That is the question, matte or glossy?
Let me start off by admitting that I'm not a self-publishing guru! The entire self-publishing process has been self taught.
In 2019 I made a decision to tackle a bucket list item; publish my personally written life's collection of poetry. Since then, and to this date, via Amazon Self-Publishing (KDP), I've self-published a total of seven books, and am in the middle of writing my eighth and ninth book.
I've written multiple times about the learning curve to self-publishing. I have to admit it wasn't easy. However, now that I have a few books under my belt, I'm learning more about the nuanced details that make a difference in a book's appearance and presentation.
As an example, I learned how to create professional-looking book covers, and have changed my covers multiple times to what they are as of this date. I actually made another slight modification to one of them again today! I'm planning on stopping these changes soon - Nah, probably not lol - but hopefully I'll get the covers to a place where I'm completely satisfied! Building book covers from scratch is tough at first, but after you get the hang of it, it's a ton of fun and very addictive!
A Matte or Glossy Finish on the Cover of Your Self-Published Book - Which Should You Choose?
I googled the crap out of this. Watched videos - you know, the usual stuff we do when we have questions. However, I didn't get a suitable answer. So, when I published the first editions of each book, I decided to go with a matte finish for the covers.
Guess what? For my books, a glossy finish is much nicer and more practical. So, I'm in the process of changing them all to glossy. I'll do all future books in a glossy cover format from now forward.
Why a Glossy Cover Works for This Genre of Books
I write riddle books, books about sayings for cards, and of course, a poetry book. I haven't written, nor plan to write novels. Novel covers may be better in a matte finish, but honestly, I can't give you advice on that.
For Activity Books (Like My Riddle Books & Saying Books and Poetry Books), Here's Why I Believe a Glossy Cover is Best
- These types of books are picked up and put down often, and a glossy cover is more durable. The matte cover actually ended up with smudged fingerprints on it from too much handling.
- They look way more professional with glossy covers! My husband put it this way - he said, 'the matte finish made it look like it was purchased at the dollar store, and a glossy finish gives it a bookstore feel' - Yikes!
- A glossy cover feels nicer to hold in your hands (a personal thing)
- The shiny cover helps the colors to pop more. With fun activity books, the colors are essential, so yah ... glossy all the way for that reason alone.
- The matte finish looks more like a school book, the glossy finish gives it an 'author feel.'
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| Both of These Riddle Books Have a GLOSSY COVER #STUMPED - A Party Game |
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| The Book on the Left is a MATTE Finish The Book on the Right is a GLOSSY Finish Boredom Buster Riddles - #Stumped Volume 4 |
The final vote of approval came from my adult kids and my husband, they all agreed that the glossy covers were superior to the matte covers. Sorry matte.
My Non-Guru Self-Publishing Journey in Articles:
1. How to get started on that eBook you've been meaning to do for decades
2. Confessions of a Newbie Self-Publisher
3. 5 Helpful Tools from a Newbie Self-Publisher
4. 3 More Tips from a Newbie Self-Publisher
Good advice, Barbara. My son has one self-published book in the resume writing field and I know he has changed his cover twice. I'll have to ask him if he chose matte or glossy for his cover. Well done with your growing collection of published books.
ReplyDeleteI suspect I would prefer the glossy finish on the book covers for the same reason I prefer the glossy finish on photographs or in wall paint. Matte finish on anything seems to get dirty faster and you can't clean it easily. I've never consciously paid a lot of attention to a book covers finish. Now I feel I should inspect my bookshelves!
ReplyDeleteI do appreciate you sharing your self-publishing experiences. I wouldn't have anticipated the book cover question. Very interesting comparison and information.
Great advice. I prefer glaasy finish on my books. I read books over and over again and glossy stays cleaner.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that you have your own team of consumer focus group family members to weigh in on preferences. They will tell it like it is when providing input or feedback. I like your writing style when you are sharing these tip guides and explaining how you have experimented along the way. You are really getting things fine-tuned. Nice going! I admire your productivity and accomplishments. You get things done!
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