Something New
I have returned! After a long absence—which may have been related to writer's block—I finally have a new book coming out, so I've returned to making book teasers.
Today's visual advice for authors is about a new program for creating author teasers: Covers Sell Books, which I'll call CSB from now on.
This site is strictly for creating book teasers and 3D book images. Currently, you can get three downloads for free every month. The features on the free site are limited, but you get a more features/choices on the paid version.
Here's my step by step experience using the free version. First, you have to create an account, but no credit card is required. Then there are three options at the top.
1. Choose the size of graphic you want. They are sorted by social media, like Facebook or Twitter. I chose Twitter In-stream graphic.
2. Upload your front book cover jpg file.
NOTE: CSB does not store any of your images. So, if you begin surfing for information in the middle of creating (like I did!) your image will be lost. And you have to re-upload your cover every time you create a new image. (Apparently, the paid version does not have image storage either.)
3. Select a background. Choose your own or CSB has a selection of free images for you to use. For my graphic, I searched Sweden since that's the setting of my book. I found an image of the Oresund Bridge which is actually mentioned in the book. It's probably too dark and dramatic for a romance, but since I was already on my fifth page of searches, I took it. If you need to stretch or reposition the image, you can do this from the top right hand corner.
4. Add your 3D book. In the free version, there are only two options, but that's fine. I chose the ebook. Be careful to use the top left corner to expand your image because it can get skewed otherwise. You can also add multiple ebooks by adding different covers at this point.
5. Add your text: quotations, dates, website, etc. I used a separate text box for each element so I could position them exactly where I wanted them. This is the weakest area because there are only 15 font choices and none are cursive fonts. Apparently, the paid version has double the fonts, which is still not that many fonts. Also, there's no spell check, so double check your spelling. Once you've downloaded, you can't edit without using another credit.
The font sizes are controlled by a lever. You can also change the font colours using a different lever. Each line of text comes with its own shadow background, which you can adjust (I got rid of two since my background was already dark.) Also, you can make your text into "buttons" but I couldn't find a way to link those buttons to anything. The words "Coast to Coast" are on a button here.
6. I didn't add any of the extras but there are: five stars stamps, Amazon store tags, and borders.
Here's my completed graphic:
For contrast, here's a graphic that I created using Canva. I made my 3D book images in Photoshop using CoverVault. (For more on using CoverVault, check out my post on 3D book creation. )
In my opinion, this one looks better because I used a custom background graphic and had more font choices. However it took about thirty minutes including the 3D cover creation, wheres the CSB one took about seven minutes.
As always, I recommend doing the least work for the best graphics. I would definitely recommend getting the free version of Covers Sell Books to create 3D book covers. If you find Canva too difficult, CSB might be an option for you. If you create a lot of graphics, the paid version might be worthwhile. Also, when you sign up for the free version, you will get a 10% off coupon via email.
I would like to thank my fellow hockey romance authors, Victoria Denault and Robyn M. Ryan, for sharing their experience with CSB, including the paid version.
Today's visual advice for authors is about a new program for creating author teasers: Covers Sell Books, which I'll call CSB from now on.
This site is strictly for creating book teasers and 3D book images. Currently, you can get three downloads for free every month. The features on the free site are limited, but you get a more features/choices on the paid version.
Here's my step by step experience using the free version. First, you have to create an account, but no credit card is required. Then there are three options at the top.
- FB Image Creator are pre-made templates that only require your book cover and text. The simplest option for a new teaser, but the Custom Creator isn't much more work and you'll get a more individualized graphic.
- 3D Book Creator is what it says. You can create 3D paperback, hardcover, or ebook covers. This is the way to go if you need dimensional book covers for another graphics program. There are ebook, phone, paperback and hardcover versions. I downloaded a left-facing cover of my new book. Looks great!
- Custom Creator
1. Choose the size of graphic you want. They are sorted by social media, like Facebook or Twitter. I chose Twitter In-stream graphic.
2. Upload your front book cover jpg file.
NOTE: CSB does not store any of your images. So, if you begin surfing for information in the middle of creating (like I did!) your image will be lost. And you have to re-upload your cover every time you create a new image. (Apparently, the paid version does not have image storage either.)
3. Select a background. Choose your own or CSB has a selection of free images for you to use. For my graphic, I searched Sweden since that's the setting of my book. I found an image of the Oresund Bridge which is actually mentioned in the book. It's probably too dark and dramatic for a romance, but since I was already on my fifth page of searches, I took it. If you need to stretch or reposition the image, you can do this from the top right hand corner.
4. Add your 3D book. In the free version, there are only two options, but that's fine. I chose the ebook. Be careful to use the top left corner to expand your image because it can get skewed otherwise. You can also add multiple ebooks by adding different covers at this point.
5. Add your text: quotations, dates, website, etc. I used a separate text box for each element so I could position them exactly where I wanted them. This is the weakest area because there are only 15 font choices and none are cursive fonts. Apparently, the paid version has double the fonts, which is still not that many fonts. Also, there's no spell check, so double check your spelling. Once you've downloaded, you can't edit without using another credit.
The font sizes are controlled by a lever. You can also change the font colours using a different lever. Each line of text comes with its own shadow background, which you can adjust (I got rid of two since my background was already dark.) Also, you can make your text into "buttons" but I couldn't find a way to link those buttons to anything. The words "Coast to Coast" are on a button here.
6. I didn't add any of the extras but there are: five stars stamps, Amazon store tags, and borders.
Here's my completed graphic:
For contrast, here's a graphic that I created using Canva. I made my 3D book images in Photoshop using CoverVault. (For more on using CoverVault, check out my post on 3D book creation. )
In my opinion, this one looks better because I used a custom background graphic and had more font choices. However it took about thirty minutes including the 3D cover creation, wheres the CSB one took about seven minutes.
As always, I recommend doing the least work for the best graphics. I would definitely recommend getting the free version of Covers Sell Books to create 3D book covers. If you find Canva too difficult, CSB might be an option for you. If you create a lot of graphics, the paid version might be worthwhile. Also, when you sign up for the free version, you will get a 10% off coupon via email.
I would like to thank my fellow hockey romance authors, Victoria Denault and Robyn M. Ryan, for sharing their experience with CSB, including the paid version.
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