Ever wonder what the cover of the book you’ve been writing in your head will look like? Does it make the process feel even more overwhelming? Well, it should. Every book is judged by its cover, so it better communicate fast. Here are a five step to get the book cover design process started.

1. Decide if you will be self-publishing (recommended for first time writers) or submitting your work to traditional publishing houses (better for writers with multiple books). There are pros and cons with both of these choices.

2. Write down the purpose of your book and collect images for inspiration that best describe how you want your readers to feel when they see your book. This will lead to layout ideas for your cover including text and colors. This is the fun part to explore and brainstorm many concepts. Take a look at your own book collection and separate the covers you find most attractive. Think about why you are attracted to those particular covers and then skim through the book to see if that cover best showcases the subject. Reverse engineer the thought process of the writer/publisher/designer to understand why that cover design was chosen. There are no wrong answers, this is a fun game of conceptual connect the dots.

3. Start to notice fonts that fit the subject of the book. It’s important to separate your personal preferences from the needs and persona of your book. The book may be about you, however, choosing your favorite color and your favorite font will lead to unfavorable results and some confused people. When in doubt, keep to simple fonts in serif (with “feet” like Times New Roman), a san serif (without “feet” like Helvetica) or consider using your own handwriting.

4. Sketch it out. It doesn’t matter how well you can draw, everyone can scribble sketch something. Start with a rectangle and begin arranging the text (in scribble) and an image if that will deliver the message of your subject. This is a long process and will change many times so keep an open mind. The best layout, colors, font combination will come together in the end. Trust the process.

5. Be patient. There are lots of small details and issues that will arise so decide early on that you will be committing to see your book through to completion.