[GET] BOOK COVER DESIGN OPTIONS

***layna61524*** · 04-19-2021, 08:17 AM

BOOK COVER DESIGN OPTIONS

You've Got Plenty of Choices for Designing Top-Notch Book Covers; Even If
You Don't Have Mad Skills (Or The Fancy Design Software) To Do It!

There's a saying:

You can't always tell --- but you can surely sell --- a book by its cover.

Let's be real. It's human nature. People do judge a book (and often, other people) by what they first see on the outside. Psychology Today has a blog post about that...

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That being said, you want your book covers to represent well; get attention and make potential buyers thirst for what's between the covers.

But what if you don't have the skills to design a fabulous cover? Or the high-end design software usually needed to do so?

Just yesterday, I got a PM asking me for ebook design suggestions if one doesn't have Photoshop on their computer. This person said his computer system couldn't handle Photoshop. These programs boast a full range of creative design features that makes them pure resource hogs and not every computer can hang with them.

On the other hand, some people don't have Photoshop or Illustrator because they can't afford these programs.

Then, too, you need some level of skill to get the best results from these fancy design programs. Just having it installed is no help if you've never used it.

So you need to consider your situation in order to decide on the best book cover design options for you.

If you have no (or very little) design experience, you need a basic program that offers creative features; something easy to use with a quick start that renders a decent design in little time.

If you know your way around programs like Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft PowerPoint, or others, then that's the most logical place to start.

If you don't have these programs installed on your computer, you have other options. Being a member of BBHF, you can search the forum for these programs to see if they are being shared.

And if you've got an older version of a design program installed, you can find YouTube and Udemy tutorials on how to use them to get your book cover designs done.

If you are open to using some alternative to a program you wish you had, that, too, is an option. In fact, with a little tutorial help, sometimes an alternative to a high-end design program can be easier to use and produce a faster and very similar result.

There are online design platforms, either free to use or at-cost but with a free trial period. If you are only trying to design a couple of covers, you can use the program to do that within the trial period and cancel before you are due to pay. But, consider that free isn't always what it's cracked up to be and that a free trial may give you access to only the basic, rudimentary features of the program to design a so-so looking ebook cover.

Many online design platforms offer pre-made ebook templates you can either download and customize or design online and save to your online account. All that's left, then, is to upload the design to your KDP, CreateSpace or other account.

OPTIONS FOR DESIGNING YOUR
EBOOK COVER

Here are some options for creating your ebook cover designs:

* Canva - Canva is an online graphic design tool used to create social media graphics, posters, documents, presentations and other visual content. It is fairly interactive and easy to navigate so, unlike the complex user interface of high-end programs like Adobe Photoshop or InDesign, Canva is easier to use. Canva is free to use but offers paid subscriptions to products like Canva Pro and Canva for Enterprise. NOTE: There may be offers on BBHF to get a Canva account at a discounted rate for an extended period of time. Please search the forum with the keywords: Canva account to check see if there are any current offers.

Here is a link where you can investigate Canva's pricing plans:

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* Illustrator - this high-end Adobe program offers many features and you can be as creative as your skillset allows but unless you have some experience, it's not for the beginner. There are free online tutorials to help with using this program if you decide you want to tackle it.

* Illustrator Alternatives - you have plenty of options in lieu of using Adobe Illustrator. They include: Inkscape, MyPaint, Affinity Designer, Vectornator, Sketch, Gravit Designer, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Procreate and more. Just do a search for alternatives to Adobe Illustrator and you can read more about these programs; in some cases, you can get a free or trial download. Also, search BBHF to see if any of the products are being shared. Another place you can check is any of the Persian (Iranian) download sites that often provide download links to fully operational premium software products. Try bitdownload.ir or search for Persian download sites + (name of the program you want).

* InDesign - this is another Adobe program and like Illustrator, requires some level of skill. There are free online tutorials to help with using this program if you decide you want to tackle it.

* InDesign Alternatives - you have plenty of options in lieu of using Adobe InDesign. They include: Scribus, Canva, Microsoft Office Publisher, Affinity Publisher, Lucidpress, Desygner, Crello and more. Just do a search for alternatives to Adobe InDesign and you can read more about these programs; in some cases, you can get a free or trial download.

* Online Design Options - when it comes to online websites you can go to for designing a book cover, there are too many to mention. Most offer pre-designed book cover templates you can modify as you wish. The sites may be free or have a limited trial after which time, you must decide on a subscription plan. Canva is the most popular online design platform at the moment but there are tons more. I mentioned Crello earlier and the link to that site can be found below.

I will share a few links below to some that I found in my searches but do your own search for online book cover design platforms. Then follow the links to take a closer look. When you find a site you like, be sure to read their terms of service for any limitations or restrictions before you venture into creating your book covers there.

And remember, free isn't always what it's cracked up to be. You don't want to mess around when it comes to your book cover designs. If you plan to make money with your ebooks, you want them to look good and attract customers. Don't skimp on a good book cover design option; the first thing potential buyers see is your book's cover and your subscription will pay for itself 100x over.

Here are a few:

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* Photoshop - another Adobe program, it is full of creative features but some level of skill is needed. There are free online tutorials to help with using this program if you decide you want to tackle it.

* Photoshop Alternatives - you have plenty of options in lieu of Photoshop. They include: Gimp, Paint.net, Pixlr, Affinity Designer, MyPaint and more. Just do a search for alternatives to Photoshop and you can read more about these programs; in some cases, you can get a free or trial download.

* PowerPoint - this Microsoft slide-maker/presentation program is fairly easy to use and can serve as a reasonable substitute for Photoshop; especially for simple designs. It lacks a lot of the fancy options for text manipulation and other effects that Photoshop and similar programs offer but if all you need is a basic design tool, PowerPoint is a reliable option.

* PowerPoint Alternatives - you have plenty of options in lieu of PowerPoint. They include: Prezi, LibreOffice-Impress, Keynote, Google Slides, Sozi and more. Just do a search for alternatives to PowerPoint and you can read more about these programs; in some cases, you can get a free or trial download.

* Scribus - this is a free program that has features similar to InDesign. So if you have the skills to use Adobe InDesign but can't afford (or install) it, check out Scribus here:

Scribus:

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* Word - this Microsoft program is primarily used as a document creation tool but with a little creativity, you can manage to make a halfway decent looking e-book cover. Word will not give you the flexibility that image editing tools will so it takes a little finesse to manipulate it for that purpose and you won't be able to create the same type of covers you can in Canva, PowerPoint or Photoshop but if you need a book cover in a hurry, using Microsoft Word can be an option.

HIRING A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST

Another option is to outsource the design but I'd be very careful working with anyone except a pro. Or at the very least, someone on Fiverr, for example, who can provide visual samples or some social proof of client satisfaction. You don't want to mess around with the "face" of your product (e-book).

If you've got the money to hire a pro book cover artist, that's the best bet. And here is some advice from experienced self-published writer Mark Dawson on how authors can work with a book cover designer...

HOW TO WORK WITH A COVER DESIGNER

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BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE...!

Here are links to a few sites for extra help with book cover design using a number of tools from Canva to InDesign, from Photoshop to PowerPoint or from a variety of online websites.

BOOK COVER DESIGN RESOURCES Please use the slider arm in the opened window to see all the links.

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Code:

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7 FREE TOOLS TO CREATE BOOK COVER MOCKUPS 

ONLINE IN LESS THAN 10 SECONDS 

https://www.digginet.com/create-book-cover-mockup-free-tools/

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12 BEST FREE POWERPOINT EBOOK TEMPLATES 

TO DOWNLOAD FOR 2020 

https://business.tutsplus.com/articles/12-best-free-powerpoint-ebook-templates-to-download-for-2020--cms-35832

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BOOK COVER DESIGN: HOW SELF-PUBLISHING AUTHORS 

CAN DO IT BEST 

https://indiereader.com/2017/02/book-cover-design-self-publishing-authors-can-best/

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CREATE A LOW CONTENT PLANNER COVER 

IN POWERPOINT 

https://publishlowcontentbooks.com/creating-a-low-content-planner-cover-in-powerpoint/

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CREATING A BOOK COVER IN PHOTOSHOP 

https://www.tatteredcover.com/sites/tatteredcover.com/files/EBMBookCoverPhotoShop.pdf

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CREATING BOOK COVERS IN POWERPOINT 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIOx51XQJ1A

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DESIGN A BOOK COVER IN PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LXUk7cR9UI

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DESIGN BOOK COVERS IN CANVA'S FREE BOOK COVER MAKER 

https://www.canva.com/create/book-covers/

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DESIGNING A PAPERBACK COVER IN POWERPOINT 

http://www.plainandsimplepress.com/designing-a-paperback-cover-in-powerpoint-success/

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HOW TO CREATE A BOOK COVER DESIGN IN CANVA - YOUTUBE TUTORIAL 

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcKWSjNhvGU

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkW5sEn8E0c

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBXyKjIvBs4

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HOW TO CREATE BOOK COVERS USING POWERPOINT 

https://indieauthorlifeline.com/how-to-create-book-covers-using-power-point/

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HOW TO DESIGN BEAUTIFUL EBOOKS WITH CANVA 

https://yourchicgeek.com/design-ebooks-with-canva/

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HOW TO MAKE A FREE EBOOK COVER FOR YOUR KINDLE EBOOK

https://justpublishingadvice.com/how-to-make-a-book-cover-for-your-kindle-ebook/

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HOW TO MAKE REALISTIC BOOK DESIGN IN POWERPOINT 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HQm0RSfnYs

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MAKE A BOOK COVER WITH PHOTOSHOP 

FOR KDP USING PDF TEMPLATE 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bFwa5McZ9c

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MASTERCLASS ARTICLES: HOW TO DESIGN A 

BOOK COVER - COMPLETE GUIDE IN 6 STEPS 

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-design-a-book-cover-complete-guide-in-6-steps#3-decide-on-the-dimensions

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TOOLS FOR CREATING LOW CONTENT BOOKS 

https://www.professionalcontentcreation.com/low-content-books/

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BOOK COVER DESIGN TEMPLATES - You can set up a free or paid account here. Remember that, usually, you get what you pay for so there will be more features available with a paid account. You can pay monthly or one year up front.

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There are plenty of options for using ebook cover templates, too. If the site I provided above is not to your liking, do a web search for: ebook cover templates free and follow the links to take a closer look. One of the sites I mentioned above as an alternative (Desygner) showed up in my search.

I found these sites on the first page search results:

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EBOOK TEMPLATES FROM
GRAPHICS DOWNLOAD SITES

One last resource I'd like to remind you of is graphics download sites. You can find lots of pre-made templates for pretty much any design program there. The bigger issue will be whether you can download from the premium file share sites like Nitroflare, [Reported by Members as premium hosting that SUCK! Use MEDIAFIRE or MEGA.NZ :) !!!] and such. Occasionally, you will find a working Zippyshare link but these sites mostly use premium links.

You can find downloads of book cover templates and template bundles from any of the many graphics download sites. You can then edit the templates in any of the popular programs I just talked about from Canva to InDesign to Photoshop to PowerPoint.

STEP 1: You will need to visit the graphics download sites to search for and browse the available downloads. If you aren't familiar with graphics download sites, here is a small list to get you started:

GRAPHICS DOWNLOAD SITES: Please use the slider arm in the opened window below to see all of the links. Bookmark the sites you like.

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STEP 2: Do a search inside the site for the type of template you want. For example, if you are looking for a book cover design for a cookbook you're publishing and you plan to use PowerPoint to edit it, search for PowerPoint recipe book template or PowerPoint recipe e-book template.

You may not always get what you want at one site so you can search another of the sites. Similarly, if you find a download you like but the link(s) are dead or you can't use premium links (ex: Nitroflare, [Reported by Members as premium hosting that SUCK! Use MEDIAFIRE or MEGA.NZ :) !!!], etc.) you can search another site for the same item by using the exact file name because many of the downloads can be found from one graphics site to another and you may get lucky and find a zippyshare link that is still live.

NOTE: When I say to use "the exact file name" when searching for the file at another graphics site or in the search engines, take a look at the image at DOWNLOAD #2 below (Spiral Book Mock-Up 5212814). I placed a bright red arrow to point to the exact file name for that download. Be sure to use file names and associated numbers when you search for the files you want.

One last thing you can do is perform a general search engine search for the file using the exact file name and "zippyshare.com" to find it. Based on my personal experience in finding stuff, I find more working zippyshare links in a general search engine search than from directly within a graphics site search.

STEP 3: When you find a template you like, click the title link to be taken to the download page. You can read the file description (ex: it tells you the file size, design and color options, number of pages in the template for the ebook or cover size options, which programs the file can be edited with, etc.) and scroll to the end of the description to see the download options. Most of the links will be premium ones but if you're lucky, you will find a zippyshare link.

I highly suggest you get a subscription to a premium link converter app like Deepbrid or Real Debrid so that you can use links from file share servers like Prefiles, [Reported by Members as premium hosting that SUCK! Use MEDIAFIRE or MEGA.NZ :) !!!], [Reported by Members as premium hosting that SUCK! Use MEDIAFIRE or MEGA.NZ :) !!!] and others. Many times, the zippyshare link is no longer functioning and some of the premium links may also be dead on the server; that leaves you stranded for a file you may really need. Having Deepbrid or Real-Debrid (or other converter tool) gives you other options to find a link that works.

And to help you with getting a template you can use, I found two very nice book cover template files I'm sharing below. I had to convert the Prefiles links to generic ones to get the download so I practice what I preach when I say having a premium link converter comes in handy.

If you like, you can see, read more about and download the two book cover template files below:

#1 - PEACH OMBRE CANVA PINTEREST TEMPLATE - See image above.

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#2 - SPIRAL BOOK MOCK-UP 5212814

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To show you that you will find working zippyshare links on these graphics sites, here are some I located when I searched using: low content books...

#3 - FINANCE DAILY PLANNER BOOK 3981667 - GRAPHICEX.COM.RAR

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#4 - GRAPHICEX.COM - COOK-BOOK-RECIPE-BOOK-15308304.RAR

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#5 - 12009813 - POPUP-BOOK-MAKER.RAR

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FREE COURSES AND TUTORIALS
ON BOOK COVER DESIGN

LIMIT TIME OFFER - ENROLL IN THIS UDEMY COURSE
BECOME A PROFESSIONAL BOOK COVER DESIGNER

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I just signed up for the course and after answering a few questions, I was in. So take advantage of this while you can.

HOW TO DESIGN A BOOK COVER - FREE YOUTUBE TUTORIAL
FROM ENVATO TUTS+

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CREATING A BOOK COVER WITH CANVA TEMPLATES - QUICK AND EASY!

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CREATE COLORING BOOK COVER FOR KDP
USING CANVA

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HOW TO CREATE BOOK COVERS IN CANVA ... FOR FREE!

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HOW TO CREATE BOOK COVER MOCKUPS IN CANVA - NO
PHOTOSHOP NEEDED!

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CANVA TUTORIAL: HOW TO DESIGN BEAUTIFUL
LOW AND NO CONTENT BOOK COVERS USING CANVA

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