Piper Nuelle

Self-Publishing is on the rise, times are changing and many more people are being creative, writing books and wanting to publish them. Unfortunately Traditional publishing houses are tightening their reigns, and are only taking books that seem safe, that will generate them money… and with all the cuts, cost of living crisis and the world in chaos with lack of jobs, income and stability, more and more people are turning to Self-Publishing to make their dreams come true, especially if that dream is to become an ‘Author’…

But… Self-Publishing comes with some difficulties, one being – You are in total creative control. Which in itself is not a bad thing, one of the reasons people choose Self-Publishing is so they can retain more creative control over their works… But that also means you need to source your own front cover one way or another.

Whilst scouring Facebook for marketing ideas I came across a post from a group where authors try to help and advise one another, and one question that came up was – How do people create their front covers for their books? What tools do you use?

And I thought what a great thing to look at and deep dive into. My cover for my upcoming book was painted by hand and then scanned onto a computer and then digitally enhanced to be more book perfect… But there are many other ways to create or gain a front cover for a book. So, I thought I would list them all down below for you. And just a quick disclaimer, if you buy a service from someone and they promise to create you a cover, make sure you protect yourself by checking them out, making sure they are legit and reputable, that they haven’t copied someone else’s work and they don’t over charge you… Although many of them are artists too, so don’t be scrimping either and being too cheap… Don’t get scammed but at the same time, don’t be tight and be the scammer.

• Paint it on canvas and then upload to PC and edit – Again which is what I done. You need to make sure you use vibrant colours that show up, and also use colours that represent your vibe, style, theme, genre and story.
• Take some items that are related to your story and take a photo, be creative, take it in the garden, at night, by the beach, near a river… Be creative and create a unique photo, then upload to your computer and edit.
• Use KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing’s) Cover Creator – When using a platform such as KDP to upload books and sell them, they include a service which is free where you can build and create your own cover. You will most likely need an image of sorts or a basic design to go with, but it’s fairly easy to use and you can change fonts and font colour to suit your theme, genre and style.
• Use Fivver – Fivver is a company online where you can hire people such as artists and or cover creators for as little as a £5 note, depending on their quality, experience, design and price. Again just be warned of scammers, but also, don’t be the scammer and demand things for free.
• Apps such as Canva or Photoshop – You can create your own covers using Photoshop and or Canva, may take some practice and getting used to, plus you usually have to pay for a subscription to use their software and services.
• Hire an artist or photographer to create a stunning picture for you. Just again be sure they are legit and are not copying others, and also make sure you pay them correctly for their time and work.
• AI – Some people now use AI (Artificial Intelligence) to create works of art, so why not front covers too! Only thing you need to remember is, you must declare when uploading your cover that it includes AI used tools, and also, that AI uses imagery it has seen and or collected on the web, and it could in theory accidentally copy someone else’s work. So just be careful.
• Hire an Illustrator – These are artists that are used to creating works of art for books. Usually come with a price but they also come with so much knowledge and experience.

There you have it, some ways in which people design, create and make their front covers for their books. It just depends on you and your book on which direction you desire to go in and also your time and your budget. There’s no point in contacting an artist that may take months to create a piece when your deadline is next week!!! But at the same time you want it to look professional and not rushed or cheap.

Hope this has helped you, let me know if it did.

Take care, xo Piper xo