Help! I need an ebook cover
Ebook covers and the way in which ebook distributors use them are a regular source of confusion for authors.
When you have your manuscript converted, you’ll need an ebook cover. This is an embedded image in the actual ebook file. A copy of the ebook cover image is later uploaded to the distributor Web sites when you publish your ebook file. Each of these file types has its own restrictions, but both serve key purposes.
Why do I need an ebook cover?
You might be asking why you need an ebook cover. After all, ebooks don’t actually have covers. They are digital files and are experienced much more like a Web site than like a book for most end users. It’s those end users, your readers, who are the reason we continue this tradition.
All marketing goals aside, your book cover serves to another purpose. Readers expect books to have covers. The marketing tropes and artistic expressions that have become a tradition in the reading experience are still valuable to readers. Further, a slick cover lends professional credence to your work, telling readers the book itself was worthy of an excellent cover.
Do I need professional ebook cover design?
Obviously, the answer to this question varies based on one’s visual arts or graphic design experience. A professional ebook cover serves a few purposes in the quest for your book’s success.
On the one hand, it baits the hook. A professional cover catches a reader’s eye when they’re browsing both an ebook distributor’s Web site and their own ereader’s library. As readers keep their books with them, a good, eye-catching cover makes your book stand out in a potentially infinite library or marketplace.
On the other, a professional ebook cover design serves as a marketing device. The image can become as iconic as the weeping eyes over Egg Harbor on certain editions of THE GREAT GATSBY in the mind of a reader. Your cover is the first impression on a reader, and this makes a professional appearance all the more important.
What are the required ebook cover size specs?
All ebook distributors and each medium has specific limitations and minimums when it comes to image dimensions, dpi, and file size. They vary by medium—ePub or Mobi—and they vary by platform, whether embedded in the ebook itself or for use on the Web as a product image.
As of the writing of this post:
In the end, a cover at 1400 pixels on its shortest side and rectangular at 72 dpi fits snugly within these minimums. We suggest that you use a professionally designed ebook cover, and when you provide 52 Novels with your higher resolution product image, we’ll adjust it to the requirements of each ebook type.
Can you recommend some ebook cover designers?
Absolutely! Over the last few years we’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the most talented ebook cover designers on the planet. We highly recommend the work of the following:
