Designing book covers is a particular skill. Designing a book cover that sells in an a wonder of instinct and skill. So, if you can afford it, it makes sense to pay a book cover designer to make sure you have a book cover that sells.

But, what if you need a cover for something that isn’t going to recoup the cost of the cover – like short story or a newsletter magnet? Then, you have a couple of options. one is to buy a cheap pre-made cover. These are, as you would expect, covers that are already made. You can change the example text to your title and author name and you’re good to go. (Did you know that I sell pre-made book covers. Check them out here. For under £25 you can have a nice cover for your book or short story with minimal hassle).

I’m not a designer, I’m a writer, but I have spent several years tinkering with Canva and other photo manipulation software to learn how to use them. One of the things I’ve learned is how to make simple book covers. This tutorial shows you how you can make them too.

A few people have followed the instructions in the video and made their own covers and they look splendid. This example is for a romance novel.

Click on the play button to watch the video on YouTube. I suggest following along and pausing it so that you can make your own cover alongside.

If you’ve found this tutorial useful, please share it (and subscribe to my YouTube channel – I’d be very grateful).

If you’d like a free Canva template – sign up to my newsletter here: https://jeevanicharika.com/canva-for-authors/

You can sign up for a free Canva account here: https://www.canva.com/join/optimistic-rum-humor*

* This is an affiliate link. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but it gives me some intangible benefit- I haven’t figured out what yet.

If you want to buy a premade book cover, go to my Etsy shop – https://rhodasauthorstuff.etsy.com/