Where The Wind Blows: The Underground Edition / Dorothy Gable
Note that the colors from the front cover are continued on the back. Additional color is added with the author's photo and the various text colors. Here I was lucky that the colors in the author's photo perfectly complimented the colors on the front and back cover.
A Time for Dying / Oliver F. Chase
Note the number of impressive reader reviews on the back cover. Not something that a beginner can count on, but helpful for sales if at all possible. Sometimes it can be effective to use one horizontal picture spread across the entire front and back cover, as shown here. Another book by this author, also designed by Book Cover Design, won the ETWG Book Cover Award.
Here I Stand / Roland H. Bainton
This scene from the front cover is more or less repeated on the back cover, except for the figure of Martin Luther. This gives consistency of color and design. This is a new edition with a new front and back cover of an already existing book. At the time, I felt lucky and privileged to have been in the position to re-design the cover of a book that I was assigned to read in college several years earlier.
#Stolen / Jessica Fralin
The texting bubbles on the back cover provide an interesting visual effect while also helping to get the written message across to potential readers. This was not my idea, but I am always ready to include the ideas of others, especially if they are good, as in this instance.
Escape From The Czar / Paula Bilyieu Velho
Don’t you love trains? Shown is a fictionalized representation of a Russian train on the Trans Siberian Railroad. Note the wrap-around effect of the frozen tundra of the Russian landscape. Kind of reminds me of the movie “Dr. Zhivago.” Cover is reproduced with permission of the author. This back cover is a good example of the usual back cover elements: Endorsements, summary/sales copy, author biography, author website, and barcode. But you may not want or need all of these elements. Back cover content is completely up to you as the author, as long as it is not too lengthy. Sometimes, an effective back cover copy can be quite short in length.
Thyme For Thieves / C. R. Fulton
Sometimes, an author may choose to include the author bio in the interior of the book. That way, there will be more room for the all-important sales copy and/or endorsements on the back cover. But you are always in charge, and all decisions are made by you the author and/or your representative. Note where it says that this book is a finalist in the Foreword Indies Book Awards.
Hope Returns / Dorey Whittaker
Here's a good example of a back cover with good sales copy and three nice reviews/endorsements. The author bio was printed in the back part of the book interior or possibly on the Amazon page, as I recall. Note that there are more clouds and water repeated on the back cover, adding color and interest.
Appalachian Trail After Dark / Larry Greer
In this instance, red is the color that brings home the idea that we are talking about a horror story here. The back cover is pretty straightforward. The author didn’t have any endorsements, so he just went with a nice summary/sales copy paragraph and an interesting author biography.