Self-publishing guru Lyn Horner returns for her third post in her self-publishing tips series. Lyn has had resounding success in self-publishing on Amazon. Today she discusses Creating an e-Book Cover. Come back at the end of every month for the next installment.
Thanks for joining us again, Lyn!
The Amazon Kindle Publishing Guidelines state that a Marketing Cover
Image Is Mandatory. This image
is what customers see on your Amazon.com product page.
Amazon Requirements
The preferred size is “a JPEG
image of 2500 pixels on the longest side (with a minimum of 1000 pixels on the
longest side). Covers with less than 500 pixels on the smaller side are
uploaded, but are not displayed on the website.” You can also upload PNG
images. I prefer them because colors don’t bleed and the image stays sharper.
The guidelines say not to
stretch a small cover image, “because this does not add any quality.” In
addition, your “cover image should not infringe other publisher’s or artist’s
copyright on the same cover,” and should not “mention pricing or other
temporary promotional offers.”
NOTE: I did add an awards badge to my Darlin’ Druid cover after the
book won 2nd place in the Paranormal Romance Guild 2011 Reviewers
Choice Awards Contest. Amazon has not objected.
Authors are also required to
include an Internal Content Cover Image
in the uploaded book file. For more details read the guidelines and download the pdf file for future reference. Go to page 14 of the guidelines for cover
image requirements.
Graphics Programs
I design my own covers using two
programs. One is “Paint,” available under Accessories in my Windows program. Instructions
in the Paint help menu are limited, so it requires some practice to master the
features. I use this program to combine elements of my cover images (background,
cover model photos, book title and author name.)
GIMP is the other program I
employ. I’m told it’s very similar to Photoshop. If you fully master it, you
probably won’t need to use MS Paint. I use it mainly to blend colors and
increase image resolution (number of pixels per inch.) The latter helps meet
Amazon’s size requirement. Best of all, the program can be downloaded for FREE here!
Sources for Photos and Graphics
Artwork for book covers can be
found in many different places. For my very first Darlin’ Druid cover, a friend
let me use a photo she’d taken of Texas Longhorn cattle grazing in a field of
bluebonnets (Texas state flower.) Later, I changed the book cover upon the advice
of author friends. The new cover is “hotter.”
Some of my background images
come from websites such as Dreamstime.com and Bigstockphoto.com. They stock
millions of images that include landscapes, human faces and figures, graphics
and cartoons. Prices vary, but I’ve never paid more than a few dollars for one
image. There are also free clipart sites on the net, but always make sure their
images are royalty and copyright free.
When it comes to finding models
for a book cover, some authors recruit family members or friends to pose for
them. Others purchase clipart figures. An author friend clued me in about a
male cover model, Jimmy Thomas, who runs a site where he sells electronic photos
of himself with female models in many different poses and period costumes. They
range from fairly tame to erotic. You can buy a pose for $10, but this doesn’t
give you exclusive rights to it. You may see the same pose on other book
covers. Jimmy also does exclusive custom photos, but they cost more. You are
allowed to alter the poses any way you like. For my “new” Darlin’ Druid cover,
I purchased three poses, altered and combined them to suit my book, but I was
trained in the visual arts. If you don’t possess some artist knowhow, you may
not want to go this route.
Once all necessary graphics are
collected in my photo gallery, I use MS Paint to combine them. I start by
laying in the background. If it needs some touching up, I may go to GIMP for
that. For Darlin’ Druid, I combined three background elements: a cloudy night
sky, a Celtic cross symbolizing the Druid connection, and a cowboy riding after
a calf, showing the Texas theme.
Next I reopen the image in
Paint, add some extra white space to the palette (page,) and use the “Paste
From” feature under Paint’s Edit menu to open my doctored cover model image. I
then “select” this image, choose the transparent background style in the
options box just below the toolbar and drag the image into the foreground of my
cover. Finally, I add the book title and my name using fonts available in the
“Text” feature on the Paint Toolbar.
I hope all of this makes sense.
As I did, you will need to play with Paint and/or GIMP for a while if you want
to learn how to apply all the features.
Here’s a condensed demo of the steps
involved:
Would I advise you to follow my
example? Well, that depends upon how much time you want to spend on your cover.
You don’t absolutely need a lot of artistic experience. You might choose a
likely photo and use that for your book cover without making any alterations.
Adding text and/or clip art graphics is also doable by anyone.
Obviously, the other alternative
is to hire someone to create your book cover. Search online and you will find
numerous companies that do this type of work. I have not looked into how much they
charge, but I’m sure their fees vary according to what you want on your cover.
If you choose this path, I invite you to comment about it here. I and others would
be very interested to hear about your experience. Meanwhile, I will discuss
“embedding” a book cover in your book file on my next blog. Thanks for
visiting!
Come back the end of November for the next self-publishing installment from Lyn Horner!
5 comments:
Lyn:
You're just a wealth of knowledge. I am enjoying your posts. My only problem is I don't know enough to ask an educated question.
Thanks again for being on our blog.
Ruby, what I've learned, I'm happy to share. And I often ask uneducated questions, so feel free to ask away. ;)
Thanks so much for all the great info! Leaves us with a lot to consider.
Bryan, you're so welcome. Self-publishing presents many problems, but also opportunities. Best of luck with your endeavors.
Great info on preparing a cover, Lyn. What you've given us should help me when I begin that process soon. Wish me luck!
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