Book-Building Tool: Book Cover Overview

To begin building your cover, click the “Cover” tab at the top left-hand side of the screen.
The first step is to choose a layout from the number of different layout options. Once you have
chosen the layout you would like to use, click “Select” and “Save.”

OVERVIEW OF THE COVER BUILDER

• On the left-hand side of the builder, you will find the navigational area. Here, you can:
  • Change your cover layout
  • Add images to your cover
  • Select each individual part of your cover for editing
• The icon toolbar gives you many different editing options and will expand and contract to
  show you all of the possible edit options available to you for each part of your cover.
• When looking at your cover layout, you’ll notice the red outlines surrounding the cover.
  These represent the text safety and bleed safety areas. These can be turned off using the
  corresponding icons in the toolbar. We encourage you to build your cover with the text and safety
  bleed options turned on to avoid placing any text or design elements in either of the red areas, and you will want to extend any full cover pictures or design elements that should go all the way to the edge of your cover and bleed off to the edge of the bleed area of your cover.
• Note the Barcode area. This white box allows you to see where your barcode will be placed on
  your finished cover. Do not alter this box, as any elements you place here would be printed over by
  the barcode.

Before you begin building your cover you will need to click the “Page Count” Refresh button at the
top of the screen. This ensures that the spine width of your cover matches the page count of your
book.

EDITING YOUR COVER

To edit any section of your cover, simply click the name of the section in the left-hand navigation.
This will highlight that element on your cover. To edit that element, simply click into the text box.

• You can change the size, color, and style of your font on any part of your cover.
• To replace your text, simply highlight the text you want to replace and begin typing. 
• Make sure to replace or turn off any placeholder text on your back cover. To replace your text,
  simply highlight the text you want to replace and begin typing.
• To change the size of your font, you can click the “Font Size” button in the toolbar and move
  the slider. You can do this for individual words or for the entire text box. If you want to change
  the size of all of the text in a textbox, it’s even easier for you to use the text box edit tools that
  appear when clicking on the entire text box.
• You can alter the width, length, and size of your text box in any direction.
• In addition to images and text, you can also add shapes, change the space between the letters
  of your words, and even change the opacity of your text or images.
• The default elements under each book section have an Eye icon next to them. This allows you
  to hide that element if you choose to do so. You can easily bring it back by clicking the Eye icon
  again.
• To the left of each of the cover elements, you will see three dots. These provide you with
  options to bring your selection to the front, bring it forward, send it backward, or send the
  selection to the back, causing any other items in the same space to appear on top of it.
  Beside each section heading (“Back Cover,” “Spine,” “Front Cover”) you will also find the same
  three dots, this time on the right-hand side. These section options allow you to change the
  background color of that section or clear an image you have previously inserted.

ADDING IMAGES

You can easily insert an image into any part of your cover by clicking the “Add Image” button.
Inside the Image Gallery, you will find all of the images you have previously uploaded and can add
additional images to your Image Gallery.
To insert an image:

• Select or upload an image that is 5MB or less
• Select how you want to use the image. Your image can be uploaded as either a background
  image that will cover an entire section or as an inset image that will only appear as part
  of your cover. Please note: it is best to insert a background image as the last step in your cover
  creation, as it can override the appearance of your spine text and safety area boxes.
• Use the drop-down menu to determine which section of your cover to place the image on.

You can now drag and resize the image as you like.

DESIGNING YOUR BOOK'S SPINE

Spine text is only available for hardback books or paperback books over 48 pages. You will have
an “Author Name” area and a “Title” area under the “Spine” section elements. You can:

• Stretch the text box of each area to make them larger
• Change the text color in each area by clicking on the text box or selecting it in the left-hand
  navigation area and select the “Text Color” icon.
  • The “Color Palette” area will show you all of the colors you have previously selected. If you
    have not yet selected a color, click the empty box.
  • You can choose from a wide array of colors by using the color wheel.
  • Find the color you would like using the horizontal bar and then click in the box at the top
    to select a shade of that color.
  • You can then use the opacity bar to adjust the opacity of the color.
  • The circle gives you a preview of the color and opacity settings you have chosen.
  • Selecting “Add Color,” adds this color so it is available to select on other text boxes or
    shapes.

Always “Save” while working on your book cover by clicking the red “Save” icon at the top of the
toolbar to save your progress. This ensures you can come back later if you build your book cover
over time instead of all at once. Clicking “Save” also prepares your cover for the “Finished Building” process which is discussed in our Finished Building Video and Help Document.