How to Make an Ebook Cover: For Non-Designers

by Harper, Kate

  • Try to make your name fit on one line.

  • Center your text.

  • Allow the text to fill about 1/3 to 1/2 of your page.

  • Experiment with a variety of fonts. If you aren’t sure which one to use, try Minion, Baskerville, Garamond, Gothic or Helvetica. I chose Curlz and Bickham Script just to be playful.

  If you want to read more about how to select a font for a book cover, here are some good articles:

  Five Great Fonts for Book Covers

  http://www.theBookdesigner.com/2011/08/5-great-fonts-for-book-covers/

  Top Ten Typefaces used by Book Design Winners

  http://fontfeed.com/archives/top-ten-typefaces-used-by-book-design-winners/

  3. IMPORT IMAGE

  Now we will import the image into your document, under your title.

  Hit the carriage return several times until you get to the second blank page. You should see a blinking cursor sitting on your second page. This is where you will import the image.

  To import the image, go to the pull down menu called INSERT and locate PICTURE. Your software version may look different, so you might have to look around to find the correct submenu. Select the submenu FROM FILE, since you are going to use your own image and not clip art. (If you are having trouble seeing these instructional diagrams on your eReading device, try pressing and holding your finger on top of the image, to prompt it to expand)

  After selecting FROM FILE, this will open a dialog box.

  Select your image (finding the file name), and click INSERT at the bottom of the dialog box.

  Your image should appear below your text on the second page.

  You have now imported your image.

  4. CREATE COLOR BOX

  Next we will put a colored background behind the text.

  First, highlight your text and pull down the INSERT menu and select TEXT BOX.

  If your software does not have that option, look under the FORMAT menu or HELP menu and do a search for “Text box”.

  After the text box is created around the text, you might notice the text disappears. If this happens to you, just grab the handles on the corner or side of the text box and stretch it out, so all the text is revealed.

  When you see all your text again, make sure the box is still highlighted (handles are still active) so we can do the next step. If they aren’t active, then click anywhere inside the text box and the handles will become active again, and reappear.

  Now we are going to add a colored box behind the text, like in the sample below where the arrow is pointing (Later we will add the photo image).

  Select the FORMAT menu and then scroll down and select BORDERS AND SHADING. If you can’t find it, then look on the HELP menu and type in the word “Borders” or “shading”. It should show you the location of that submenu.

  A dialog box should open that looks something like this.

  If it is doesn’t, make sure you have “shading” selected from the top three choices on the top (Borders, Page Border, Shading).

  Now you need to select a color for the box in the background of your title.

  Do this by clicking on one of the little colored squares. Choose a color that:

  • Is light and not dark.

  • Matches the lightest color on your image. For example, I have chosen a very light green that is similar to the lightest green on my lime tree photo.

  If you can’t find a color that you like, click on the MORE COLORS button to see more colors.

  Click OK and close the dialog boxes and then you should see a box of your chosen color behind the title text:

  5. PUT IMAGE IN THE BACKGROUND.

  Now we will put the image behind the text box.

  Do this by clicking on the image with your cursor once. You will notice that handles will appear.

  Now stretch out the image just like you did with the text box.

  Try to stretch out the image as much as possible. You can also move the margins on your document to allow the image to stretch even larger.

  Now you are going to format the image and drag it behind the text.

  Make sure your image is selected (handles on edges) and then go to the FORMAT menu and select PICTURE.

  A FORMAT PICTURE dialogue box will open (see below)

  Select LAYOUT and BEHIND TEXT and then click OK.

  The dialog box will close but your image might look the same, so you might not think anything happened. But if you click on the image and drag it upwards, you will find that you are now able to slip it under your text.

  Do this now.

  6. ADJUST IF NECESSARY

  Now you can tweak details in your book cover. In the following examples, I have decided to move my green box and text, and also try different fonts.

  To move text box: Place your cursor inside of the green box and it will turn into a cross shape.

  If you click and drag it, you will be able to move the box and text in any position you want. You can also resize it.

  If you do something you don’t like, and want to go back a few steps, select EDIT and UNDO TYPING as many times backwards as you want to go. The shortcut to UNDO TYPING is COMMAND+Z on your keyboard. An easy and humorous way to remember this shortcut is “Zero Tolerance!” You have Zero Tolerance for what just happened.

  To change the font and text: You can also edit the text, text size, font and color. To do this you need to highlight the text first. Do this by hovering over your text until your cursor turns into an “I” beam.

  Now highlight and edit your text as you would in a word processor.

  I have now changed my font, font size, font color, background color and box location. As you can see from the examples below, there are endless amounts of possibilities.

  For even more options go to the FORMAT menu, select FONT, and you will see variety of text options that will allow you to put shadows behind text and change the space between letters.

  Next we will prepare the book cover so it can be uploaded into an eBook store. You will need to do three things:

  • Convert your Microsoft Word document into an image file called “jpg.” (Most eBook stores require jpg formats).

  • Trim the edges.

  • Resize the image so it is the correct dimension for the store.

  7. CONVERT COVER TO JPG.

  In order to create a jpg version of your cover, we first need to convert your document twice:

  • From a Microsoft word document to an Adobe Acrobat pdf version.

  • And then convert the Adobe Acrobat pdf version to a jpg version.

  First, go to the FILE menu, and select SAVE AS.

  A dialog box should open that looks like this:

  In this box you need to do three things:

  1) Name your document.

  2) Save it to your desktop (so it is easy to find).

  3) Select the format called PDF. Then click the save button.

  The converted pdf document should appear on your desktop and it will look something like this:

  Now you need to make the second conversion to a jpg. Do this by double clicking on the pdf icon and repeat the same SAVE AS process, except this time select JPG in the format box. If you don’t see a jpg option after you do SAVE AS (while in the pdf), then you might have accidentally opened your document inside of Adobe Reader and not Adobe Acrobat.

  (To open your document in Adobe Acrobat: 1. Locate Adobe Acrobat software in your applications folder, 2. Open the software by double clicking, and 3. Select FILE+OPEN and locate your document that is sitting on your desktop.)

  ~

  OPTION: IF YOU DON’T HAVE ADOBE ACROBAT

  If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat or if you find the double converting process confusing, here is another option. You can convert your document through an online converter by doing this:

  1. Go to a free online converter such as: http://www.online-convert.com/

  2. Select the IMAGE CONVERTER option.

  3. Click on SELECT TARGET FORM
AT.

  4. Select CONVERT TO JPG.

  5. Click GO.

  6. Upload your image by clicking on BROWSE. Locate your pdf document on your desktop.

  7. Scroll down and click on the button CONVERT FILE.

  8. Wait for the program to convert your file.

  9. Click DIRECT DOWNLOAD LINK.

  10. Find your new jpg document on your computer. The location will depend on where you have set up your downloads to arrive on your computer. Once you locate the new jpg file, drag it to the desktop so it is easy to find.

  Tip: If you like using an online converter, then you can go straight from a Word doc (or pdf) to a jpg without using Acrobat. All you have to do is upload the original Word doc into the converter instead of the pdf.

  ~

  When you have a completed, converted jpg document, a new file should show up on your desktop with a .jpg on the end. It will look something like this:

  (If more than one jpg documents appear on your desktop, this is probably because you had blank pages that were also converted. Ignore the blank ones and just use the one that has the book cover image on it.)

  8. TRIM EDGES

  Now we want to trim the borders and remove the white space around the cover.

  Do this by double clicking on the jpg file and opening it.

  Your book cover should open in a “preview” mode and it will look something like this:

  Notice that the edges are white and my green box needs trimming. I am now going to trim the borders.

  Do this by clicking on the image and dragging an invisible square box across it. You will notice a series of “marching ants” appear on the screen.

  Click on the handles and drag them. Align the marching ant box perfectly around the book cover (but not the white area).

  Now we are going to trim off the excess border outside of the box.

  Go to the TOOLS menu and select CROP. This will remove the excess border.

  If you make an error and want to go back to the previous action, remember you can always select EDIT+UNDO TYPING (or command+Z) several times.

  Your trimmed cover should look something like this:

  9. RESIZE COVER FOR BOOKSTORE

  Now you want to resize your image so it is the correct size to upload into an eBook store. Amazon requires that book covers must be a minimum of 1000 pixels on the longest side. (Always check the Amazon KDP website in case size requirements change: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2J0TRG6OPX0VM )

  To find out the current size of your book cover, go to the TOOLS menu and select ADJUST SIZE. A dialog box will appear with the current image dimensions.

  If your height is less than 1000, then change the number to 1000. If it is more than 1000, then don’t change it.

  (Note: Don’t worry about the “resolution” number.. Most eBook stores compress cover images to their own resolutions. As long as you are above 72, you will probably be OK.)

  Save your book cover document.

  You are now ready to upload your book cover to an eBook store.

  Different eBook stores require different cover dimensions. You can always go back to the TOOLS and adjust the size in your jpg version of the book cover if you need to.

  (Note: If you change your cover size to fulfill the dimension requirements for several stores, it’s probably best to make separate covers for each store. You can do this by pulling down the FILE menu and selecting SAVE AS to make copies. After that, adjust your size of each new cover.)

  10. UPLOAD BOOK.

  How to upload your book cover.

  During the process of publishing your book, you probably noticed a section of the form that was for uploading a book cover. Go to that section.

  Click on the button “browse for image” to find your book cover.

  A dialog box will open and now you will need to look for your book cover on your desktop. Click on the “Browse” button.

  Now locate your book cover on your desktop. Make sure you select your book cover .jpg document (and not the image, .doc, .pdf or any other document on your desktop).

  After waiting about a minute, a thumbnail of your book cover should appear in the dialog box, like below:

  Now you can close this box by clicking the “x” in the upper right hand corner.

  After you close the dialog box, you will see your book cover on the Amazon KDP publishing form. This means the book cover upload is complete.

  At this point you can move forward and complete the entire form and publish your book. Your cover and book should appear in the Amazon store in 1-2 days.

  ~

  PART C:

  Tutorial 2: How to Make a Book Cover Using Adobe Photoshop

  If you have experience using graphics programs, you can also make a book cover using Adobe Photoshop. Here is how to do that.

  1. Open Adobe Photoshop. If you do not have a copy of the software, visit your local library. You will often find it is available for use on their computers. You can also download a trial version from Adobe’s website for 30 days.

  2. Import your image into Photoshop.

  Do this by pulling down the FILE menu ands electing OPEN. Now locate your image on your desktop.

  You should end up with something that looks like this:

  3. Check the size and resolution numbers under the menu IMAGE and select IMAGE SIZE.

  4. Make sure the height is at least 1000 pixels.

  Mine is 1200 just because I like to work larger. A good height range is anywhere between 1000-3000 pixels.

  (Note: Since eBookstore compress book cover images, what resolution you use is not that critical. I have chosen 300 in this example only because that is a standard I use as a graphic designer. If you have 72 or 96 or another number, that it OK too.)

  5. Now pull down the LAYER menu and select NEW LAYER.

  6. You will get a dialogue box that asks for a layer name. Name it “box.”

  7. Your new layer should show up on the right hand side of your screen on under the “Layers” tab. If you don’t see it, pull down the WINDOW menu and select LAYERS.

  8. Make sure the “box” layer remains selected (blue) while we draw the next item (a horizontal rectangle). If the blue disappears, just click anywhere in the “box” layer again and it will turn blue again.

  9. Go to the RECTANGULAR MARQUEE TOOL and select it (click on it) so the toolbox becomes dark.

  10. If you only see a circle, or some other shape, then click on the tiny triangle in the lower right corner and open up the box, then choose the rectangle option (below).

  11. Now you are going to create a horizontal rectangle in the upper half of the picture. Click and drag the rectangle across your image. You will see “marching ants” moving along your line. That means the shape you are making is active.

  12. Now go to the paint bucket and click on it

  13. If you don’t see the bucket, peek under the small triangle in the lower right and select it.

  14 Now move your cursor (which now looks like a bucket) inside of the rectangle and pour (click). This is the black part (shown below). Your image should now look like this, but your paint might be different color (you can change that next). This is now the background box for your text.

  15. To change the color of the background, click on the color palette (below).

  16. This will open up the color picker. Click on the Rainbow strip or the big large color box and select a new color. Try to pick a color to match your photo, and try to pick a “light” color so your dark text will stand out on top of it.

  17. Click OK, and notice how the color on the palette changed.

  18. Now you can click on the bucket and pour a different color onto the rectangle

  19. Next, you are going to type text. Select the TYPE tool (letter T) on the tool palette.

  20. Select the color and size of your type. I’m selecting black and 36 points. I’m also using Arial Font. You can change your font in the box on the left.

  2
1. Now, select “Center” (see below) and then put your cursor in the colored box and click. You should see a big blinking line:

  22. Now start typing your title. You can hit the carriage return and put the second word below the first just like in a word processor.