How to Customize your E-book Covers

In this tutorial, I'll show you how you can easily turn your e-book cover templates into your own sales generating product cover.
For this example, I will be using Adobe Photoshop 6.0.(You can purchase this at any computer accessory shop near you)

The steps covered in this tutorial should work with most if not all versions of Photoshop. If you don't have Photoshop already, you can download a 30 day trial version or obtain it at a computer accessory local shop.

If you plan on using a different graphics editing application, make sure that it can distort a layer. You'll need this tool to adjust your flat e-book cover image.

 

Step One:
Start up Photoshop and open 'cover01_blank.psd' included in the 'cover01.zip' file. You can do this by clicking on File Open or simply dragging-and-dropping the file onto the work area.
With this blank template, you can start designing your flat e-book cover. I strongly recommend using separate layers for all of your text and graphics. This will make it very easy to make changes as you design your cover.

This is what I came up with
 

When you're satisfied with your work, I suggest saving the file. You can do this by clicking on File>>>Save. Next, flatten the layers by clicking on Layer  Flatten Image.


Step Two:
In this step, you'll transfer your flat cover into a layer of the 3D template. Begin by pressing Ctrl+A on your keyboard or click Select  All. Now to copy your ebook cover, press Ctrl+C to copy image

Next, open 'cover01.psd' by clicking File  Open or simply dragging-and-dropping the file onto the work area.

                                            



Step Three:
Select the 'Insert Cover Art' layer located at the bottom right of the screen. Paste your flat e-book cover in this layer by pressing Ctrl+V on your keyboard.
Select the Move Tool located at the top of the toolbar or by pressing 'V' on your keyboard. Align the left corners of your flat cover with the corners or the 3D template.

                                       

For accuracy, but also to make the next steps easier, bring the opacity of your flat cover down a bit. I used 80% for this example.

Step 4
Zoom in using the Zoom Tool located at the bottom of the toolbar or by pressing 'Z' on your keyboard. Click anywhere in the project window to zoom in. Click Edit Transform  Distort
 
                                   

Step Five:
Click and drag the corners of your flat e-book cover layer to match the corners of the 3D template. When you're done, press 'Enter' or click on the checkmark located at the top of your screen. Download free e-book cover template at: www.ebooktemplatesource.com

                                      

Step Six:
Zoom out by clicking on the 'Actual Pixel' button on the top of your screen or by right clicking on the cover and selecting 'Zoom Out'.Bring the opacity of your flat e-book cover back to 100%.

Step Seven:
Now you can make final adjustments and save the completed e-book cover. To crop the image , select the crop tool near the top of the toolbar or press 'C' on your keyboard. Click and drag to make your selection.
Press 'Enter' or click on the check mark when you're happy with your selection.

To re-size the image, click Image Image Size.
To save the image, click File  Save for Web.

Select the setting that looks the best while keeping an eye
on the file size. The goal is to get a good looking cover with
the smallest possible file size for a fast loading image on
your website. When you're done, click 'OK

That's it!

That wasn't too hard now was it? If you're using a template with a spine, simply open the blank spine (coverXX_blank_spine.psd) and repeat steps 1 to 5

                      Now this is the End Point for the e-book cover page