A Cover for Your First Self-Published Book
Go from a manuscript and no designer to a cover direction you can test, size and upload without an agency retainer.
Start with the shelf, not the artwork
Spend ten minutes in the store category your book will sit in. Save three covers that promise the same reading experience. Your cover has to say the same thing in the same dialect before it can look different; that genre signal is what makes a browser stop.
Generate three directions before you spend money
Use the free preview one direction at a time: generate, note what does not read at thumbnail size, change one variable, and regenerate. A first cover usually fails because the type is too small or the subject is unclear when reduced, not because the illustration is bad.
Size the file before you fall in love
Decide the trim early. If you plan a paperback, run the calculator with your page count and paper so you know the spine and wrap before commissioning any final work. A direction you cannot size is not a cover yet.
KDP cover size — Before the artwork is final, check the KDP cover size for your trim — a direction you cannot size is not a cover yet.