- Do you wanna know how to make a book cover?
Now, I'm not just talking about hiring
a graphic designer to make a book cover for you.
I mean I'm going to show you the best resources
to make a quality cover for no money or experience.
That's why today, I'm going to share with you,
five free self-publishing tools for making a book cover.
Stick around.
(mystical music)
Welcome to Self-Publishing with Dale,
and if you wanna master DIY publishing,
then subscribe and turn on your notifications
for all the latest videos.
How do you get your book covers created?
Do you make your own book covers,
or do you hire a graphic designer
for making a book cover?
Drop me your thoughts in the comments.
Do you need to make a book cover,
but can't seem to scrape together the cash
for an experienced cover designer?
Are you left with no other option than to make
a do-it-yourself book cover?
Then, these five free self-publishing tools
for making your own book cover just may
help you when you're in a pinch.
Keep in mind, I wouldn't recommend making
your own book cover if you have no experience
in book cover design.
But, desperate times sometimes call
for desperate measures.
When you use these resources, I'd highly recommend
you draft up to three different versions of a book cover,
then share it with peers to see what option is
the most suitable.
Now, let's get to it.
One, Canva.
This free graphic design tool website has
a simple drag-and-drop interface and provides
access to over a million photographs,
graphics, and fonts.
The tools can be used for both web and print
media design and graphics.
Most notably, Canva is one of the most widely-used
among the DIY publishing community.
Sadly, Canva comes with a bit of a hurdle
in creating a unique cover that stands out
from the pack.
But, with a little time and patience,
you can create a beautiful cover for no money.
Canva has a premium feature for a small investment,
but I'm not sure this membership will unlock enough options
for your cover to be much better than with
the freemium membership.
Two, Adobe Spark.
This free online and mobile graphic design app
easily creates beautiful images, videos, and web pages.
Launched in mid-2016, Adobe Spark has a neat feature
in a book cover maker.
The workflow is much like Canva,
super-simple and user-friendly.
With Adobe Spark being relatively new to the game,
I'd imagine you're likely to stand out
from the Canva-created covers.
Three, DIY Book Covers.
Much like the other sites I've referred to
in this video, I have zero affiliation with
DIY Book Covers, even though I lean a lot on the
DIY publishing methodology.
With that disclaimer out of the way, I can still
heartily endorse this for the right resources
in making your own book cover.
In my video on the Top Ten YouTube Channels,
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I made mention of DIY Book Covers
Owner and Operator, Derek Murphy.
His site has a small barrier of entry,
and all that's needed is your email.
Once you sign up, you get instant access
to a downloadable ZIP file with scores
of ebook cover templates.
And, the best part is, you can easily alter
the book cover templates from,
of all things, Microsoft Word.
Yup, you got that right, you make book covers
with any document-creating software.
Inside the ZIP file, Derek included in-depth
manuals and tutorials.
Four, CreateSpace or KDP.
I know, this is a given, but not many people realize
how much better Amazon has refined their
online Cover Creator software.
Yes, quite a few people are using them.
Yes, the covers can be rudimentary.
However, I challenge you to sit down
and play around with their templates,
test out variations of fonts, colors,
stock pictures, or even upload your own images.
This option isn't as limiting as you'd think.
And, I can tell you I created a best-selling
paperback book with CreateSpace Cover Creator,
and it didn't take me more than a few minutes.
And, lastly, GIMP.
You may remember seeing GIMP in this video series
on how to make a CreateSpace book cover.
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For those of you that are cash-strapped
without many options, and the desire to learn
how to use a Photoshop alternative,
then GIMP is for you.
Unlike Photoshop, though, GIMP doesn't cost a dime.
GNU Image Manipulation Program, also known as GIMP,
is a freely-distributed program for photo retouching,
image composition, and image authoring.
GIMP has tons of functions, and I couldn't even
begin to tell you the possibilities
of you using this software.
Now, don't get too excited.
GIMP has a steep learning curve.
However, once you grasp the fundamentals,
it's smooth sailing for making your own book cover.
That's it for today.
Hey, if you enjoyed today's content, then share it
with at least one other person who's into
DIY publishing, too.
'Till later, this has been Self-Publishing with Dale,
and I'll see you guys soon.