenen Erfahrungen des Autors, finden Sie in diesem Ratgeber konkrete Anleitungen und viele hilfreiche Tipps, wie sich die verschiedenen Varianten des Kurzzeitfastens ideal in Ihren Alltag integrieren lassen. Wer darüber hinaus noch mehr für seine Figur und Gesundheit tun möchte, dem bietet das Buch außerdem einen differenzierten Überblick über die Themen Lebensmittelkunde und effektives Sporttraining. Dabei sind die leicht umzusetzenden Ratschläge stets anhand wissenschaftlicher Studien belegt und durch die jahrelange Erfahrung des Autors bestätigt.