How to Rise From the Dead on Wattpad - A practical guide to getting noticed

Tip 3: Create a Good Cover - Fonts

Just like your cover image conveys a genre, the font does too. Browse successful books in your genre, and you're likely to see very similar fonts. I once started a movie that I thought was a chick flick or comedy thanks to the girl on the cover (I'd never seen that actress do action before). As the opening credits began, I was baffled why all the fonts looked like it was out of an action movie. Turns out it actually was an action movie. Fonts really do communicate genre.

To get a good sense of what fonts go with which genre, here's a great page full of free fonts: https://www.creativindie.com/300-fool-proof-fonts-to-use-for-your-book-cover-design-an-epic-list-of-best-fonts-per-genre/ (I'll add an external link for browser users as well a comment link.)

Make Sure It's Legible

Some of the fonts on that page are not quite as readable as others. When you choose, make sure it's still readable when the cover is small. To test this, temporarily shrink your image down to 100 pixels wide and see if you can still read what it says.

Don't Over-Design

If your background has a lot going on, then choose a cleaner-looking font. Likewise if your background is simple, choose a fancier font. Putting an ornate font on top of a crowded background will make it way too busy. The eye will have trouble focusing on anything. A clean font on a simple background is okay too, so long as it evokes the mood or genre you're going for.

Avoid System Fonts

System fonts are those that come standard with every computer. It's Arial (or Helvetica), Times New Roman, Comic Sans, and many of the other fonts used on web pages and documents. The reason you want to avoid these is because you see them everywhere. They are ubiquitous computer fonts available anywhere. They scream "amateur" if you use them on a book cover.

To see what the professionals use, browse some bestsellers in your genre. By studying what's working for them, you'll gain some insight on what you should be doing.