Cover Art

[BobbyBrandt]

For those who publish their stories on sites such as Amazon, please share your process for developing the cover for your project.

Do you create the cover art yourself, and if so, what tools are your favorites to use? If you contract the creation out to someone else, how do you control the costs most effectively?
For myself, I like to create the cover art because it keeps me more involved in the entire publishing process, but others might feel differently.

 

[KeithD]

I have a publisher. I look on image service sites for images I think go with the manuscript I've sent to the publisher. From there, I leave it to the publisher. They send me an approval cover. I rarely have an objection to that. My latest one in the marketplace is in a series of coordinated images and colors and combines a couple of images I picked out. The publisher pays the image service for use of the images. By using a publisher, the covers don't cost me anything. The publisher covers all costs (of course my profit is far less, but I only have to worry about the writing and make up the difference by producing more books than those doing everything themselves can do).

https://www.amazon.com/Unholy-Ambition-Hardesty-Vice-Cop-ebook/dp/B0BF154NN3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2T6LSXCOMJRL&keywords=habu+unholy+ambition&qid=1663263370&s=digital-text&sprefix=%2Cdigital-text%2C42&sr=1-1]

 

[lovecraft68]

I have a publisher. I look on image service sites for images I think go with the manuscript I've sent to the publisher. From there, I leave it to the publisher. They send me an approval cover. I rarely have an objection to that. My latest one in the marketplace is in a series of coordinated images and colors and combines a couple of images I picked out. The publisher pays the image service for use of the images. By using a publisher, the covers don't cost me anything. The publisher covers all costs (of course my profit is far less, but I only have to worry about the writing and make up the difference by producing more books than those doing everything themselves can do).

https://www.amazon.com/Unholy-Ambition-Hardesty-Vice-Cop-ebook/dp/B0BF154NN3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2T6LSXCOMJRL&keywords=habu+unholy+ambition&qid=1663263370&s=digital-text&sprefix=%2Cdigital-text%2C42&sr=1-1]

So, what you're saying is you have a publisher? That seems to be what you're subtly hinting at here.
Or just trying to sound important.
But I think we should start an AH drinking game to do a shot whenever you mention "publisher' and "marketplace"

 

[JPGmvny]

I use unsplash.com for photos and canva for the covers themselves. View attachment 2176815View attachment 2176815

 

[lovecraft68]

For those who publish their stories on sites such as Amazon, please share your process for developing the cover for your project.

Do you create the cover art yourself, and if so, what tools are your favorites to use? If you contract the creation out to someone else, how do you control the costs most effectively?
For myself, I like to create the cover art because it keeps me more involved in the entire publishing process, but others might feel differently.

I look for an image that fits the idea and also 'says' the title in a way, and I purchase it, then send it off to someone who designs covers for me for a reasonable price and they do some tweaking to the image and add titles. If they tell me they want to change background or something that involves another image they usually have them on hand and don't charge me any extra for the additional work.

I to have a publisher cause its not that rare or impressive, but still self publish on some venues. That's been my method from the start and I'm close to publishing e-book #200 so....so much for spending some time on your covers slowing you down.

 

[XerXesXu]

For myself, I like to create the cover art because it keeps me more involved in the entire publishing process, but others might feel differently.

I do too, simply because I enjoy it. But I've learned there's a lot of good advice on what makes a commercial cover. It may cramp your creativity a little, but the reasons are sound. I wouldn't be averse to sending a mock-up of my idea to a cover designer and paying for them to professionalize it, but my income from sales doesn't, and probably never will, justify it.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I have a father, who has a friend, who knows a guy, that does that shit!

 

[KelvinBlack]

I use Paint Shop Pro to do mine. I search for a suitable photo, buy it, then complete the layout myself.

 

[lovecraft68]

I have a father, who has a friend, who knows a guy, that does that shit!

A young man just started at my company, his name is Noah, and all I can think of is "I Noah guy!" jokes.
I really am 12 sometimes

 

[lovecraft68]

I do extremely simple covers using canva.

This is my favorite:
View attachment 2176863

Is that image something you bought, or does the site/program you're using provide them?

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I search for public domain images, you'd be surprised what's out there, and look for one that will fit the books title. Then using Paint Shop Pro I add text and other things to make the image an original. My covers are at least five to ten layers thick.

This one is only six.View attachment 2176969

 

[Ada Stuart]

For those who publish their stories on sites such as Amazon, please share your process for developing the cover for your project.

Do you create the cover art yourself, and if so, what tools are your favorites to use? If you contract the creation out to someone else, how do you control the costs most effectively?
For myself, I like to create the cover art because it keeps me more involved in the entire publishing process, but others might feel differently.

I, too like to do them myself, usually by using Canva and buying stock photos from Freepik and Depositphotos.

Recently, I've started using Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher. The main reason is that I write fantasy, and then I need to add multiple layers and change the colour tones of the photos to suit the genre. The result is something like this:

View attachment 2176995

 

[JPGmvny]

I, too like to do them myself, usually by using Canva and buying stock photos from Freepik and Depositphotos.

Recently, I've started using Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher. The main reason is that I write fantasy, and then I need to add multiple layers and change the colour tones of the photos to suit the genre. The result is something like this:

View attachment 2176995

That's quite nice for the genre.

 

[Ada Stuart]

That's quite nice for the genre.

Thanks

Still, when I spend a week making them (I'm a complete amateur in the design area) I might be better off just buying them. But it's always fun to learn something new

 

[burgwad]

I’m so grateful this thread exists! I needed lots of the tips shared here.

As for what I can offer: I’m a little surprised no one here has suggested trying Midjourney yet (or another similar AI image generator) as a great source of “artwork”! Debates on actual artfulness aside, it’s weirdly fun, and if you come at it with some patience and a flexible vision of what you want, it can help you produce some killer imagery. It’s free for the first, idk, 20 or so images? Then $10 for 200, or $30 for an unlimited month’s worth. Highly recommended for the novelty alone, but especially if you’re someone who enjoys visual design, free associative wordplay, and “just one more”-type addictive loops.

 

[AndromedaDreamer]

Photos from a free trial of DepositPhotos.

Edited using free trial of Shutterstock cover creator and/or free firal of PaintShop Pro.

Learning a lot already.

What happens when the trial expires depends on how many sales I get before they expire!