Let's be honest with each other for a minute. We all judge books by their covers. If you look at two diferent books here on wattpad, one with an eye-catching cover, and one with a generic cover that is only giving the title and profile picture of the author, which has more reads?
Obviously the one with the nice cover.
A cover is what draws people in, making them want more. It's what sets your story apart from everyone elses. It's a marketing tool. Everyone wants something pretty to look at.
I was walking through Target yesterday and went past the book selection. One book immediately caught my eye, and I ended up buying it. Why did it catch my eye? Because it was clear, beautiful and professional.
That's right people- professional. There is such a thing! Story covers don't have to be a sloppy picture with wild fonts and colours, or even a bad photo-shop job. But that is what alot of the covers on here are, aren't they?
Whenever you go to the cover making forum, you always see all these discussions with cover makers. I'm telling you, two years ago you were extremely lucky to have two cover makers here. So we've come a long way everyone! But back to the point... When you click on a discussion, usually the covers are either pictures that are such bad quality in themselves, along with hundreds of fonts and crazy colours! Most of the time, you can't even see the title because it blends in with the background!
There are not too many good cover makers out there now adays. That's just a fact.
Here is another fact: simple is better, (GASP!). No really, simple is alot better than complicated. To make a good cover, you don't need photoshop or Picasa, or any of those fancy photo editing devices. Honestly, you can tell when someone used those to make a book cover. The is always just too much on the picture.
I use all sorts of photo editing devices, but two of my favourites are Pic Monkey and also Pixlr. Pic Monkey is exactly like Picnik. (Oh Picnik, R.I.P). That's where I make all my covers, banners and profile pictures.
Now, I am not saying that I am better at making covers than everyone else. I've just learned from my two-three years of doing it that simple is better, and that people want good quality covers. I've learned about business and what attracts people, and what turns people off. I know all about those things, I apply them to my covers.
You see, there is a specific way to design covers. You don't just throw everything on the picture. There are ways to position things and ways to word things, that catch peoples eyes. From the font the title is in, to the way the authors name is set up. A good book cover means more reads!
So this guide is to show you all how to make a great looking book cover without all the fancy stuff. A good, amazing, professional book cover that people will love!
What will this guide include?
Guide to pictures, (finding your perfect picture)
Guide to fonts,
Guide to colour scheming,
Guide to positioning,
Guide to shading and other freaking cool but simple effects,
Guide to banner making,
How to be the best cover maker,
How to handle people,
How to run a business,
How to stay organized,
How to make a cover making discussion,
How to handle cover makers.
To the side I have included a slide show of my best covers, feel free to take a look! If you would like a book cover from me, post on my message board or private message me. I also do banners and profile pictures.
I hope that you'll stay in touch through this whole thing!
~xXMrsLaraTomlinsonXx A.K.A Lisa x
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ABSOLUTELY NO ADVERTISING ON THIS GUIDE, ANYWHERE! I'VE BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH THIS LATELY AND I WILL DELETE ANY ADVERTISEMENTS! THERE IS A WHOLE THREAD FOR COVER MAKING, PLEASE REFRAIN AND GO THERE FOR ADVERTISING! THANK YOU! PLEASE ENJOY!!
