Standard Cover Design

Please note: Standard Cover Design is included in the Classic Package and cannot be purchased separately. This page is designed to give you more information about the service and why it is important for your book.

If you want people to pick up your book and start reading it, you need to have an effective and engaging cover. Ask yourself what kind of reader you want to attract with your book’s cover, and our Xlibris design team will work to deliver a cover design solution that plays to the interests and expectations of that target audience.

Our job is to create a compelling cover design that makes sense for your book’s category or genre, content and audience. That’s why our designers are trained to have high standards and a firm understanding of best design practices for each category. Incorporating your ideas with industry standards, our designers can give you a one-of-a-kind cover that both fits your vision and meets the expectations of the marketplace.

Your cover will include your book’s title, subtitle (if you have one), author name(s), additional marketing copy and appropriate imagery. If you choose, you can supply us with your own custom artwork or personal photos to use on your cover. We also offer stock photo options for authors who do not have custom artwork they would like to supply.

If you do choose to submit your own cover image, please follow these requirements for best results:

• Submitted separately from your manuscript as a TIFF (.tif) file format
• CMYK colorspace
• 300-dpi resolution
• Match the dimension of the final trim size, plus an 1/8” bleed on the top, right and bottom side. (i.e., a cover image for a 6” x 9” book would need to be submitted at 6.125” x 9.25”)
• Written copyright permission from the creator (artist, photographer, etc.) to use the work on your book cover

Exception to the requirements: sample graphics and other illustrations that will only be used as ideas or guidelines for the design team can be submitted in any format.

You may also include the following items with your submission for inclusion on the back cover of your book. All of these items are optional but highly encouraged:

• Author bio (no more than 50 words)
• Marketing copy about your book (no more than 200 words)
• Up to four published reviews (no more than 50 words each, including the credit line)
• A photo of the author. If a photo is submitted it must meet the following requirements:
  • TIFF (.tif) or JPEG (.jpg) format
  • CMYK colorspace
  • 300-dpi resolution
  • 600 x 600 pixels (if JPEG)
  • 2” x 2” printed size
   

Included in the service is one round of corrections or adjustments to your cover after receiving the first proof. After the first round of corrections, all subsequent changes will result in a corrections fee.

Learn More | Standard Cover Design

With Xlibris's Standard Cover Design service, our experienced design team will create an effective cover for your book.