How I Created An Ebook Cover From Scratch
I am not a published or self-published author; but I am well aware of the hassles associated with creating a good book cover.
I opened my account on Wattpad around 4 years ago, but started uploading stories this year. I had no idea that I was supposed to upload a cover to go with my story. At first, I did not want to go through all the trouble, but then soon I realized that creating a good book cover can actually gain you some readers.
I started looking for free photos on the web for my first short story, and found one on a website. I did the same with the second cover as well. The process was definitely not easy. I had to look up for hours and had to determine whether the photos I had found would actually be consistent with the theme of my story. Then checking license and rights and the likes would take another hour or so. I could actually write a whole short story in that time.
I know plenty of people who prefer custom-made covers for their books, usually created by professional designers. But here, in my country, $1 = BDT 75, and by no means I want to spend that much for a cover of a story I am putting on Wattpad for reviews.
For the cover of my third story (which I did for a challenge and actually wrote 11k words within 24 hours!) I decided to do the same. But after looking up on multiple websites, I decided that I would go and make my own cover.
I had the theme and idea of the cover quite clear in my mind, and it helped me a lot. I am mentioning the process here so that you can get inspired and can make your own cover if you want.
[Pardon the dark photos. The day was cloudy and the indoor lighting did not help much]
My short story contains plenty of letters, and so envelopes were a must. I grabbed some A4 paper, color pencils, a regular pencil and a paper glue.
I needed plenty of envelopes to show that a series of letters were included in the story. But I honestly did not have that much time to create so many envelopes. Moreover, they needed to be of different colors. I did not have colored paper at hand too, so I decided to use my color pencils to color the papers.
But then again, I did not have so much time to color entire papers. So I came up with the following technique.
I cut one A4 paper into four pieces, and then folded each of them neatly to look like envelopes.
Then, I took another A4 paper, cut it in two, and then took one half to actually create an envelope. This envelope is supposed to have a small heart sticker as a seal, so I drew the small heart on another scrap piece of paper, and then cut it out. I used glue to stick it to the flap.
Then comes the part where I create the other colored-envelopes. I took the four pieces of papers and stacked them the way I wanted them to look on the cover. Then I drew lines to mark their edges, like so:
I hope you can see the lines ^
Then I colored the edges of these pages, staying close to this line. I did not need to color the entire page because it would not show on the photo. After coloring, I stacked them up to check if any white corner was showing or any color needed touch-up.
To save time and have a better grip on the color envelopes, I stapled them together, because I was not planning to use them elsewhere.
That was all about the envelopes. Now, since there are envelopes (therefore letters), there should be a pen or a pencil with it. I chose a pencil.
I want to include a little story here. During exams (or classes), when I need to sharpen my pencil, I usually dump broken leads and remains into my pencil bag rather than spreading them all over the floor. I come home and then throw them away in the trash.
I had some pencil waste and leads inside that bag, and I decided to use them to fill in the empty spaces of the image. It was totally coincidental, and for once in my life, I was grateful to this habit of mine.
The initial idea was to include a broken pencil nib right after the title 'Dear Tara'. But I got creative along the way.
I wrote the words 'Dear Tara' with the pencil, but figured that it seemed too light. I tried to darken it a bit, but it was still lighter than I would prefer.
You can see the spare leads and remains here ^
Next, I took all these things and went beside my window. The sky was very cloudy and so I did not have enough light to work with. But the photos turned out okay.
As initially planned, I broke the lead of the pencil and angled it as if to show that the lead broke while writing.
I took a few shots (I only have a simple 13MP camera on my phone, nothing fancy) and then figured that the writing was still not showing properly. I was thinking of keeping the handwritten words as the title, but then dismissed the idea. I shot a few without the handwritten words. I was fairly satisfied with the second set of photos.
Next comes editing. I always use Aviary (Android app) to edit my photo no matter what. If you have other paid apps on your phone then you can use them as well. I believe they offer you a wide number of filters if the app is paid. You can also use professional editing software if you are working with sophisticated tools. Anyway.
To place the title and your name, you can use either Photoshop or Illustrator or any other application that suits you. If you plan to use your phone, you can give Phonto a try, but I think it will ruin the resolution of your photo (happened to one of my photos once). You can also Google other online services, but it's better to not go for them because you have to pay to avail most of their useful features.
So, after I was done, this is what it looked like.
Pardon the watermark, but they are there for obvious reasons.
I am glad that it turned out well. Of course I am not a professional and I bet that this photo has hundreds of flaws, but it's still mine and mine alone.
If your book does not require humans to be portrayed on the cover, you can use regular stuff and a little creativity to create covers as such. Give it a try, and if you fail, you can seek other alternatives. :)
Thanks for reading!
P.S. I do not take requests for making covers. Sorry.
Note: I plan to start uploading the story on my Wattpad very soon (sorry but I cannot mention a specific date). You can keep an eye on this page or my Wattpad account.
There is also an interesting story of how I started writing this story. You can check it here.
I opened my account on Wattpad around 4 years ago, but started uploading stories this year. I had no idea that I was supposed to upload a cover to go with my story. At first, I did not want to go through all the trouble, but then soon I realized that creating a good book cover can actually gain you some readers.
I started looking for free photos on the web for my first short story, and found one on a website. I did the same with the second cover as well. The process was definitely not easy. I had to look up for hours and had to determine whether the photos I had found would actually be consistent with the theme of my story. Then checking license and rights and the likes would take another hour or so. I could actually write a whole short story in that time.
I know plenty of people who prefer custom-made covers for their books, usually created by professional designers. But here, in my country, $1 = BDT 75, and by no means I want to spend that much for a cover of a story I am putting on Wattpad for reviews.
For the cover of my third story (which I did for a challenge and actually wrote 11k words within 24 hours!) I decided to do the same. But after looking up on multiple websites, I decided that I would go and make my own cover.
I had the theme and idea of the cover quite clear in my mind, and it helped me a lot. I am mentioning the process here so that you can get inspired and can make your own cover if you want.
[Pardon the dark photos. The day was cloudy and the indoor lighting did not help much]
My short story contains plenty of letters, and so envelopes were a must. I grabbed some A4 paper, color pencils, a regular pencil and a paper glue.
I needed plenty of envelopes to show that a series of letters were included in the story. But I honestly did not have that much time to create so many envelopes. Moreover, they needed to be of different colors. I did not have colored paper at hand too, so I decided to use my color pencils to color the papers.
But then again, I did not have so much time to color entire papers. So I came up with the following technique.
I cut one A4 paper into four pieces, and then folded each of them neatly to look like envelopes.
Then, I took another A4 paper, cut it in two, and then took one half to actually create an envelope. This envelope is supposed to have a small heart sticker as a seal, so I drew the small heart on another scrap piece of paper, and then cut it out. I used glue to stick it to the flap.
Then comes the part where I create the other colored-envelopes. I took the four pieces of papers and stacked them the way I wanted them to look on the cover. Then I drew lines to mark their edges, like so:
I hope you can see the lines ^
Then I colored the edges of these pages, staying close to this line. I did not need to color the entire page because it would not show on the photo. After coloring, I stacked them up to check if any white corner was showing or any color needed touch-up.
To save time and have a better grip on the color envelopes, I stapled them together, because I was not planning to use them elsewhere.
That was all about the envelopes. Now, since there are envelopes (therefore letters), there should be a pen or a pencil with it. I chose a pencil.
I want to include a little story here. During exams (or classes), when I need to sharpen my pencil, I usually dump broken leads and remains into my pencil bag rather than spreading them all over the floor. I come home and then throw them away in the trash.
I had some pencil waste and leads inside that bag, and I decided to use them to fill in the empty spaces of the image. It was totally coincidental, and for once in my life, I was grateful to this habit of mine.
The initial idea was to include a broken pencil nib right after the title 'Dear Tara'. But I got creative along the way.
I wrote the words 'Dear Tara' with the pencil, but figured that it seemed too light. I tried to darken it a bit, but it was still lighter than I would prefer.
Next, I took all these things and went beside my window. The sky was very cloudy and so I did not have enough light to work with. But the photos turned out okay.
As initially planned, I broke the lead of the pencil and angled it as if to show that the lead broke while writing.
I took a few shots (I only have a simple 13MP camera on my phone, nothing fancy) and then figured that the writing was still not showing properly. I was thinking of keeping the handwritten words as the title, but then dismissed the idea. I shot a few without the handwritten words. I was fairly satisfied with the second set of photos.
Next comes editing. I always use Aviary (Android app) to edit my photo no matter what. If you have other paid apps on your phone then you can use them as well. I believe they offer you a wide number of filters if the app is paid. You can also use professional editing software if you are working with sophisticated tools. Anyway.
To place the title and your name, you can use either Photoshop or Illustrator or any other application that suits you. If you plan to use your phone, you can give Phonto a try, but I think it will ruin the resolution of your photo (happened to one of my photos once). You can also Google other online services, but it's better to not go for them because you have to pay to avail most of their useful features.
So, after I was done, this is what it looked like.
 |
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I am glad that it turned out well. Of course I am not a professional and I bet that this photo has hundreds of flaws, but it's still mine and mine alone.
If your book does not require humans to be portrayed on the cover, you can use regular stuff and a little creativity to create covers as such. Give it a try, and if you fail, you can seek other alternatives. :)
Thanks for reading!
P.S. I do not take requests for making covers. Sorry.
Note: I plan to start uploading the story on my Wattpad very soon (sorry but I cannot mention a specific date). You can keep an eye on this page or my Wattpad account.
There is also an interesting story of how I started writing this story. You can check it here.
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