Can authors use same cover for print and ebook?

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Yes, you can use the same cover design for your print book and your ebook, so you only pay for one design. The ebook uses the front cover alone, and the paperback needs a full wrap with spine and back cover built around that same front, using KDP’s template for your trim size and page count. The rest of this post covers the sizes, the template and how I get covers for as little as $12.

Can I use the same front cover for every format?

Yes, and I recommend it. Your front cover is the same for your Kindle book, your paperback on Amazon, your IngramSpark edition and your hardcover. What changes is the file around it.

When I started, I went for the cheapest route and made a free Kindle cover with a tool like Canva. Then I found that a print cover is more complicated, and I ordered covers and made several mistakes that cost me money. Doing it in the right order avoids that: get one good front cover first, then build each format from it. If the cover is already live and you want to swap it, read whether it is too late to change your book.

What size should the ebook cover be?

Amazon’s ideal Kindle cover is 2,560 pixels high by 1,600 pixels wide, a height to width ratio of at least 1.6 to 1. The minimum is 1,000 pixels high by 625 wide, and the file should be a JPEG or TIFF (KDP eBook cover requirements). The ebook cover is the front only, with no spine or back.

What file settings does the ebook cover need?

Save the ebook cover as a JPEG or TIFF in RGB, under 50 MB and no more than 10,000 pixels high or wide. KDP says the image should be at least 300 PPI and that you should avoid heavy compression, because it can lower quality on reading devices. If your cover has a white or very light background, it can blend into the page. KDP suggests a narrow medium-gray border of 3 to 4 pixels. You also need the rights to everything on the cover (KDP eBook cover requirements).

What does the paperback cover need?

A KDP paperback cover is one PDF that holds the back cover, spine and front cover as a single image, with 0.125 inches (3.2 mm) of bleed on the top, bottom and outside edges (KDP paperback cover requirements).

The easy way to get the exact size is the KDP cover calculator and template generator. You enter your ink and paper type, trim size and page count, and it gives you a template with the spine and barcode area.

If you want the sum done for you, my free KDP cover size and spine width calculator gives the spine, the full cover size and the pixels at 300 dpi.

Three details from KDP’s page matter:

1. Spine width depends on page count and paper. For black-and-white books on white paper it is the page count times 0.002252 inches.
2. Spine text needs at least 79 pages (80 if you use Cover Creator). Covers with spine text on shorter books are rejected, and a book of exactly 79 pages is the edge case, so leave its spine blank to be safe.
3. If you don’t supply your own barcode, KDP places one on the back cover for you.

You can pull the template PDF into a free tool like GIMP or Photoshop, drop in your front cover, add the back cover text and put in the spine. If you have a finished Kindle cover and don’t want to build the wrap yourself, I turn it into a print-ready wrap cover for $20: see my publishing services.

Check out this related article: What Are The Minimum Amount Of Words For Paperback Books?

What file settings does a print cover need?

KDP’s paperback cover requirements go beyond size. Images should be CMYK at a minimum of 300 DPI, with no spot colors and no color profiles. Flatten transparencies, embed fonts, remove crop marks and template text, and remove any file security, because locked or encrypted files fail review. KDP recommends a file of 40 MB or less, and files over 650 MB will not convert.

If you add your own ISBN or title text to the back cover, it must exactly match the book details you entered, including title, author name, edition and ISBN. If you publish without an ISBN, you do not need ISBN text on the cover. The barcode goes in the lower left-hand corner of the back cover, and if you do not supply one, KDP places it for you. Keep other elements clear of that area.

Matte or glossy, and why is my proof cover darker than my file?

KDP prints covers on white stock with a glossy or matte finish. Its Print Options page says glossy is shiny, makes black covers darker and makes artwork more striking, and is typical for textbooks, children’s books and nonfiction. Matte has minimal sheen and is typical for novels and other fiction. In my view, the finish won’t decide whether a book sells, so pick the one books like yours usually have and don’t agonize over it.

On colour, KDP’s cover guide says print on demand has acceptable levels of colour tolerance. It says most variance comes from environmental and mechanical factors, that perfecting your file reduces the chance of it, and it suggests ordering a proof copy. KDP’s page on printing errors in a proof or author copy doesn’t list colour, so I can’t tell you what KDP does about a proof that looks wrong.

My advice: order a proof in the finish you plan to use, before launch. If a dark cover loses detail, lighten the shadows in the file, then order another proof. If a proof arrives damaged, photograph it and contact KDP. The file settings above still apply either way.

Can I use the same cover for an audiobook?

You can reuse the artwork, but ACX wants a square image: at least 2400 by 2400 pixels, RGB, JPG, PNG or TIF, up to 8 MB. It rejects covers where borders were added to make a rectangle look square, so re-crop or extend the design instead.

How do I get a cover for as little as $12?

Pick a designer with strong reviews and ask for the ebook cover and the print cover. I no longer order covers on Fiverr; if you want every format in one order, see book covers. For the cheapest version, skip the source file, the back cover and spine, and any extras, and you can pay as little as $12 for a good front cover. What I do look for is unlimited revisions. That matters when you misspell something, which I have done more than once and needed another cover made.

Check out this related article: Can I Reuse The Same Illustration For Multiple Books?

What have you found? Do you use the same cover for your paperback and your ebook, or do you see a value in having two separate designs? Leave a comment below and check out my other blogs and videos that answer questions like this one.

If you are building the cover in Canva, see can you use Canva for a KDP book cover for the rights and file checks.

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