How to Design an E-Book Cover (For Self Published Authors)

If you're like me, a broke ass-kid with a love for writing and Kindle, then you have probably chosen to self-publish your book through Amazon's KDP program.  One of the few disadvantages of self-publishing is the responsibility for having your own cover designed, so I'm posting this article today on how to have a professional looking cover made for free.

The two most important things when it comes to selling your ebook are 1. Getting people to your book and 2. Using an attractive cover to turn browsers into readers.  If you're like me and have no talent whatsoever in drawing or design, than you probably have the initial thought of going on deviantART, making a forum post that you are an author in need of a well-designed cover, and spending a few hundred dollars commissioning one.  What's that, you also share the striking similarity to me that you are cheap and/or broke?  If that's the case, than you are going to have to put together your own cover.

I can not tell you how many times I've been searching for a good read and I find a book with a cover that I, a thirteen year-old non-professional, could throw together in Photoshop in about three minutes.  I will often click on these just to check their sales ranks, and they are always horribly low.  Moral of the story: If you are not a Photoshop natural, realize that and don't try to convince yourself that you are.  It will hurt you in the long run.

The secret to a professional looking cover is using creative commons or public domain photos already on the internet.  I am a category bestseller, and I didn't pay a cent on any of my book covers.  The cover for "Edward" I found in Wikimedia commons.  The covers used for the Black Lord's Trilogy were based off of a picture called "glory" that I found on flickr and then later tweaked with in Photoshop.

You can find some really great CC pictures out there and are legally allowed to use them commercially provided that you give credit to the original creator of the picture. (snake3yes in the case of my image)  You can usually find even more proffessional looking pictures on websites like ShutterStock which are available for five dollars or less.  So before you go out and dump your money on a cover, consider these alternatives.