Steps to making a book cover

Below is a quick reference for how to design a great book cover. Edit the design to your liking by modifying text, colors, images, effects and much more. Heres a short stepbystep of the book cover i just made for james carters scandalous. As mentioned above, i search for terms like baseball player coloring image or soccer player coloring page i filter for only images which results in a wealth of images from which to choose. Im going to walk you through making a book cover in ms word from scratch. It covers the basics of work with a designer, but misses some of the important stuff what is a cover that sells. Could a book cover redo double or triple your sales. These 50 awesome book covers will inspire you learn. Making your own fabric book cover is a super quick easy project. Create a book cover in minutes, with easy to use tools and a wide range of professionally designed templates. Optional slide an extra piece of paper under the book cover.

Firstly, to help me make working book covers so that i can promote books before ive had the proper covers made. A paperback books pages are glued together with a paper cover and then cut to size. Amazons instructions are to use cover art of at least pixels on the longest side. They recognise the authors name and liked their earlier work.

Your example uses a 600 x 800 image, is this ok to use with amazon or have their requirements changed. Paint glue onto the inside of the front cover and the front page, and attach paper lining. Heres everything you need to know to design the perfect book cover. It allows me to store chapters as separate documents, then automatically combine them to create a book. Cover design process for self publishers and ebook covers. In photoshop, choose fileopen then navigate to the pdf you downloaded. Book design made simple doesnt cover book files but does cover creating a separate master page for each chapter on page 363.

Filled with perfectly explained examples of best cases and worst cases you feel like your discovering a new world with him. The last step is to create pockets that the book cover can fit into on both ends to keep it in place. Then well send you a color proof, trimmed and folded. If youre selfpublishing and printing with a local printer you can work with them to make sure your book dimensions will fit on their printer.

Add some decorative items to make the cover more attractive. Because the cover of a book is the first thing a potential reader seesit should stop them in their tracks. The book cover design is one of the most critical factors in a book s success. Browse our book and ebook cover templates and choose the one you like, or choose a blank canvas. Weve all heard the phrase and we all know thats impossible. Design book cover for free with online templates adobe spark. How to make a paper bag book cover with stepbystep pictures. Why ebook covers should be designed differently than printed book covers. But if you do decide to make your own cover, here are 7 steps that youll want to follow.

Make sure it sells out by creating an awesome cover design. May 30, 2017 center the book to be covered on the paper and create creases along the top and bottom edges of the book. Determine the width of the cover, then double it, and add the width of the spine. A successfully designed book cover will convey the tone of your book, will whisper hints without giving it all away, and will excite readers into actually opening up the book and reading. I hang up copies of the cover design around my house as motivation to keep writing even if i dont feel like it. Fold 2 inches of the fabric along the breadth to make the sleeves. But what about the oldfashioned art of making a book by hand. As you add text to your cover, make sure it exactly matches the book details e. Select the type tool t and click into the circle to transform it into a text frame. Well create a back cover and spine as an extension of your front cover, then add your back cover text and barcode. How to make a paper bag book cover the spruce crafts. Just select a template, edit the content and youre done. Fold the paper down along these creases across the entire length of the paper so that it now matches the book in height, and place the book on top. He gives a topic and why certain designs functions should be along a certain path.

Finishing your book cover well go over each element in your final book cover. Cut open your brown paper shopping bag along one seam. Text should be at least 7point font so its large enough for customers to read. To make a book c over with a brown paper bag, start by cutting the bag open and removing any handles. Creating a bestselling and popular book is hard enough, so follow the above steps to create your own book cover template with an easily accessible program. A hardcore scifi fan writing a new adult novel is only going to produce a shoddy book. An eyecatching design can make the difference between a book that sells and one that stalls, so dont let your future bestseller get passed over due to a soso cover.

In publishing, a books cover can make or break its success. Although a quiet weekend, the time spent has been good for my soul as hubby and i had some great conversations about life and aspirations and we talked until the wee hours of the morning making tristans early morning soccer game a little more difficult than usual today. Fold the edges of the book cover in to make the edges look more finished. Leave a width that you feel like and fold it over on the first edge, and do the same thing on the other edge. Covering books has always been a great help for students who wish to avoid damaging school books. Canvas book cover maker makes designing book covers amazingly simple even for nondesigners.

Once youve taken in all of the above and gotten a feel for the promise you want to make to the reader, use the outlines below to write your book cover. The stepbystep guide to formatting your print book for kdp. Making your book a bestseller is hard enough without an ugly cover sabotaging your efforts. How to make a paper bag book cover with stepbystep. Next, measure for the inner panels that form the pockets that hold the cover on the book. How to create your cover design in adobe photoshop. Not pictured because the tape reflects funny off of the camera lens. An eyecatching design can make the difference between a book that sells and one that stalls, so dont let your future bestseller get passed over due to a soso cover design. Secondly, to give me more 3d options to use once ive paid for the proper covers to be made.

To make a homemade book, start by cutting 2 equalsized pieces of cardboard for the front and back cover. Using paper bags to cover your books is a quick, fun way to give them a touch of rustic charm or a simple disguise. The book design process in 7 steps now that youve gathered all of the information in one place, its time to start the design process. Remove the book and fold the paper in at the lines, toward the center. Your first step for designing your own book cover is compiling all these ideas into a single place. Place the book back on the bag, right in the center, and line the edges of the bag up with the edges of the book. At the end of 20 i put out a package of diy book cover templates in microsoft word and revolutionized publishing with a howto guide to designing amazing book covers in an easy to use program youre already familiar with. Those dimensions are the size of the book, and to that, add a 12.

Jul 06, 2017 making your own fabric book cover is a super quick easy project. How to make a book cover using wrapping paper just in time for back to school. Jan 20, 2014 every author i know is inevitably disappointed with the cover concepts their publisher comes up with. We had 18 pages to fit in this book and we though we overestimated making the cover 3. Now, im not just talking about hiring a graphic designer to make a book c over for you. All authors should try to envision the exact cover they want, then draw it out on paper. After youre done making a book cover design that impresses both you and people you dont know, turn your flat 2d image into an awesome 3d book mockup to create more professional looking advertisements for your book. There are only really three things that make people pick a book up. All you need is front, spine and back artwork and a couple of minutes for rendering.

Then, fold 6 sheets of paper in half, stack them, and sew the folded. Making a book cover with placeit takes no time and everything happens right here in your browser, no need to download expensive design software or hire a designer. But it took me a while longer to figure out how to customize your front cover into a full print cover. How to make a wattpad cover in 6 easy steps using desygner. A book report should contain the basic elements, but a good book report will address a specific question or point of view and back up this topic with specific examples, in the form of symbols and themes. Center the book to be covered on the paper and create creases along the top and bottom edges of the book. Simple steps to making an amazing book cover in photoshop. Using elmers or pva glue, affix the front and back cover and spine to the book cover paper or material.

A hardback books pages are sewn or glued into a case made of cardboard which is then covered with cloth or paper. You can find book cover ideas in all of these places. How to make your own book cover in adobe photoshop. This step is completely optional and depends on what you have on hand, but its nice to give the books a little decorative touch. Put the book back on the folded paper and open the front cover.

Cover the entire piece of butcher paper with packing tape to create a protective, durable finish. If youd like to cover your book with a dust jacket, measure a piece of thick decorative paper as tall as your book and as wide as the entire book, plus a few extra inches to fold over the edge of the cover. Picking a genre is the first step in writing a book. Add a blurb to the back cover, aligning the text centrally. Lets look and learn from 50 fascinating book cover designs. Make sure you position the paper so that any grocery store logo faces inward and will be. Youve done the hard work and created an amazing book. You can cover the spine or corners with pretty washi or duct. May 06, 2015 heres a tutorial to book cover design in photoshop, in this video im blending a character into the background, to make dystopian and horror book covers. The cover is often the publics first conversation with the book so it needs to start off with the right impression. Dont base this choice on what genres sell best, but what you like to read. Dec 12, 2011 we ended up using ribbon on the final, completed books because the binder rings caused the pages to stick out of the cover too far.

But the truth is that no one understands the spirit and meaning of the book better than the person who wrote it. This is also a great place to create a board specifically to save book. One reason i wanted indesign was the book files feature. How to make a full print book cover in microsoft word for createspace, lulu or lightning source at the end of 20 i put out a package of diy book cover templates in microsoft word and revolutionized publishing with a howto guide to designing amazing book covers in an easy to use program youre already familiar with.

Once your book is edited and formatted, and you have the cover designed, you can upload your book on the kindle store. Nov 17, 2017 a book cover has three mandatory parts. Heres a short step by step of the book cover i just made for james carters scandalous. Mar 04, 2016 use the ellipse tool l, and hold down shift, to create a circle on the center of the back cover. The book cover design is one of the most critical factors in a books success. Before we can start decorating, we need to go over the steps to making a basic book cover. Check out our free guide on how to find a book cover designer. Select a book cover maker from placeits library of book cover designs. It will need to be at least double the width of your book, so that it can cover both the front and back.

A great book cover is one of your best sales tools, instantly conveying the key thoughts, messages, and images that sum up your book. I have finished my book but was finding the cover page part a real stumbling block. The most difficult aspect of any book design is simply being noticed. Eric reiss did an exceptional job writing usable usability. Remove the book from the bag and then fold the top and bottom of the bag where the pencil marks are. For insider secrets to getting your book into retail and online stores, enroll in this course for some triedandtrue tips. See the quick start video below or scroll down to make your own book cover.

Sep 11, 2019 choose a paper bag to cover your book with. Oct 20, 20 most indie publishing experts will warn you against making your own book cover, with good reason. Youll need to create an account with kindle direct publishing kdp, where youll find all the instructions for uploading your book, creating an author page, setting pricing for your book. I mean im going to show you the best resources to make a quality cover for no money or. It manages to capture a potential readers eye so well that he must pull the book from hundreds of other books fighting just as hard for his attention. But it took me a while longer to figure out how to customize your front cover into a full print cover for createspace or other pod providers.

You dont need to measure anything, just eyeball it. This book cover is for a textbook but you can use it on any hardcover book, journal, or binder. Formatting a print book for kdp can be learned quite quickly, and you can do everything in microsoft word, or indesign if you want to make. Even though weve all been told since childhood to never judge a book by its cover, the fact is that book cover design does attract readers. Binding a hardback in 5 simple steps when we talk about how to make a book in 2018, we often talk about exporting files to kindles and other ebook readers. A beautiful book cover created by the bookbaby design studio will ensure you make. Oct 22, 2019 because the cover of a book is the first thing a potential reader seesit should stop them in their tracks. Finishing your book cover well go over each element in your final book cover design carefully to doublecheck everything is perfect. How to make your own free book cover in ms word the. How to make a hardcover book 10 steps 2020 masterclass.

You can use any paper roll as the base to making a cover, including paper grocery bags. Then, center the open book on the paper and draw a horizontal line along the top and bottom edges of the book. Then making sure that it goes in to the corner of the join between the paper and the cover, fold the liner out and glue it to the inside of the cover so that it covers up all the folded over material and the inside of the cardboard covers. Begin by folding a panel of paper to the width of the book you would like to cover. Design book covers with canvas free book cover maker. A successful book cover performs a remarkable feat.

To give your book a stellar cover, we are going to show you how to design a book cover template in microsoft word in 7 simple steps. Apart from your ability to execute a design, the most important aspect of book covers. To get started click the create my free book cover now button below. Apart from your ability to execute a design, the most important aspect of book covers is their ability to connect with the target market. Making book covers is fun and if you publish a lot of books learning how to design your own book covers may save you a lot of money. Leave oneandahalf times the thickness of the card between the covers. How to make a professional book cover charlie hoehn. Here you can render realistic images of 3d books in hard cover for absolutely free. Canvas free book cover maker is ridiculously easy to use even for the novice or notsotechsavvy writer. How to design a basic book cover, using easy step by step visual instructions. The first step is to choose the right template from our large library of book covers. Draw a line with your pencil across the bag, where the top and bottom of the book are.

Jan 09, 2012 making book covers is fun and if you publish a lot of books learning how to design your own book covers may save you a lot of money. These are the instructions for creating your book cover design in photoshop. On those crowded book shelves, its essential for you to stand out from everyone else. Go to filenew and then hit create on the right side. Heres how to make a book cover that will help you sell books. Its sunday evening and the weekend is quickly drawing to an end. Choose the template that you think will work with your book or is closest to the image you have in your head.