How to Make a Custom Book Cover

As a first-time author, creating a custom book cover is an exciting moment. This is the point where it all comes together. Your hard work of writing the book is done, and now you get to put the finishing touches on the cover to make it exactly the way you’ve envisioned!

However, there’s a slight problem: You’re not an artist.

The good news is, help is here! Here’s how to go about creating a custom book cover if you’re a first-time author, even if you’re the farthest thing from an artist!

Define your book’s theme

We understand it can be tempting to dive right into the design process, a.k.a. the fun part. However, before you do, you’ll want to take a step back and think about the theme of your book. That means considering the genre you’re in, who you’re marketing your book to, and what they might expect.

For example, romance novels typically have softer colors and more elegant fonts, whereas thrillers use darker tones and bolder fonts. Think about the type of emotions you want your cover to convey and think about what your audience expects. You wouldn’t want to see a self-help book that looks like a murder-mystery! What sort of images, colors, and typography would appeal to the people you’re looking to reach?

Be inspired by successful covers in your genre

Next, it’s time to take a trip to your favorite bookstore. Look at the top-sellers in your genre. What are the things that all of their covers have in common? Ask yourself:

• Are there certain colors that stand out? Do the color combinations create a specific mood or feeling?
• What about the fonts used? Are they clean and crisp? Elegant and soft? Bold and attention-getting?
• What kind of imagery is used? Do they use photos or more abstract designs? What do your eyes focus on first?

Working with a professional graphic designer

If you’d rather not design your own cover and you choose to work with a graphic designer, it’s important to be clear with your requirements to make sure the final cover matches what you have in mind. In order to get the best possible results, you’ll want to:

1. 1. Create a detailed design brief that includes the book’s genre, specific images or fonts, and the target audience. If you want to include examples of covers you like and don’t like, this can help the designer better hone in on your exact vision.
   2. Create detailed goals and milestones. Establish when initial drafts, revisions, and the final design should be done. Having a timeline helps you and your designer stay on track.
   3. When reviewing drafts, do your best to make the feedback as specific as possible. Simply saying “I don’t like it” doesn’t help. Point out what you like or don’t like and suggest alternatives. Remember that while it’s important to share feedback, keep in mind that your graphic designer also has a great deal of experience when it comes to book cover design trends and design principles in general, so be open to their suggestions as well.
   4. Make sure the designer provides you with all of the necessary high-resolution files for your book cover, including a cover design for your eBook. JPG and PNG are the most-common formats for digital covers, while PDF is the most-common format for print.

Set up the current dimensions and resolution

If you decide to design it yourself, make sure that you size your book cover appropriately for the platform you want to sell on. A standard eBook cover is usually 1600×2560 pixels (or a 1:6 aspect ratio), while a print cover will need to be created according to the trim size. This is generally 6 x 9 inches. Keep in mind you’ll need to include the spine width (determined by page count) and bleed (around 0.125 inches on all sides).

You’ll want to create a full wraparound cover that includes the front, back, and spine, rather than individual elements. Make sure that the resolution is a minimum of 300 DPI (dots per inch). This ensures that the book looks as crisp in print as it does on screen.

Design the cover layout

Add your title, subtitle (if any), imagery, and author name. Ideally you won’t want to use more than two fonts to keep your cover design cohesive. For best results, choose sans serif for more modern books, and serif fonts for historical styles. As you’re designing, be sure to zoom out or view your book at its actual size to make sure fonts and images look crisp and readable.

Prepare your book for upload and distribution

Once you’re done with your design, you’ll need to save the eBook version as a high-quality JPG or PNG, and the print version as a high-quality PDF. Print covers often need to have crop and bleed marks added to make sure all of the printed versions look uniform.

You don’t have to do it yourself

If you’re looking to self-publish your book, but you’d rather not deal with designing the cover yourself, you’re in luck! BookBaby has an in-house staff of professional book cover designers who can create the perfect design for your newly printed book. Custom cover design is just one of the many features we offer for independent authors. Let’s work together to bring your book cover vision to life!