How to Design a Kindle Book Cover with GIMP

About this video

Dale shows how to convert an existing CreateSpace paperback cover into a standalone ebook cover using GIMP, the free open-source image editor from gimp.org, for authors who have a print cover but no ebook cover. He warns against simply using the full paperback cover image on Amazon, because the front, back, and spine get shrunk down in search results until the image is jumbled and hard to read, costing sales. The process: drag and drop the paperback PDF onto a blank GIMP canvas and import it at a resolution between 72 and 300 DPI — higher is cleaner, and below 72 DPI will look pixelated and may require asking the designer for a better file. Then open Image > Canvas Size, break the chain between width and height so the image does not scale, and reduce the width — starting by halving it to remove the back cover, then lowering it gradually to trim off the spine, repeating until only the front cover remains. Next, use Image > Scale Image with the chain linked and set the width to a minimum of 1,500 pixels, which he says most self-publishing platforms prefer for ebook covers. Finally, export with Control-Shift-E, rename the file with a .jpg extension, save it somewhere memorable like the desktop, and set the image quality to 100 on export before uploading it as the ebook cover.

Key takeaways

• Do not use a full paperback cover (front, back, and spine) as an ebook cover — Amazon shrinks it in search results until it is unreadable.
• Import the paperback PDF into GIMP at 72 to 300 DPI; anything below 72 DPI will pixelate and may need a higher-quality file from your designer.
• Crop with Canvas Size, not scaling: break the width/height chain, halve the width to remove the back cover, then trim gradually to remove the spine.
• Scale the isolated front cover to a minimum width of 1,500 pixels, with the width/height chain linked so the image stays clean.
• Export the finished cover as a JPG at 100% image quality and save it somewhere easy to find before uploading.

Episode details: published September 20, 2017 · 3:45 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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