Free book cover design programs

This is not a new unreliable program, the first version appeared 13 years ago. You can assemble and refine books, magazines, posters, and any typographical item. It is friendly to unexperienced users and yet allows achieving quite professional-looking results. It even supports working with scripts and has several pre-made ones. Even introducing your own things, like fonts, is possible. Verdict: This book cover creator software can set you off with a perfectly balanced default layout.

If you are following particular branding, however, all the components can be tweaked to match it. The same goes for special creative visions that you will be able to bring to life. With the immense library of stock photos created by professionals, you can represent any idea on the cover. This program is particularly helpful for several specialists working on the same project because everything is stored in the cloud and users can access the content with different permissions.

This can also be convenient for those, who switch devices often. Adobe InDesign — Our Choice. Intuitive palette and styles Amazing typography features Platform-optimized page layouts Handy extensions Remarkable customer support High price It is impossible to open multiple projects simultaneously.

Streamlined interface Ready-made book templates Supports a range of formats A version for mobile devices Advanced options are paid. Affinity Publisher. Adobe FrameMaker. Quick content transfer from Word Smooth work with long documents Creating engaging content using rich media Creates TOC and indexes across the whole book Effortless formatting of multiple paragraphs Not in the budgetary group. Blurb BookWright. Templates can be edited Plug-in support Unique ISBNs for every book version at no cost Super easy alignment process Inconsistent color management feature.

Shutterstock Editor. Gradient by PosterMyWall 3 new design guides updates for a seamless design experience Make your designs look more professional and eye-catching with these brand new updates to our design guides. Martin Luther King Day: 7 educational activities for students Explore the legacy and celebrate Martin Luther King Day through these book recommendations and educational activities on black history month.

All Rights Reserved. Allow us to place cookies on your browser to customize your experience based on your interests? Manage Cookies. Google Analytics. Still, there's no such thing as a free lunch — and with GIMP, what you'll end up spending on it is your time. That said, any Photoshop-type software will have a learning curve that requires dedication! Once you do get a grasp of GIMP, you can design more freely than with template-based book cover design software.

However, unlike the basic web apps, it doesn't come with built-in image assets to choose from. You'll have to find your own — but then again, that can be part of the fun. Pro tip: To learn more about typography and book design, check out our monthly Cover Critiques on Reedsy Live.

To find out which book cover software is specifically right for you , we recommend taking this second quiz:. The power and flexibility it offers is hard to beat, and you cannot top the price — or lack thereof. You could even combine a few, choosing different tools to help you at each step of the process.

Whichever you chose, be sure to check out our comprehensive guide to book cover design before you get started. Remember, the best covers are marketing tools as well as works of art — so be sure to invest your time and money wisely! I've used Canva for covers for a few short stories I've posted on Wattpad, but my book got a professionally designed cover. I approached an artist I found on DeviantArt and inquired about a cover.

It wasn't something he normally did, and didn't have a set price so he asked what I could afford. I made an offer, he accepted.

It was a win-win. He said he really enjoyed the project, and I got a beautiful, unique cover. Yup, you can't beat a professionally designed cover! If you're looking to take the next step, check out the designers on Reedsy: they've got years of experience in the actual publishing field and are locked-in on what will sell a book. Okay, plug over ;-. GIMP is fantastic software. And the fact that it's free? Sorta mind-boggling. Yes, there's a learning curve, which is annoying, but once you're past that you'll see how cool and useful it is.

Definitely worth trying. For the more drawing inclined, there's Inkscape -- think cell-shading, cartoon, graphic covers. Granted, it's a bit more complex than Canva but it's free and very flexible. It just needs to be memorable and recognizable as your author brand. You can achieve that with any of these programs; and many times, you can just duplicate the cover you made and swap out the art and title for the next-in-series. The next issue to keep in mind is that of the infamous stock photo.

A few of the programs above include integrated access to stock photos, both free and paid. The last thing you want when launching a book is to get it ripped down and have to spend your marketing budget on legal fees! Essentially, be smart: plan for the worst, hope for the best.

If you want more in-depth discussions on stock photos, be sure to check out the Legal Guide to Stock Photos. When it comes to making sales, your cover is one of the most important parts of your book. Choosing to design your own book cover is a big decision, but it can save you a lot of cash and also enable you to find the perfect fit for your story. While many authors and designers use big-name programs, you can get all the same features with free programs.

As long as you have a good grasp on what your book needs and a few members of the author community willing to give you honest feedback, going DIY is a fantastic option! Have another program you think should be on this list? Let us know in the comments, so we can check it out for ourselves.

Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. Book launches can be overwhelming. There can be so much to coordinate from your ARC team to marketing to getting reviews.

Over the years my book covers have evolved as my design skills have become more adept. I agree, many authors should steer clear of making their own covers, but for those like me who find it fun and if a fairly simple composition suits your genre , it can be one of the most rewarding parts of the publishing process! I wondering. If I publish my bools on Amazon or use a agator site, how much does the avarage author make without useing a email list?

This is probably a question for a marketing post, but I know the average is much less when compared to the average indie author who does have an email list. Unless you have a huge marketing budget right off the bat—like traditional authors—It is not going to be easy. Email lists are a way for you to always have access to your fans. Even if you have a ton of fans on social media or book sites, when those programs inevitably go under or lose popularity, you lose access to those fans.

I did not pursue my email list for a long time, but when I finally started actively marketing my email sign-up and reader magnet my sales doubled, then tripled. I use GIMP 2. There is definitely a learning curve to it and I have spent a lot of time searching the net for tutorials on how to do certain things like text manipulation.

It is definitely not as simple as clicking on preset definitions, however, I enjoy the challenge. Great article! But it is pretty satisfying when you get it to do what you want!