Tutorial 3 - Create a cover in the suitable format for the book store you have chosen
Which format to choose? It depends on what you have to publish: book or ebook? And with whom? Amazon, Lulu, or Apple? Every company has its own format. In this tutorial we will explain you how to choose it and how to change it. We will show you, also, how to solve problems that can occur changing the format while working on a cover, and how to use properly your own images for your cover's background.
Tutorial 2 - Example: how to create your first cover
Don't know how to start? Here we explain how. Tips on using our Creator software to create your first, unique cover. Simplicity is the key word.
Tutorial 1 - An overview of our ebook cover creator software
In this tutorial we will show how to use the main functions and options inside the software. We'll show you the different menus, the working area, how to choose images, colors, texts and shapes. And you will learn how to save and export your work. Everything creating a real cover, ready to use.
Book Covers Clichés: general rules
When you design your cover it can occur you fall into some clichés, which are images, colors, backgrounds which are used in most of the covers for some topic. Although it's absolutely normal, you have to recognize them and avoid them as much as possible. Something, anyway, almost for sure will slip you out, but don't worry. Let's take an example: Africa. Have you noticed the covers of the books on this topic? I'll show to you right below. Noticing anything? Yes, the colors; yes, the images. Also big authors fall into it (or their graphic designers anyway). It's a common imagination, and in some ways it conveys to the reader what is the book about, or where the story is taking place. Usually about Africa we can see: a sunset - or sunrise; an acacia tree; hot colors (which conveys an image of hot temperatures), from yellow to red; some classic African animals, like elephants, giraffes, or lions. Of course not every author had this idea for their covers. We can say, however, that is very common for a story which is set in Africa to have these features, despite the story has nothing to do with sunsets or acacia trees, or even animals. How to prevent these clichés when you are designing your cover? Let's give you some tips. Google on images "cover book Africa", and replace Africa with your main object, and you'll have a fair idea. Or go to an on-line book or ebook store and search "Africa", all the book covers will come out. You just have to have a little patience. Don't stop at the first page, but go on a while, to have a more complete idea.
The benefits of an attractive ebook cover
As Aeschylus said, "appearances are a glimpse of the unseen” and, whether we like it or not, appearance does matter. Consequently, when it comes to selling your ebook it is imperative to accompany it with an eye-catching and attractive ebook cover in order to increase your sales, saving you both time and money in the long run. In this article, we will explore the ways in which a professional ebook cover can improve both the quality of your work and make increasing your sales much easier. 1. Make a good first impression It is important to note the old adage that there’s no second chance to make a good first impression. Unfortunately, many people do judge books by their covers simply because they don’t have the time to read the material in depth before making a purchase. This is particularly true of the online market, since people who surf the web are often casual readers who jump from one website to the next. Therefore, without a good ebook cover that makes a lasting impression, it is unlikely that many will even consider buying the work. 2.Make your book memorable and eye-catching An effective cover is a good way of guaranteeing that your book is memorable. It allows you to make use of various advertising techniques, such as appealing colors, images and slogans, in order to catch the reader’s eye and imprint upon his memory. In this way, the work is made to stand out as an aesthetically pleasing product that entices potential readers and buyers. 3.Create a "taster" for your book A good cover can serve as an excellent "taster" or "teaser" of the overall work. It can capture the book’s contents, themes and key issues in just a few words and pictures, providing on-line browsers with an idea of the product that furthers their desire to purchase it. 4. Convince consumers to buy In all of the above ways, great covers convince consumers to buy the product. This leads us onto the next advantage of a professional cover: the opportunity to increase your sales. Indeed, this is perhaps the principal reason to create a cover in the first place. Many are worried about the cost of having a cover professionally made, however it has been shown that doing so often increases the overall profit. This is due to the fact that a good cover guarantees a higher number of sales and therefore an increase in revenue . The money spent on having a cover professionally produced also seems to provide a greater motivation for most ebook writers to develop the quality of their work, since they have invested in it. This often improves the value of the overall product and therefore makes it more likely to sell. 5.Increase your number of affiliates In a similar way, covers can also increase your number of affiliates, since it makes your work more appealing to others who are unlikely to advertise the product if they find it boring or unappealing. 6.Save time and so improve the content of the work Not only does an effective cover save you money, if you have one designed professionally you will also have more time to dedicate to the work itself. This further increases the quality of the product, since you can develop its content instead of worrying about producing a cover yourself. 7. Create a renewable investment It is worth taking into account that a good cover is a long-term, renewable investment. You can adapt the cover over a collection of works, which allows you browsers to easily recognize your work. You will only need one professionally designed cover in order to create a branded-product that can be used for several books in the long term. Overall, the benefits of having an ebook cover professionally designed greatly outweigh the singular disadvantage of the initial cost involved in doing so. Indeed, research shows that a good cover is essential to generating an attention-grabbing, high quality product that is much more likely to sell
The importance of ebook covers in 2014
The importance of ebook covers in 2014 is growing.We live in a society that is addicted to technology. Children spend long hours in front of the computer, grow up glued to the television screen and start using mobile phones, iPods and other technological devices at increasingly younger ages. Consequently, the popularity of ebooks is also on the rise, with publishers and retailers marketing them like fun, even educational ways to encourage a love for literature amongst the youngest readers, allowing working adults to read on the go and even permit pensioners with poor vision to continue reading, as the texts can easily be magnified and some eReaders provide a read-aloud function. As ebooks become more widely used, the importance of ebook covers is also growing, since a successful cover is essential in order to produce an appealing, selling product. In this article, we will explore why professional covers are particularly significant in 2014 in the context of a fast-moving, technological society that places a lot of importance on appearance. Ebook covers are important in 2014 principally because of the predominance of technology in society. People send emails, instant messages and texts rather than writing letters or making personal visits. We are used to surfing the web, channel hopping and depending on the virtual and digital worlds. Ebooks have become the ideal way of offering people the chance to keep up to date with recent literature without having to step into a store. They allow people to store a large amount of information in a small space, are unlikely to be lost or stolen and can be easily transported. The cover is especially significant in this digital era, since other traditional factors involved in choosing which book to purchase have been erased, such as the feel of the product or the advice of retail assistants. It is most likely that most potential buyers will simply browse quickly through some on-line reviews and ultimately judge the book by its cover before buying it. Moreover, we live in a fast-moving society. Travel has expanded, commuting is frequent and few people take the time to sit down and read a book in a library, a bookshop or the comfort of their home. They read ebooks quickly on the go and equally select which items to buy in short spaces of time. If the cover is neither appealing nor eye-catching it will not make a strong enough impression to attract potential clients. Covers are also essential when selling ebooks in the modern era, given the importance modern society places on appearance. We grow up bombarded by advertising slogans and publicity campaigns that exploit a wide range of colors, images and slogans to attract buyers. If a book is not attractive, even if its content is of the highest quality, it is unlikely to sell simply because most people won’t even go so far as to read the content. A particular area in which ebook covers are important today is that of children’s literature and education. Images are very important in children’s literature as is evidenced by the success of picture books. Encouraging children to read is becoming increasingly difficult for parents, since children nowadays are faced with seemingly more attractive ways to spend their time such as video games, television programs or social networks. Ebooks have shown to be a useful way of inspiring a love of reading in children, since they simultaneously offer the speed and appearance of a technological device and the possibility to access a wide range of literature for children of all ages. Their interactive nature excites the most reluctant of readers and encourages those who already delight in exploring fictional worlds. Indeed, in recent years the number of requests for virtual eReading devices on holiday wish list items has significantly increased, was higher last year than ever before and is expected to do so further in 2014-2015. Given the importance of images when trying to catch a child attention, ebook covers are therefore particularly important in the contemporary world of children literature. Nowadays, it is more difficult than ever to persuade youngsters to read and even the technological notion of an ebook will fail to delight if it appears boring. An attractive cover is therefore fundamental. Ebooks are increasingly common and often displayed by stores such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iBooks using on-line catalogs. This leads us to the final reason that the cover is particularly important, since it is a key way of making your book stand out on the market. If you do not produce an attractive cover, given the amount of eReading material available in 2014, it will simply fade into the background. When your book is seen on a website, it will be viewed alongside many others and without a successful, aesthetically pleasing and original cover it simply won’t stand out. In 2014 the ebook market is more wide-ranging than ever before, one therefore needs a good cover in order to compete.On the whole in the context of technological society used to the bright colors and images of advertising campaigns, ebook covers are essential to encourage reluctant readers and help you to stand out.
