Lean Publishing Tip of the Day: Creating a Book Cover Image

Creating a great cover for your book is basically the most important marketing work you’ll do as a self-published author.

Everywhere people can discover your book online, it will almost certainly include your book cover.

So, we recommend you give your cover image some serious thought, and we hope these guidelines can help!

Look for Successful Covers in Your Subject Area or Genre

One of the best ways to get inspired is to look at current bestselling books in your subject area or genre.

Do they have actual pictures on the covers? Do they have cartoon-like characters? Geometric designs? Bright colors?

While you definitely shouldn’t copy anyone, understanding the conventions currently used by bestselling authors with book marketing budgets is a great way to figure out what readers are looking for.

Check the Book Cover Page for Your Leanpub Book

Every Leanpub book has a page where you can upload your cover image.

On this page, you will see specific instructions for your book cover image, like these:

Your book page size (set on this page) is: 6.0 inches wide x 9.0 inches high

Given this book page size, your cover image should be this size: 1800 pixels wide x 2700 pixels high

Find a Cover Creator or Make One Yourself

Of course, if you have a big budge for your book project, you may want to go out and find a professional cover designer.

If you don’t have the budget for it, you can actually make pretty good book covers yourself, if you keep it simple.

Don’t use AI too much! It’s obvious and will make your book look like AI slop.

Ask for Feedback

Finally, we recommend you make a few potential copies and ask people you know for their feedback.

Good luck! Making a book cover should be fun and you’ll be proud of the result.