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How important is the cover of
a DIY book?
Never underestimate the importance of a book cover. Nearly 200,000 new titles are
published each year, which provides readers with an outstanding selection, but leaves
authors with a highly-competitive market. Even if you can successfully write the
next literary legend, you still have to capture the reader's attention with a great
cover, or they are likely to pass it by without a second glance.
A great cover captures the attention of a book
buyer, but it also needs to do more; it must actually convince the reader to purchase
your book. Consumers often gauge the value of the book on its visual appeal, so
if it looks like a million bucks, they will be more willing to give up their hard-earned
cash to purchase it. A professional-looking cover is also necessary in marketing,
especially if you plan to promote your book or push to have it reviewed professionally.
First impressions and opinions of your book are formed instantly from the cover
and impact whether or not a reviewer, reader or consumer invests time or money in
your book.
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Can AuthorCrossing give me any advice about covers?
With the advent of desktop publishing and digital printing, the design of your cover
is only limited by the ability of the designer and the digital assets at hand, which
is why AuthorCrossing offers cover design services through Wordclay. Designers can create
a custom designed cover specifically for your book. Check out all the options through
our
Services Store.
When you're ready to
start brainstorming ideas about your cover, get started by doing some research.
Spend some time at a local bookstore. Record the elements of books that catch your
eye, as well as observing other customers. Identify the book's audience and genre – the cover should be designed to attract the people in your targeted audience.
The design should fall within the norm of the book's genre, but stand out enough
to draw attention and intrigue.
The main theme of the cover should incorporate
metaphors that interrelate and unfold as the story progresses, taking on new meaning
with each page. The cover's full meaning and value slowly becomes more apparent
as the story is revealed to the reader and is only fully appreciated when the last
page is turned.
Attaining equilibrium between simplicity of
theme and detail of the overall design is key. Unnecessary elements decrease the
overall efficiency and aesthetic appeal of a design. A simple design is often much
more affective than a design with a lot of details that ultimately make the cover
look "busy."
Color choices also make an impact. Consider
the psychological affects of certain hues. Warm colors, such as red, orange and
yellow, tend to be high-arousal colors that stimulate the senses, while cool colors,
such as blue, green and purple cause feelings of relaxation, calmness and tranquility.
The degree of saturation of a color, and the combination of colors also can convey
a specific ideas.
While the front cover is necessary to attract
the attention of the reader, the back cover is extremely important to supply more
details about the book and convince the reader to actually purchase the book. Most
people spend twice as long reviewing the back cover than they do looking at the
front cover. The back is a critical selling point for your book. AuthorCrossing offers
a
back cover text copywriting and
marketing content copyediting service to ensure your cover text is designed
to sell.
Overall, make sure that
your cover reflects the content of your book and expresses the style and mood of
the book. You don't have to tell the entire story on the front cover, you just need
to get a feeling or idea across in an appealing manner.
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What are the different cover design options available to
me through AuthorCrossing Self-Publishing?
There are three basic cover design options available: 1) Choose a solid color combination
2) Choose a stock-art design from a wide variety of genres and themes 3) Let one
of our professional cover designers create a customized cover for you. We offer a
wide variety of design alternatives to choose from in our Services Store using Wordclay's professional services.
Illustrators can even create custom artwork based on your ideas. For more information
about the cover design options we offer, visit our Services Store.
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What are the dimensions of the cover?
Download the cover dimension templates
for your particular book size.
Can I use an image on my cover that is a photo I did not
take, or an illustration I did not create?
You can use a personally supplied image by purchasing the Stock Art Cover service, and only if you have permission
to use it from the copyright holder. Any image that you found on the Internet, in
a book, magazine, newspaper or was taken by a professional photographer is most
likely copyright protected. Please see the FAQ selection about copyright laws or
visit www.copyright.gov.
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What are CMYK and RGB color schemes?
These are two different color schemes or modes that describe how colors are created.
RGB stands for red, green and blue. This category of color uses light to produce
color: the more illuminated light involved, the lighter the image. RGB produces
the widest range of color. RGB colors are typically used on computer monitors, digital
cameras and televisions – any device that uses light to produce an image.
CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
This category of color uses the combination of ink pigments to produce color. The
less ink used, the lighter the image; the more ink used, the darker the image. Printing
projects typically use the CMYK color category.
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If I design an image for the cover, should I design it in
RGB or CMYK color mode?
If you supply your own full or partical cover design through the Stock Art Cover service, set up your cover design in CMYK color mode, not RGB. Although we are able to convert
a cover file from RGB to CMYK, the colors will not look as close as they should
to the original file you submit. In order to have the best control over the end
product of your cover, use CMYK color mode because it is the mode used by our printer.
What should I know about the difference between CMYK and
RGB color modes?
The difference is important if you are designing your own cover and also should
be kept in mind when approving the cover proof.
There is a difference in the "gamut," of CMYK and RGB. The gamut, or range, is the specific complete subset of colors
within the entire color spectrum. Although large areas of the RGB and CMYK gamut
overlap, there are other areas that do not. For this reason, it is common to create
colors on a computer screen in RGB that cannot be reproduced when printed out in
CMYK, so the colors are lost in transition.
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If I design the cover, what resolution should it be?
The cover image should be 300 dpi (dots per inch) or higher at the size needed for
the cover. For instance, if the cover is 300 dpi at 3” x 4.5” for a
6” x 9” book, it is not high enough resolution. It needs to be 300 dpi
at the size of the template required for your book. If the resolution is lower than
this, the image will not appear as crisp and clear as it should, and will often
appear grainy or pixilated.
If I purchased the Stock Art Cover and an ISBN through AuthorCrossing, but plan to create my own cover design, will Wordclay's cover designers add the ISBN and barcode to the back, or do I have to do it?
Yes, if you purchase an ISBN through our Services Store, Wordclay's cover designers will add the ISBN and barcode to the back cover even when submitting your own cover image. If you submit
your own back cover image, leave the area free about two inches up from the bottom
of the cover where we will place the barcode. The area does not have to be actually
blank or white, but if there are important design elements, such as pictures or
text in that area, they could be covered by the barcode.
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How thick is the spine going to be?
The width of the spine will be determined by the number of pages in your book. We
will calculate and adjust the spine width for you. However, if you are concerned
that your self-designed cover would be affected by the spine width (such as
a wrap-around cover image), then you can download our
spine width chart in order to get an exact measurement.
Can there be text on the spine of the book?
If your book has 80 or more pages, then yes, there can be text on the spine of the
book. You can choose to add the title and author name to the spine. Any book less
than 80 pages will still have a spine, but there will be no text on it because the
spine is not thick enough to wrap the cover around the book evenly at the printer,
which would result in crooked text on the edge of the spine or falling onto the
front or back cover.
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What should I put on the front of my book?
Depending on the cover design option you choose, you have a variety of options.
If you choose from one of our templates, you can place the title of the book and
author name on the front cover, along with a front cover design. Before you decide
what design to have on the front cover, see our
FAQ about advice for covers. There are many things to consider that you
may not have realized.
If you choose to create
your own cover or a designer create the cover, you have a lot more
options about what can be included on the front cover regarding the layout and
design elements. For example, some authors place a short phrase or quote on the
front cover along with a pleasing design, the title and author name.
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What is usually on the back cover?
On the back cover, there is typically text that describes what your book is
about and piques the reader's interests to want to read more. Endorsements or quotes
from other readers, reviewers or notable people are also often placed on the back
cover. Just make sure that if you use a quote, you have permission in writing from
that person to use their quote. Keep the permission for your own records and legal
protection.
If you choose to design the cover yourself
or have one of our cover designers complete the cover for you, there are a lot more
options than the publishing wizard template allows. Many authors include an image, short author biography and/or picture of themselves along with
information about the book.
Can I print text or pictures inside the cover?
No, our printer does not allow any text or pictures printed inside the cover.
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Can people buy my book in hardcover?
No, at this time we are only offering paperback books.
What kind of paper is the cover?
The cover of the book is 100lb, offset, white enamel and laminated paper. It is
printed in full-color, CMYK color mode printing.
(Note: the term "laminated" does
not refer to a typical lamination you might find documents or menus encased in – it just means that it is glossy on the front side, but white paper on the inside.)
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Before I approve my cover, what do I need to review?
By approving your cover, you are verifying that the downloaded proof copy is exactly
as you wish for it to appear in the published version of your book. This includes
all aspects of the design, formatting and content for the cover, such as: the text
on the front, back and spine (including grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.); layout
and design; font style and size, illustrations, images and captions, paragraph spacing,
justification and indents; and title and pen name.
It is possible for some color variation to
occur from the version approved online, and the color can vary from print to print
due to the method of printing in individual print runs.
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What are the causes of color variation in printing the cover?
While it seems unsettling that we cannot guarantee
a 100 percent color match and color variation can occur, this is actually common place in the print world. There are a number of factors that influence how
a color appears from printer to printer and monitor to monitor. The image you see
on the screen will never look exactly the same as it does in print for a variety
of reasons, including the following:
1. Every monitor is different. The mechanics and
construction of monitors differs based on and brand. Also, there are adjustable
settings through which you can alter the color settings, brightness, and contrast
on your monitor. Both these factors play into the inconsistency of colors.
2. Colors displayed on a monitor appear differently
when they are printed. Monitors create color using light, while
a printer creates color using ink. Other factors also play a role, like the difference
in a monitor and printer’s mechanics and the range of colors it can accommodate.
3. Individual devices do not speak the same language.
A camera, scanner, monitor and printer all “talk” about color differently,
using different ink formulas and values. They do not necessary use the same values
or measures to record or describe a color.
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What should I consider regarding the color of my cover proof?
Do not completely rely on one source when viewing an image. Try a variety of printers
and screens to get an idea of the possible variations.
Our printer, Lightning Source Inc., prints
in CMYK color. Therefore it's best to print and view your images or cover in CMYK,
not RGB to get a better idea about what the finished version will look like. Extremely
bright reds, yellow or blues, will appear slightly more subdued because they are
not included in the CMYK gamut.
Additionally, since we use print-on-demand
technology, which enables any number of books to be printed at any time, covers
and images in the book can vary from book to book, print to print. A variety of
factors can affect the colors slightly, such as toner levels, variations in the
mechanics of the printing press that day, and variations in paper.
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