Creating eBook Covers: Research Genre

You could pay someone to research the genre you wish to study but why when it is so easy to do yourself?

Process

1] Work out your genre and subgenre.

Eg: Mine are mostly Science Fiction, Adventure

2] Search Amazon Kindle for books in your genre and subgenre.

Creating eBook Covers: Software

Software to Create Images and Covers

The image needs to be saved as a Jpeg, therefore it is easier to work in a program that can save as jpeg files.

• Microsoft Paint
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Adobe Photoshop Elements
• Adobe Photoshop
• GIMP (freeware)

There are many other programs, but you will already have Paint if your operating system is Windows.

Creating eBook Covers: Basics

Basics of Creating Book Covers

Reason for covers

• Attract attention of reader.  How? Colour, image, or “mood” of the cover.

• Visually display genre. Why? Make it easy for readers of a particular genre to select my novel from all the other novels.

• Visually display author name and title for readers Why? If the reader is a true fan they will purchase everything written by their favourite authors, no matter which genre.

Creating eBook Covers: Introduction

Introduction

I have never, in my entire life, purchased a book based on the colour, image or text font size displayed on the cover, and I do not intend to start now. So I wondered how I could continue to create covers for my ebooks when most authors don’t think like me.

Completed my 2011 To Do List

I am now taking stock of what I achieved this year.

My novels, novella, novelettes and short story are available on both Smashwords and Kindle Direct. That in itself is a achievement. I can now say I understand how to format into HTML, compile to MOBI files and upload to Kindle Direct, after formatting the word document for Smashwords.

Galaxy Freight Series

I completed and uploaded the first two novelettes in a new series, called Galaxy Freight.

Captain Alana Black owns a freighting company called Galaxy Freight and pilots her space ship between earth and colonized planets at the edge of settled space.

She has an android to help called Sam, and an artificial intelligence program called Ship.

My Cosy Mystery is Published

I had a busy few week, editing drafts, creating covers, planning new stories, and finishing current stories, all in a new series I am calling Galaxy Freight.

The stories are science fiction novelettes, all based on a female, Captain Alana Black, owner of the Galaxy Freight company, flying a spaceship around the outer fringes of human colonisation, light years from Earth.

Thank you, Anne McCaffrey.

There is a numb spot in my heart where Anne McCaffrey used to reside.

No doubt like many others around the world, I fell in love with the characters in every book she wrote, even the romance stories.

Tweeting Troubles Solved

Like a lot of the #htts group, I have tried to use twitter, but, unfortunately, I did not understand most of the comments.

Tax Time Again

I hate doing tax for many reasons. No doubt, there are many better tax systems around the world, but in Australia, our tax system stinks.

Firstly, I do not like part of the money I earned during the past year going to a wasteful government, but I have no control over how they spend the tax they collect from me and all the other citizens.