The Whats and Hows of Cover Making

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As most of you probably know, there is a Book Cover Club right here on Wattpad to help learn how to make covers. Heck, you can have a cover made for your story. But still, if you decide to make your own, cover making can be a daunting task. What do I put on the cover? What program do I use? Where do I get a picture?

I'm here to answer those questions and more! So lets get this party started!

1. This is for the newbies and whoever else night be asking: What exactly is a cover?

A cover on wattpad is basically what a cover is for any other book. People want something to catch their eye! A good cover does just that.

2. How can the Book Cover Club help me?

The book cover club is very helpful. Scroll through the various discussions some day. People want to make covers. People  need a cover made for them. So what ever catagory you fall in the book cover club can be a great way to put yourself out there.

3. let's move on to actual cover making. How do I start?

First thing's first. Do some thinking: whats the mood? When does the story take place? Are there any meaningful things to the characters? Second: Who are you making the cover for? If you are making it for yourself think about the story--it's yours so you know all of these things(hopefully). But say you are making a cover for a friend,  you may need to do some research. Read the story! that is the best way to get to know the story--obviously. For example, say someone wants you to make a cover for them. Its a dark vampire romance. You don't read the story, so you make a cover using pastels and flowers. Well, that ain't gonna cut it!

4. How do I choose a picture?

So the picture is probably the most important part, agreed? there are a few things to remember

1.  don't always go for the obvious picture. if the story is a romance don't just use a picture of a couple holding hands, cuddling, or kissing. Dig a little deeper. Oh, I don't know say the two lovers are blind--use a pair of sunglasses or one of those cane thingies. What if the heroine has an old cameo necklace that somehow draws her to her true love.Use a picture of a cameo necklace. Be creative

2. Find a quality picture. This is so important. I just google some key words and find a picture I like. Whatever picture you choose make sure it looks professional: little background noise, clear and concise image.

3. it is usually a good idea to show the cover recipiant the picture you chose. Sometimes they don't like it, sometimes they even have another picture in mind. Hey, its their story and the customer is always right!

4. save the photo to your computer so you can access it later

5. how do I turn the picture into a professional looking cover?

There are several ways of going about this:

1. most computers come with a paint program--while it  is very basic and limited this program can produce various text fonts--good for beginners, but it is definitely not my favorite

2. there are many internet photo editing sites availible: picnik, fotoflexer, lunapic, and more. My favorite is definately fotoflexer: it is easy to use and has many different effects.

picnik is a close second only because some of the best features are premium--meaning they cost money :( you can still create a great cover w/ this site

3. if you have photo shop i assume that it would be wonderful

6. What should I put on the cover?

ever heard the expression KISS--keep it simple stupid?

well subtract the stupid so no one gets offended and that phrase is a good rule of thumb.

Don't overwhelm the photo with too much junk. Keep it simple: the title, author's name and any sub-titles that are given by the author.

Again I can't stress this enough: go with the theme of the story! Use effects that match the mood and tone. Sepia tone would match a story set long ago, get it?

so now you have a cover! enjoy

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⏰ Last updated: May 20, 2011 ⏰

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