Secret #7 Getting A Cover For Your Book
I hope you've had fun researching e-publishing. Now, let's get a cover for your book.
Go to Createspace.com and set up an account if you haven't already.
Now, follow the easy steps to Add a New Title. (Don't get an ISBN at this point. Just skip it) It doesn't need to be real. Just play around with everything. After a bit of snooping, go ahead and check out Cover Creator.
You have three choices:
1. Import a picture or drawing of your own into the creator using a template they provide (Easy and your own) *just remember, if you don't format your own cover, you can only get a high-resolution thumbnail from Createspace of the front cover...perfect for ebooks.
I used my own picture and imported it into the template I had chosen in Cover-Creator.
2. Use the pictures they provide for the templates (easiest, but not your own) Again, you will only get a high-rez. pic. of the front cover.
3. Format your own picture following their directions (difficult, but you have all the control) You'll have the whole cover to use as you please.
Before you decide which of the three to do, go ahead and look at all the templates.
Upload a picture and see how Cover Creator makes it into a book cover. Don't worry, nothing is permanent. You can change it a thousand times if you want.
Try different templates and different pictures/drawings and fill in the back copy. You can even upload your picture to go on the back cover if you want
Play around. Get familiar with how this works.
Just a side note.
If you already know what picture/drawing you want for your cover, you will need to somehow super-impose the price of your book on the back, right above the area where the barcode will go.
I used photoshop to do this. You can use whatever photo-altering program you want to use.
Do this BEFORE you order your proof. Many bookstores will not carry your book without the price printed on it and Createspace does not do that and they don't tell you to do it.
Have fun playing around with Cover-Creator and keep editing.
Happy creating!
12 comments:
Great secret, Cindy! : )
Never heard of that service, but sounds great. Will have to check it out.
So is Cover Creator fee based? Or free?
It's FREE, Donna. Isn't that awesome?
Do you know, if you've created the whole cover, can you import that as a full piece (jpg) or do I need to recreate it in their program?
Canda, I haven't done it, but when you get to the cover section, there is an option to upload your completed cover. there is also a button to click on that outlines exactly what size and all your cover should be for your book. Just click on it and see if yours matches-or I'd just upload my finished cover file and look at the preview it gives you. If it doesn't look good, then check out the little button that helps you get it right.
Hi I Haven't seen your blog before but I am well impressed with the amount of practical help you offer. Thanks
Thanks Paul! I checked out your profile and you have several blogs. which should I check out?
I love CreateSpace. They turn out a wonderful product. Many stores, particulary Deseret Book, want a printed price on the final product. When I created my covers for Tangled Hearts and Hidden in the Heart, I included the price after my author details. I just returned a few times then lined the typed pricing above where the ISBN number would be. You can play with it until the price is where you want it to be.
Great tip Roseanne! My author blurb was way too far away from the bar code to do that. But I can see how that would be easy to do with some of the templates. Where do we find your books?
I've been playing with a cover all day, but are there any templates with a spine? I'd love for my book to have the title and author name visible when on the shelf. Am I missing something?
OK, that wasn't cool--my son, Alex, was signed in, not me! Anyway, I'm the one with the question about the spine. Thanks, Cindy! (BTW, I LOVE your cover for Watched!)
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