Book Cover Design Basics, Part Four

Book Cover Art: Sizes, Resolutions & Formats

I am totally rewriting this section as publishers have changed format requirements, making the cover process much easier and simpler for all.

I used to reformat the finished cover for the various devices and provide all the files to authors in a .zip file, which was both time-consuming and a pain to do, since the original Kindle size varied wildly from the much longer-and-skinnier Nook format. These files came with a long explanation as to how and where each file should be used. But no more!

This article led to some research and a HUGE sigh of relief. 1600px by 2400px is evidently the “magic” size ratio which works for all covers – and my original 6×9″ 300dpi file scales nicely to fit.

TA-DAAAAAAH!

So an entire post documenting the various dimensions and resolutions is condensed to this, and I am much happier for it. :)

I hope that this little series has helped both self-published authors and up-and-coming artists and designers understand more about the basic process involved in collaborating to create a winning book cover. Collaboration is the key, as is communication. The more information, the better – and always be open to new ideas! Good luck and best wishes for success in publishing books that you will always be proud of.