To get started, you must have a CreateSpace account. After you have entered your title, upload its physical properties and other details. You can save your progress at varying stages. Now comes the fun part. Launch Cover Creator and you'll see a total 30 design templates like these:
Each template has a fixed position for the title, author name, back blurb, barcode and ISBN. Also, you cannot change the typeface within the template, only its color. With some, you have the option to include an author photo. The book's spine is automatically generated based on the calculation of your total number of pages. Feel free to try different templates. You are not locked into any design until you submit your entire manuscript and cover art to CreateSpace. After you've selected a design, the list of variables you can edit appears in the left navigation pane, including the title, author(s), front cover image, about the author, back cover text, and author photo and bio. You can even add a publisher logo or change the background color. CreateSpace has a library of images you can use, or you can upload your own. Specifications are provided for the size and resolution of your own photos.
Redux: let's try this again. I played around with a few of the templates in Cover Creator and found the designs tasteful and easy to produce. Here are a few samples, in which I've highlighted the frames so you can see the placement of the text along the spine and front cover:
Changing designs was as simple as the click of a button, preserving the text I had already uploaded, while allowing me to swap images. I've been a Create Space client for nearly seven months and I continue to be impressed with how they have simplified the upload process, including the new Cover Creator feature.
What are you waiting for? Go to CreateSpace now and give Cover Creator a try.
7 comments:
I agree. This is a neat feature. If my husband wasn't a computer graphics artist, I'd probably try it out. ;D
You are so lucky to have someone with those talents. I know it wouldn't be for me, but there are quite a few writers I know who are also great at design.
Wow! I completely adore the third mock up you did of the cover! I think I will need to try this.
Thanks Lisa. I have no graphics ability and was able to put together my cover via CreateSpace in just a few minutes. The book, THREE HUNDRED ZEROES, was a finalist in the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Contest, I think that speaks for itself. It has attracted lots of Amazon.com readers. You can't judge a book by it's cover, but the cover certainly helps.
Very nice, I think I like the third cover the best. I have used Createspace cover creator, and I have made my own and paid a designer to make a few. I will have to say that CS is the easiest, but I use so many covers in my work that I have to have a variety of resources.
Dr Robert E McGinnis author for over thirty years
Thanks for stopping by the blog. Dennis, I like your cover for Three Hundred Zeroes. I think CS has really changed the way in which DIYers work and knowing that we can produce a quality book and attract readers like you have, is just one more reason to ignore the naysayers.
Thanks, Dr. McGinnis. I love your book book covers, especially for Paradise is Where Your Find It. I love my cover artist's work but it's good to know there are viable solutions for every budget.
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