How to Publish with KDP: Part Six B

/ harmonykentonline

Image courtesy of bigstock.com

Hello SErs. Harmony here. As promised earlier, here is the second part of the sixth installment in the post series dedicated to taking a step-by-step look at how to get your finished manuscript from your computer and on sale on Amazon in both ebook and paperback.

If you’d like to take a look back at the previous posts in this series, please click on the links below:

Outline: https://wp.me/p7OGru-29c

Part 1 (Software for Writing) : https://wp.me/p7OGru-29t

Part 2 (General Formatting Necessities) : https://wp.me/p7OGru-29J

Part 3 (Ebook Conversion) : https://wp.me/p7OGru-2ah

Part 4 (Paperback Formatting) : https://wp.me/p7OGru-2eS

Part 5 (Image Software for Making Book Covers) : https://wp.me/p7OGru-2gi

Part 6 (Using Amazon’s Cover Creator Tool for eBook) : https://wp.me/p7OGru-2gQ

To make it easy to browse back and forth, I’ve set all links to open in new tabs. As this series progresses, I will update the links for you so that each post includes links to all past posts in the series.

So, here’s Part Six B: Making Your eBook Cover, Part B–Uploading a jpeg eBook cover to Amazon.

A year or so ago, I would have advised that you download Amazon’s Kindle cover template, but upon looking for one, I discover that KDP no longer appear to offer templates for anything other than paperback.

So the best I can do is to give you precise dimensions …

In Pixels:

Height: 2560

Width: 1600

Resolution: 300 pixels per inch (as a minimum standard)

Maximum file size: 50 MB

I would recommend making a blank template in either PSD (if you have Photoshop) or a PNG to these dimensions. You can then import this blank PNG into whichever image manipulation software you’re using. This gives you an easy blank layer on which to base the rest of your cover to the correct dimensions.

Amazon will only accept a Jpeg/Jpg file for upload. So, the finished Kindle cover has to be in this format. At least, so they say on their information page. On your KDP dashboard, you also have the option of uploading a TIFF file. However, I would strongly recommend sticking with a Jpeg file.

As mentioned in the Part Five post [https://wp.me/p7OGru-2gi], any cover you make has to look good at both full size and at thumbnail size. So bear this in mind with both images and text fonts.

The same rules apply for copyright on images and fonts as mentioned in the Part Five post too.

Please refer to that post for software options for making your cover.

For information on book cover design, see an old post of mine HERE. Also see this old post by Craig Boyack HERE for useful elements of cover design.

Below is an example book cover taken from my latest novella, Oh Baubles, to give you an idea of what an eye-catching cover might look like. I show it at both large size and thumbnail size for comparison >>>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You will see that the text and images are readable each size (at least on my computer screen!).

This cover shows many elements of the story. At a glance, you can identify that it is a romance, and that is has a Christmas or seasonal feel to it.

Okay, so once you have your finished Jpeg file, you are ready to upload it to your Amazon KDP dashboard.

Log in and go to your ‘book contents’ page. Click on ‘upload your own cover’.

The following option will appear >>>

 

 

 

 

Click on ‘upload your cover file’. The following will appear >>>

 

 

 

 

Select the Jpeg you want and click on the blue ‘open’ button.

Your file will now upload, and KDP will upload it. You should see the following, once it has completed:

 

 

 

 

Voila, your cover is now uploaded!

That’s it from me for today. I hope you’ve found this post useful. I’d love to hear from you in the comments below, and I’ll see you all again on Friday, April 3rd, where we’ll be taking a look at making your book cover for your paperback part A–using Amazon’s Create Tool.

 

©Harmony Kent 2020

(If you're reading this post on or after April 3rd, 2020, then here's the link for Part 7 A in the How to Publish with KDP series: https://wp.me/p7OGru-2jY. Please note, the link won't work until April 3rd, 2020.)

29 thoughts on “How to Publish with KDP: Part Six B”

  3. Super helpful post, Harmony! I know many who do their own covers will find it very useful! Thanks so much for sharing, and I love that you used your beautiful cover from Oh Baubles as your example. A favorite of mine! 🙂 Sharing!

    Liked by 2 people

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  7. I’m definitely of the opinion covers sell books. It’s the first thing that grabs my attention when I’m browsing.
    Like Joan, I find the Kindle covers easier to do than paperback covers. I’ve only done that once. I’m looking forward to your paperback cover post, Harmony, as it’s been so long since I’ve done it, I’m clueless!

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. As much as I wish covers didn’t sell books, I know they do. That’s why I enjoy analyzing them so much. And you’re right—thumbnails need to be readable and covers need to fit the genre. I love that you touched on that even as you’re working through the cover creation and upload process.

    Liked by 2 people

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