Book covers can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make them. If you have any kind of photo software, you can make a book cover.
To start you need the size. Do you want this book to look like a mass market paperback or a hardback?
Mass market paperbacks are 4 ¼” by 7”, with DPI set at 300, this converts to 1275 pixels by 2100 pixels. For Barnes and Noble’s Nook it would be 1269 by 2000 since 2000 is the largest they allow. A cover this size will work for both Kindle and the Nook.
Trade paperback and hardbacks vary in size but 6” by 9” is a good standard size, with DPI set at 300, this converts to 1800 pixels by 2700. For Barnes and Noble’s Nook it would be 1333 by 2000.
Now you have your shape. You can start in your photo program with a shape the right size. Your cover can be created using a colored shape, or a photo the right size.
Now you need to find a photo or image that will fit your book that is also legal for you to use. Do not search for a photo on the internet to use unless it is in public domain. You can draw/paint the image, take a photo, or find a painting or photo that is in public domain, or buy the rights to a image online. There are many places where you can get images to use for a few dollars. You don’t want the image to be too busy. The title and author’s name should be prominent. Your image does not need to overpower or make it difficult to read.
The following cover starts with the black 6: by 9” black shape. First I add a public domain image. I centered the image, but thought I might need more space for the title so I lowered the image a little.
If you want to use a full photo cover, trim your photo to fit the shape. For example this is a photo my daughter, Joanna Reasoner took.
To make it into a cover simply crop it.
You can add more text, but try to keep the cover as clean as possible. It’s wise to test it by zooming out to make the image small. You want to be able to read the title and author’s name when it’s thumbprint size.
A few of the covers I’ve created.
FREE E-BOOK COVER
Everyone who comments to this post will be entered in a free e-book cover contest. Cover will be designed for your book. Contest will end Sunday January 13th. Winner will be announced Monday January 14th. Good luck!
UPDATE
It's been pointed out that some of the readers who might comment wouldn't need a cover, so I'll offer one cover and an e-book of any of the books shown. Stagecoach Charlie and Bluebonnet Brunch are not books, just illustrations of how to make a cover.
The winner of the cover or e-book was Kristy McCaffrey. Congratulations Kristy. If you did not receive my email, you can reach me at livia@flash.net.
UPDATE
It's been pointed out that some of the readers who might comment wouldn't need a cover, so I'll offer one cover and an e-book of any of the books shown. Stagecoach Charlie and Bluebonnet Brunch are not books, just illustrations of how to make a cover.
The winner of the cover or e-book was Kristy McCaffrey. Congratulations Kristy. If you did not receive my email, you can reach me at livia@flash.net.
This is fabulous stuff, Livia. Uniformity of design is important, I think. For example, we at Piccadilly Publishing always set our logo bottom left-hand corner (unless of course the layout of the illustration prevents us from doing so). Another useful tip is to search for free fonts. You'll be amazed at how many fonts are available to download and use free of charge. Try 'Free Old West Fonts' as a search term. And don't be afraid to experiment! By adding a two-color gradient, or a shadow, or thicker or thinner outline to the title you can often improve the visuality of it no end.
ReplyDeleteDon't you hate when a great image won't let you place things where you need to? Great tips. I plan to go into more details in the next blog and these will be included. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips, Livia. This is the area where so many indy authors fall down.
ReplyDeleteLivia, I really like the covers that you have created; especially the ones like you did for Wolf Creek. The covers tell a story and give a hint of what's inside. Definately an incentive to buy the book!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more!
Jerry Guin
Thanks Paul. The problem is there isn't a lot of help on the internet for covers. I had to learn from failures.
ReplyDeleteJerry, I appreciate the kind words. I love working on the Western Fictioneers covers.
ReplyDeleteLivia, you are a better woman than I am. There's no way I could do this, and you do such wonderful covers! You are so gifted. Thanks for this blog explaining how you go about it. I'm not sure I would ever attempt it.
ReplyDeleteCheryl
Livia--your instructions were so good I took notes. Hope you don't mind. I have numerous novels and short stories published, and I love my publisher and the covers I have.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm working toward self-publishing something, just to say I did it. I have the formatting, etc., down pretty well...but the cover stalled me. I'm trying Windows Paint, as others have said, but when I came to the part about the size..I stalled. Now, I understand those directions better. You must have been a teacher. Thanks for the lesson, and I'm happy to meet you.
This was a very interesting blog. I never thought about what went into the making of a bookcover for an ebook..
ReplyDeleteLivia, I sure enjoyed this step-by-step. And your examples are gorgeous. I majored in oil painting in college but...digital stuff kinda scares me LOL. Anyway, if I won your cover, that MIGHT be the kickstart I need to make the decision to start self-pubbing. Happy new year to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteCheryl, a cover like this is actually very easy. It's when you start adding that it can get difficult
ReplyDeleteCelia, I remember looking all over the internet trying to find the sizes covers should be. My first covers were just hit and miss. I would just eye it. Finally I pulled out a standard mass market paperback and measured it, then did the same with a hardback, then converted it into pixels. Now I that I have my standard measurements, it makes it easier. No, I'm not a teacher, but my mother was and both of my daughters are. It skipped a generation.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kathleen. I really appreciate you coming by and commenting.
ReplyDeleteTanya, I envy your ability to paint. I would love to be able to paint. You should self-pub even if you don't win the cover. It gets easier after the first book.
ReplyDeleteLivia, I love the WOLF CREEK covers, and THE MAN FROM NIGHTSHADE VALLEY is classic. I didn't know you did all these! I bow at your feet, ma'am. :-)
ReplyDeleteI have the book finished, now I need a cover. Thanks for the info-just found your blog, I will be back, thanks.
ReplyDelete-N-
Thank you Kathleen. I appreciate the kind words.
ReplyDelete-N- I hope the information helped. I plan to go into more detail next month, including links to help make your cover even better while costing very little.
ReplyDeleteGreat info, Livia!
ReplyDeleteI've done a few covers but prefer to leave the artistic part to the artists. There are quite a few who are very good and their fees are reasonable.
Wow Livia,
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting. Your covers look great.
Cheers
Margaret
Thanks, Jacquie. I have trouble paying someone else for something I can do. This is one of the reasons I've learned how to do a lot of things. With the help of family, James and I built our first home from mixing and pouring the cement for the foundation, to nailing the shingles on the roof. We even learned how to use a jackhammer for the septic system, which we also put in. It's nice knowing how to do these things. If you know several reasonable cover artists, that would be great to share. I'm sure a lot of writers are looking for nice covers that aren't very expensive.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, I appreciate you coming over and commenting. Thank you for the kind words.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great How To! Not that I have any time left to take on new tasks but you make it look fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
mesreads At gmail.com
Great information, Livia. I'm a newby and hope to create my first cover in the next couple of months. I took notes and will bookmark so that I can return for future reference. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMartha, it is fun.
ReplyDeleteCarra, be sure to come back next month when I'll go into more details.
Thanks for this straightforward and informative article, Livia.
ReplyDeleteKeith
AWESOME INFO!! Sure wish I'd had this when I needed my Christmas novella cover. Could've saved myself some dough. Great covers, Livia!
ReplyDeleteI love your simple directions, and the covers look great! You're right, is IS satisfying to do something for yourself, and save the money for those things you can't. Thanks for the contest, I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that I win.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome Keith. I appreciate you coming by and commenting.
ReplyDeleteMeg, there'll always be another novella that'll need a cover.
ReplyDeleteThank you Naomi. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! I've been mostly making my own banners and struggled with that for awhile. I've made one cover (for my short story) and kept it simple. I appreciate the dimensions because I honestly had no idea what I was doing with that. And the rights to the photos has me confused. How do you know if something is public domain? I've resorted to buying photos to be sure.
ReplyDeleteI can see by the number of comments that you have our attention. I have a question. You mentioned that it was necessary to have some type of photo software. Could you recommend a a few good ones that don't cost an arm and a leg?
ReplyDeleteA very informative blog. Thank you!
I like PrintShop 23.1 because it's easy to use. Start with a blank page, add shapes, images, and text, then export as a 300 dpi jpg. I usually then take that and trim the white with Microsoft Image. Earlier versions of PrintShop will not work on Windows 7. If you have Vista, you can find PrintShop 23 for cheap. Most of my covers were made with that on my old computer. I found my copy at Half Price Books. Unfortunately, that computer has issues now.
ReplyDeleteI've also used Microsoft Picture It. I have Adobe Photoshop, but haven't had time to put it on the new computer to try. Most have some kind of photo software on their computer. If you can crop a photo and add text, you can make a cover.
Thank you for answering my question, Livia. I appreciate the information.
DeleteHi Livia,
ReplyDeleteGreat info! Thanks so much for sharing. How do you know if a photo is in public domain or not?
You have to be a detective to determine if it's public domain or not. This is the way I understand it.
ReplyDeleteCopyright notices are no longer required in the United States, so you should never assume that lack of a notice means a photo isn’t protected by copyright.
It is in public domain if the photo was created by the U.S. government. A good source of public domain photos is the federal government.
It is in public domain if the photo lacks a copyright notice and was published before 1989. Although copyright notices are no longer required in the U. S., they used to be. If it was published without one, it went into public domain unless the owner fixed the problem within a certain time. Getting tricky, right?
Once a work’s copyright has expired it enters the public domain. To know when a work’s copyright expires, you must know when it was published.
There’s a originality requirement for copyright protection in the U.S., and a US district court decided that exact photographic copies of public domain paintings are not eligible for copyright. But be aware that other courts might disagree, should you end up getting sued. So, you can't even be sure of laws.
The best advice I can give is if you're unsure, don't use it.
Thanks for the info. I imagined it wasn't straightforward. And with the internet it's so easy to misuse photos. Yes, it's wise to be wary!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post, Livia. Thank you for the info. I used Corel Paint Shop when I made some simple covers for an author friend. The text effects and colours took time to figure out and I have no idea about raster layers etc but the trial and error paid off well enough. I especially like your idea of beginning with the black background and adding the horizontal photo rather than using a full cover photo.
ReplyDeleteWendy, trial and error is how all of my covers are created. The colored background with a horizontal photo is one of the easiest covers. It gives you a lot of room for the title and author name. If the image isn't exactly what I'm looking for, I've also been known to layer images.
DeleteYes, but the results have been phenomenal, Livia. Some really spectacular covers.
ReplyDeleteJim Griffin
Thanks Jim.
DeleteThe winner of the cover or book is Kristy McCaffrey. Congratulations.
ReplyDelete