AI cover generators respond to the same principles a human illustrator does: a strong subject, one clear mood, and a genre-appropriate palette. Below are twelve templates that have produced covers our authors actually publish — not screensavers.
What every prompt needs
- Genre keyword: cozy mystery, epic fantasy, cinematic thriller, literary fiction, and so on.
- One subject: a lighthouse, a hooded figure, a broken pocket watch. Not three.
- A palette hint: cobalt and gold, muted pastels, high-contrast noir.
- A style directive: painterly, cinematic, minimalist type-forward, vintage 1960s pulp.
- The words “book cover” and “portrait 2:3” so the generator returns the right shape.
Templates by genre
Romance
Painterly romance book cover, silhouetted couple against a cathedral of dusk-coloured sky, warm gold and rose palette, hand-lettered serif title area, portrait 2:3.
Thriller
Cinematic thriller book cover, single tail-light streaked across a rain-slick empty highway, deep teal and blood-red palette, high grain, portrait 2:3.
Fantasy
Epic fantasy oil-painting book cover, lone hooded figure on a cliff overlooking a drowned city, painterly brushstrokes, gilded ornate title area, portrait 2:3.
Nonfiction / self-help
Minimalist nonfiction book cover, single symbolic icon (a rising arrow, a lit match), bold sans-serif title, generous negative space, muted flat palette, portrait 2:3.
Words to avoid
Cover generators struggle with lists of adjectives, camera brand names, and specific author references. Keep prompts under 60 words. Say “painterly” rather than “oil painted with impasto brushwork in the style of a famous 20th-century illustrator.”