While it may not seem like it, writing the book can be the easy part. All of the words are on the page and you are ready to publish on Amazon KDP. But you need a cover! You are extremely creative with words but when it comes to images, your brain kind of turns to mush? Well, your book can’t be published without a cover and it has to be perfect.

We explain how to create a book over on Amazon KDP in just 10 easy steps (see also ‘How To Increase Sales On Amazon KDP? 7 Steps To 10x Your Exposure and Sales‘). You can finally publish your incredible book and share your work with the world on Amazon. Whether you are self-publishing or using a publishing house, you can gain more of those royalties by creating a professional, creative book cover! Keep reading to find out more. 

Steps To Create A Book Cover On Amazon KDP

You can easily find an artist to create a book cover but that can cost quite a hefty investment. One which you may not be able to fund. So, keep your costs lost and create your book cover yourself by following these easy steps!

1. Locate Templates

You must first obtain a template from KDP in order to size the back cover, front cover, and spine areas. Templates can be found on the Amazon KDP site (see also ‘The Easiest Way To Remove Blank Pages On Amazon KDP‘) within the Help tab located on the top right hand corner. These are customizable templates that give you a starting point for your book cover.

Here you must click Format Your Paperback on the left hand menu. Scroll down this tab until you find the option Cover Calculators and Templates. Below this will be Download a Cover Template.

This is where you enter the dimensions of your book and other information such as paper type, interior type, binding type, etc. By entering this information you will be informed of the exact measurements of your book and what you need to start creating your cover.

2. Download Template

Once you have completed the calculations you are ready to download your template. Select Download Template to select whether you wish a PDF file, a PNG file, or both for your template. Once downloaded, take a note of all of your dimensions on the front page. This will come in handy when creating your cover on Canva.

3. Setting Up Canva

In a separate tab open the Canva website. This is a free website which provides tools for creating professional, fun graphics such as book covers and social media posts. Once open, select Create A Free Design located at the top right hand corner. Alternatively you can select Customer Size which can be found next to Upload on the top right hand corner.

This option allows you to create the exact size of document you will need for your cover. Once all of the required information has been entered, select Create New Design. You will now see a blank version of your customer sized template on the screen. Don’t forget to change the units to inches!

4. Upload KDP Template To Canva

On the left-hand panel, select the Uploads option. Drag the template’s most recent PNG download into Canva’s input box or upload the.png file using the upload box. Drag it into the white box and enter the required information after it has loaded into the Uploads area’s photos section. To finish, click the lock icon in the top right corner.

5. Adding Elements

Along the left hand side is your toolbar. Here you can find everything you need to create a cool graphic. Select the Elements tool and add a square to your cover. Enlarge and re-size until it covers the left side of the cover template. This will indicate the front cover and where you will be working. From here you can add in various shapes and images.

6. Adding Images & Color

If the pre-made Canva graphics do suit your style, you add images and graphics from an outside source. Simply download the image to your device. Then on Canva, select the Upload tool from the toolbar. Select the upload image tool, this will take you to your device’s camera roll or storage center.

Select the image you wish to upload and wait until the loading bar is completed. If you wish to use the graphics created by Canva artists then you are free to do so. However, certain graphics will require a premium account or a small payment. This can be identified by the small crown on the graphic.

You can also change the color of your box. Once you click on the element, a small floating toolbar will appear with various editing options including color, animations, size, position, and transparency.

7. Get Creative

Play around with the different elements on Canva and let your creative juices flow. Make sure your cover is everything you want it to be with different fonts, colors, graphics, and images. You may want to do the same to the back cover by adding a description of the book and any other important details your readers need to know.

8. Finishing Touches

Go return to the transparency filter and reset it to 100 once you have completed designing your front cover. This is done by unlocking the icon, positioning the cursor on the rear cover, then choosing “to front.”

9. Download Cover

Now that your cover is exactly how you want it, you are ready to download the finished product. Locate the Share button on the top right hand corner. On the drop down menu that will appear select Download. Here you can select which format you wish to download your cover. For Amazon KDP, PDF format is most popular.

10. Upload Cover To Amazon KDP

It is finally time to upload your book cover to Amazon KDP (see also ‘What Are The Top Performing Keywords In The Biggest Niches On Amazon KDP?‘). Once your Amazon KDP account is open, go to your Bookshelf. Here all of your published works will appear, next to the book you wish to update, select the ellipsis button. Select Edit Content. Scroll down to the Cover section and select Launch Cover Creator or Upload Your Cover File.

This will open your devices files, select your newly created book cover and press Open. Once the file has been uploaded a “Cover Uploaded Successfully” message will appear. Now, select Launch Previewer to see your book cover before publishing. Once happy with the final product, select Save and Continue.

From here you can go on to publish your book by selecting Publish, or wait until a few finishing touches are made!

Final Thoughts

There you have it! You can now finalize that book, make a creative, fun cover and get it published on Amazon KDP (see also ‘Why Is My Updated Book Cover Not Showing On Amazon KDP?‘). With thousands of different graphic designing tools, Canva does not need to be the one you use. However, it is extremely easy to use and has a plethora of graphics and editing tools which you can use to create incredible graphics.

Whether you are a wizard at book cover or prefer to keep your creativity in the medium of words, you can easily create a professional looking cover that will entice readers and bring your book success. The rule ‘never judge a book by its cover’ doesn’t really apply here. So, follow these 10 easy steps, get creative, and create your perfect book cover!