tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post7780727249883343054..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Cover Creator - by Susan PriceKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-46780308881484528392015-03-26T11:59:39.770+00:002015-03-26T11:59:39.770+00:00I'm afraid, Catherine, that for me the alterna...I'm afraid, Catherine, that for me the alternative would be to spend far more on the cover than I would receive from the book - even before any promotion, for which I also use Fiverr services. As it is, I barely break even. <br /><br />The designer I use has been on Fiverr for years. It must be working for her or else she'd just quit. There's no shortage of work for talented designers. And maybe she already has another job, same as I do? Maybe it's just extra pocket money doing something she enjoys.<br /><br />I work for free. There, I've said it. As a writer, I work for free. I don't want to, but I still do it.Nick Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08191176209084540085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-42415362718230579622015-03-25T19:33:35.514+00:002015-03-25T19:33:35.514+00:00I have already posted a link to this on our How-To...I have already posted a link to this on our How-To page.<br />Kath - Amazon gives lots of advice on CreateSpace, and I assume the size of photo will vary with the size you choose to make your book. But for the 6" x 9" book, they say that your image must be:<br /><br />5.75" x 5.75" and with a resolution of 300 DPL.<br /><br />Any text must be at least 0.5" from the outer edge - which gave me a whole load of aggro with my last book, Hauntings. I finally had to nag my brother to remove the title from the image altogether.<br /><br />In going to the site to find this out, I discovered that I've just sold 6 copies of The Wolf's Footprint in one go. Which is nice. I love CreateSpace. It has really made a difference to my indie income.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-501392936356590682015-03-25T18:51:14.021+00:002015-03-25T18:51:14.021+00:00Yeah. Went to the site and saw it. Covers for 5 do...Yeah. Went to the site and saw it. Covers for 5 dollars a piece. We'll have to agree to differ on this one. There are writing sites with deluded souls offering the same kind of thing. Please let me edit your 75,000 word novel for $50. And they do the professionals no favours at all. I doubt very much if any of them are making any kind of decent income any more than all the writers who view being published without payment as some kind of 'prize' because of the 'promotion'. This person, ranting about Fiverr, nails it for me. I think she's absolutely right. http://www.standup8times.com/2013/09/a-rant-on-fiverr/Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-8105208773610632972015-03-25T17:22:00.042+00:002015-03-25T17:22:00.042+00:00Thank you for a brilliant tutorial! I am tempted t...Thank you for a brilliant tutorial! I am tempted to try Createspace now... can I ask what size/resolution your images need to be for a decent paperback cover?<br />Katherine Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-91004697506090184432015-03-25T16:37:01.825+00:002015-03-25T16:37:01.825+00:00I'm going to shock you, Catherine: all my eboo...I'm going to shock you, Catherine: all my ebook covers cost me about $20 each, or roughly £15 a pop. <br /><br />Exploitation? I don't feel like an exploiter. These designers were advertising their service on a site, they named the price and the terms, and were clearly churning out dozens of these things a week. They've worked out a way to pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap, and make a decent income. I bet you they earn ten times as much from doing ebook covers as I earn from doing ebooks.Nick Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08191176209084540085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-79415477035398868162015-03-25T14:09:59.608+00:002015-03-25T14:09:59.608+00:00very useful and interesting Susan, I shall be tryi...very useful and interesting Susan, I shall be trying createspace some time in the future. I hope this is going in our how-to section!Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-67793144464626627742015-03-25T12:51:46.030+00:002015-03-25T12:51:46.030+00:00Oh yes - no problem with exploiting relatives! Or ...Oh yes - no problem with exploiting relatives! Or using your own photographs which is another option. I've done that a few times. <br />Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-73600775616023717002015-03-25T12:47:16.026+00:002015-03-25T12:47:16.026+00:00Dennis, thank you - but I think you exaggerate!
Ca...Dennis, thank you - but I think you exaggerate!<br />Catherine, I agree about exploiting the work of others - but although my earnings from Amazon have grown, slowly, year by year, I'd still couldn't afford to pay £200-£300 per book. I have 11 e-books on Amazon - that would mean nearly £3000 spent on covers. Which is why I exploit my siblings.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-85972228030955614542015-03-25T11:05:37.075+00:002015-03-25T11:05:37.075+00:00When I get over my inbuilt technofear I shall sip ...When I get over my inbuilt technofear I shall sip one toe in the forbidding Createspace water. I note what you say about page numbering. I was going to ask you why Ghost Drum doesn't have numbered pages in the main body of the book. However, I notice that Chris, in Crime Fiction and the Indie Contribution, does, with prelims left unnumbered. We must ask her how she does it. But thanks so much for this. I was worried about turning good ebook covers into wrap-round p/b covers alone and unaided. This is one of the most useful and comprehensive posts there's ever been on AE! So thanks.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-53315609031672212662015-03-25T11:01:47.273+00:002015-03-25T11:01:47.273+00:00I've been married to a woodcarver/artist for 3...I've been married to a woodcarver/artist for 30 years and I'm not sure that I approve of hiring people to make covers for 'very low fees' any more than I approve of people expecting writers to write for next to nothing or nothing. Mind you - it depends what you mean by 'low'. £200 - £300 is the going 'low but fair' rate for an eBook cover and that shouldn't break the bank. The artist retains copyright in the image. Anything less than that seems like exploitation to me and I won't do it as a matter of principle (unless I'm exploiting my husband and he doesn't mind!) I do feel quite strongly that if we're fighting for the rights of writers, we should also be acknowledging the rights of artists to earn a living. Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-63905105800612491672015-03-25T09:50:38.327+00:002015-03-25T09:50:38.327+00:00The design of covers has never been a problem for ...The design of covers has never been a problem for me - I'm no designer, but I've used Fiverr.com to hire people to make decent covers for very low fees. <br /><br />The kicker is getting decent artwork, for which you either need a talented friend or sibling, or a large budget. Or as Emma originally said, you end up paying more for one picture than you ever make from the book.<br /><br />That's because drawing is much harder than writing. Obviously.Nick Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08191176209084540085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-91799831528228608722015-03-25T09:41:30.946+00:002015-03-25T09:41:30.946+00:00Many thanks for this. Am about to embark on the Cr...Many thanks for this. Am about to embark on the Create Space adventure so it's incredibly helpful. I've tried using KDP's own cover creator but didn't much like the results. However, somewhere online I found a way of using plain old Powerpoint to make an eBook cover and I've used that for some of the little collections of short stories - particularly Your Own Skipper, with one of my husband's paintings - with some success. It's incredibly easy and you can play about with size and text effects. Although it certainly isn't as good as the results you get from working with a digital artist. But it does allow you to get stuff out there looking reasonably professional. I'll certainly give the Create Space method a try though. Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.com