How to Design an E-book CoverAll Freelance Writing

Having an e-book cover gives you a graphic element to use when promoting your e-book, and it gives e-books more of a traditional product feel (more of a “product” than just a file, from a buyer’s and marketing standpoint).

But how do you design and create an e-book cover? I’m no expert in this area, so I’m just going to point you to a few resources that can get you started, along with a tip or two:

E-book Cover Tips

Make sure your e-book cover comes in multiple sizes for different uses.
Make sure the type on your e-book cover is readable (at least the main title) even in it’s smallest size option.

E-book Cover Templates (use these as a guide for creating your e-book covers)

EbookTemplateSource.com – free
Ebook2u.com – free
EbookCovers.us – free and paid options
ProfessionalEcoverTemplates.com – paid

The basic idea is that you start out with a flat image or text, and you stretch / skew it onto a pre-made e-book cover template. It’s how I did my simple one for Press Releases Made Easy, and it was pretty easy to do. You’ll need image-editing software that allows you to manipulate the images in that way.

If you don’t want to design your own e-book, you may want to try software like the instant cover creator (I haven’t personally tried it), or you can always hire an e-book cover designer (most I’ve seen will do an e-book cover for under $50).

http://3bm.co/rnv0X1

4 Responses to How to Design an E-book Cover

Harrison McLeod - JCM Enterprises says:

January 17, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Good tips, Jen. The layout and design of e-books are a specialty of mine and I have a few tips to share too.

1. Regarding Fonts: not only do they have to be readable, but you also want to make sure you’re not mixing and matching. If you’re using a sans serif font like Arial or Verdana, don’t go mixing it up with a serif font like Times Roman. Stick to the same families for a consistent look.
2. Images: Make sure to get the highest resolution images possible. If you’re using something like iStock, go with a size larger than you need, this way if you have to enlarge the image more, you’ll have room to play. Remember, you can always shrink the image and maintain resolution, but you can’t always enlarge the image without risking pixelation or blurriness.
3. Colors: Limit your palette. As with fonts, you want to stick with colors that go together. Using various shades of one color is much better and easier on the eyes than using a ton of different colors.
4. Learn Photoshop, and InDesign or Quark: These graphics programs are indispensable if you’re getting into your own e-book production. Word documents converted into PDF won’t cut it. Photoshop allows you to manipulate images easily. Quark and InDesign give you much more freedom with typesetting than you would get with Word – but they do take practice.

Hope that helps!

James Chartrand - Web Content Writer Tips says:

January 18, 2008 at 1:20 pm

I’ll add my two cents to this. To each his own.

I do not recommend that writers dabble in graphic design where a client is concerned or where a sale item is involved.

I can do some graphic design and I can program and code a tad, but when it comes to anything else than playtime, I hand over the job to Harry, who has a degree in graphic art and design. It’s not worth me offering second-rate work that isn’t my specialty to anyone except myself just to try to save a few dollars. I’m offering low value to potential buyers. Not good.

But that’s my two cents. ;)

Judith Tramayne says:

April 3, 2008 at 7:08 pm

I agree. It is very EZ to make ebook covers if you have a template.

And one of the reasons I made tutorials and templates for ebook covers.

Usually writers do not have the money to spend $50 for each ebook cover. Especially if they are prolific writers.

With this in mind, I created 2 Free Videos and 10 templates and you can download them by going to:

This will at least your readers a good working knowledge of how EZ this is to do. Free photo editing software is used.

Software is for PCs but my Videos can be viewed on a Mac. Then the Mac people can use their own photo editing software.

If you think this will be useful for your readers, please tell them about my offer.

Judith
Making the Complicated Simple!
http://www.agoodread.com

Mario Xiao says:

April 21, 2008 at 9:14 am

if you want to make your own ebook cover you need to hire a professional graphic designer but it will spend a lot of money.

The other way is use graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop, but you need some experience to use this software.

To make easier, you can also buy the action scripts and use the template. But remember if the template is already used by a lot of people, maybe you can consider to make your own template.

Mario Xiao,
CheapestPROcovers.com

Harrison McLeod - JCM Enterprises says:

January 17, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Good tips, Jen. The layout and design of e-books are a specialty of mine and I have a few tips to share too.

1. Regarding Fonts: not only do they have to be readable, but you also want to make sure you’re not mixing and matching. If you’re using a sans serif font like Arial or Verdana, don’t go mixing it up with a serif font like Times Roman. Stick to the same families for a consistent look.
2. Images: Make sure to get the highest resolution images possible. If you’re using something like iStock, go with a size larger than you need, this way if you have to enlarge the image more, you’ll have room to play. Remember, you can always shrink the image and maintain resolution, but you can’t always enlarge the image without risking pixelation or blurriness.
3. Colors: Limit your palette. As with fonts, you want to stick with colors that go together. Using various shades of one color is much better and easier on the eyes than using a ton of different colors.
4. Learn Photoshop, and InDesign or Quark: These graphics programs are indispensable if you’re getting into your own e-book production. Word documents converted into PDF won’t cut it. Photoshop allows you to manipulate images easily. Quark and InDesign give you much more freedom with typesetting than you would get with Word – but they do take practice.

Hope that helps!
James Chartrand - Web Content Writer Tips says:

January 18, 2008 at 1:20 pm

I’ll add my two cents to this. To each his own.

I do not recommend that writers dabble in graphic design where a client is concerned or where a sale item is involved.

I can do some graphic design and I can program and code a tad, but when it comes to anything else than playtime, I hand over the job to Harry, who has a degree in graphic art and design. It’s not worth me offering second-rate work that isn’t my specialty to anyone except myself just to try to save a few dollars. I’m offering low value to potential buyers. Not good.

But that’s my two cents. ;)
Judith Tramayne says:

April 3, 2008 at 7:08 pm

I agree. It is very EZ to make ebook covers if you have a template.

And one of the reasons I made tutorials and templates for ebook covers.

Usually writers do not have the money to spend $50 for each ebook cover. Especially if they are prolific writers.

With this in mind, I created 2 Free Videos and 10 templates and you can download them by going to:

This will at least your readers a good working knowledge of how EZ this is to do. Free photo editing software is used.

Software is for PCs but my Videos can be viewed on a Mac. Then the Mac people can use their own photo editing software.

If you think this will be useful for your readers, please tell them about my offer.

Judith
Making the Complicated Simple!
http://www.agoodread.com
Mario Xiao says:

April 21, 2008 at 9:14 am

if you want to make your own ebook cover you need to hire a professional graphic designer but it will spend a lot of money.

The other way is use graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop, but you need some experience to use this software.

To make easier, you can also buy the action scripts and use the template. But remember if the template is already used by a lot of people, maybe you can consider to make your own template.

Mario Xiao,
CheapestPROcovers.com