Book jackets are one sure way of making your book look professional and classier all at the same time! The good news is that they are relatively easy to make, especially with digital tools at your fingertips.
But first, let’s take a look at what a book jacket is and what its main functions are. That way, we can get all the necessary information into it and then get started on the fun part of designing one!
What is a book jacket?
A book jacket, also known as a dust jacket, a dust cover, or a dust wrapper, is the additional piece of covering that goes over the front and back of your book. It’s fully detachable from the book, and readers may opt to keep it on or remove it once the book is in their possession.
In history, dust jackets originally contained the cover information of books during the time when printing presses could not print directly onto the cover. In those early years, the book jackets usually served as covers until the books were bought, after which they were readily discarded.
Since then, our books have their covers printed directly onto the bound cover, so dust jackets have been relegated to something of a secondary role.
However, in reality, how the dust jacket looks is usually what catches a potential reader’s eye. It also has the strength of having more space in which to put promotional material. After all, the front and back flaps, which fold into the insides of the front and back covers, are added space for more information.
Book jackets are usually more popular for hardcover books, but some paperbacks also come with a book jacket.
What is the point of a book jacket?
Practically, the book jacket serves to protect the actual book cover from dust and other outside contaminants. After all, a book can stay on display at a bookshelf for months or years on end, and that’s a lot of risk for the book cover! With a book jacket, publishers can ensure that the book cover stays pretty and intact.
The challenge is that this means the book jacket becomes the first thing that a potential reader sees instead of the actual book cover. Usually, it’s designed to look exactly like the actual book cover, plus some additional promotional information on it, so that it can lure prospective customers to take a closer look.
Even after buyers bring the book home, in the case of accidental spills of coffee or soda, the book jacket serves well in keeping the book safe!
As a little trivia, though: during the peak of the publishing industry’s artistic streak in the 1920s, dust jackets came in art deco styles that added to their collectible-appeal. As an example, the first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, sells for $1,000 without the dust jacket. But collectors are willing to pay as much as $20,000 to $30,000 for a book with the book jacket in excellent condition!
What is in a book jacket?
Every book cover and book jacket comes in a unique design, but they usually have the same basic information. Here are some of the details you need to make sure are included in your book jacket:
On the front:
- the title of the book
- any subtitles or taglines
- name of the author
- name of the publisher
- relevant images
- Optional: a book review or testimonial from industry professionals
On the back:
- a book blurb or brief summary of the book contents
- optional: author background information
- ISBN barcode
On the flaps:
- A longer summary of the book contents
- Author bio and photo, including one for the illustrator
- Background of why you wrote the book
How to Create a Book Jacket using different design software
Although the book jacket layout tends to be different per book, the basic format can be fairly standard. In this post, we hope to give you general tips on how to create your own book jackets using whichever design software you choose.
Two of the more popular options for designing book jackets are Canva and Adobe InDesign. Canva comes with a Free and Pro option. Alternatively, you may also download a free trial of Adobe InDesign straight from the Adobe website. But feel free to use whatever design software you’re most comfortable in!
Step 1. Measure the size of your book, including the spine.
Make sure you know the actual size of your book. Most paperback books are 5.5” x 8.5” but double check to have the correct dimensions.
When making a book jacket, you need to add the dimensions of the book spine. For example, if your paperback book width is indeed 5.5”, you need to double this to take into account the full spread, and then add the width of the spine.
Step 2. Extend the book jacket size to have folds.
Detachable book jackets usually have flaps that fold halfway into the front and back covers of a book. Layout your book jacket to take into account this halfway fold.
From the above example, if the book page width is 5.5”, doubling that will give you 11”. Let’s say the spine is 2”. That gives you a total width of 13”. Then, add 2.75” on both sides, which will fold into the insides of the front and back covers.
Step 3. Add images and text to your book jacket.
Once you’ve set up the layout of your book jacket, you’re ready to start designing! Consider carrying over the design from the actual book cover and just add promotional content. For example, lots of book jackets feature one- or two-liner commentaries from more popular authors. Others include the badge from whatever awards the book may have received.
Just a little caveat: when using images and typography from the Internet, be sure you don’t infringe on someone else’s copyright. Be sure to use stock images or your own images, or at least ensure the copyright of anything you want to use on your book jacket.
Should You Hire a Book Jacket Designer?
Alternatively, if you feel that designing a book jacket just isn’t up your league, you can consider hiring a book jacket designer, or outsource this along with the design of your actual book cover.
Just make sure you communicate the “feel” you want to see, and that the designer understands what your book is about. After all, you want your book jacket to reflect all that’s inside and lure potential readers into your specific message for them!
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- Parts of a Book: The Basic Anatomy of Book Design
- 7-Step InDesign Tutorial for Book Layouts
- 187 Book Cover Designers That Create Spectacular Art
- 6 Keys for Book Page Layout: Don’t Ignore These Design Rules If You’re Self-Publishing
Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.
