Cover Design

Open the Cover Designer

Click the Cover button in the left sidebar of the editor. The Cover Designer opens with five tabs in the right panel. Your book title and author name auto-fill from the project.

What each tab does

• Images: upload your own artwork, pick a stock image, set a gradient/vector/solid background, or add a logo.
• Text: edit title, subtitle, author. Pick one of eight Text Layout presets and set per-element font, colour, weight, case, alignment.
• AI: pick a style and let AI generate cover concepts from your book content. Paid feature.
• Designs: complete preset designs (background + typography + colour combo) sorted by genre. Quickest way to a finished cover.
• Adjust: fine-tune everything: size, letter spacing, line height, exact position, text shadow, text strip, image brightness/contrast/saturation.

A typical workflow

• Fastest: open the Designs tab, pick a preset, tweak the title text on the Text tab, save.
• Custom: pick a background on Images (or generate one on AI), set typography on Text, fine-tune on Adjust.
• Click "Save Cover" in the bottom right when you are happy. Cover Designer can be reopened anytime.

Upload your image

The Upload Image section is collapsed by default, so click it to expand first.

1. Open the editor for your book.
2. Click the Cover button in the left sidebar.
3. Stay on the Images tab (selected by default) and click "Upload Image" to expand it.
4. Click "Click to upload" and pick a JPG or PNG. 1600×2560 px recommended, max 5MB.

Two toggles below the file picker

• Show text on cover: turn off if your image already has the title baked in.
• Dark Overlay: subtle tint so app text pops against busy art. Overlay Opacity slider tunes the strength (30% default).

Image Controls (appears after upload)

Scroll down within the Images tab once your image is in:

• Image Fit: Cover (fill and crop, default), Contain (fit with letterbox), or Fill (stretch).
• Image Alignment: Center, Top, Bottom, Left, Right, or four corner anchors. Picks which part stays in frame after cropping.
• Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Grayscale, Blur: sliders for visual tuning without leaving the app.

Tip

Layouts with text overlays work best when the image has a clear, uncluttered area at the top or bottom for the title. Portrait orientation matches book-cover proportions; landscape images get cropped to fit.

Pick a style

Open the Cover Designer (Cover button in the left sidebar) and switch to the AI tab. You do not write a prompt; AI uses your book's title and content with the style you pick:

• Editorial: clean magazine-cover energy. Non-fiction, business.
• Photographic: realistic cinematic photo. Memoir, travel, lifestyle.
• Illustrated: hand-drawn watercolour. Children's books, warm non-fiction.
• Vintage: retro mid-century, sepia tones. Historical, literary fiction.
• Atmospheric: dark cinematic noir. Mystery, thriller, true crime.
• Bold: pop-art graphic poster. Comedy, satire, YA.

Show app typography overlay

AI usually draws the title into the cover itself, so this toggle (above the style grid) is off by default. Turn it on to also layer the app's title, subtitle, and author on top: useful if the AI text is hard to read or you want exact typography control.

Generate, then pick a concept

Click "Generate Cover". After a few seconds, the "AI Cover Concepts" dialog shows multiple options. Click one to load it into the Cover Designer. Typography and layout stay editable on the Text and Adjust tabs afterwards.

Cost and limits

AI covers are a paid feature with a per-book quota plus credit overflow:

• Creator and AppSumo Tier 1 / 2: 1 free AI cover per book.
• Premium and AppSumo Tier 3: 3 free AI covers per book.
• Beyond quota: 1 chapter credit per cover (cost shown next to the Generate button).

Text tab: the basics

Open the Cover Designer (Cover button in the left sidebar) and click the Text tab. Each element (title, subtitle, author) has its own controls:

• Font: grouped lists (Script, Display, Serif, Sans-Serif).
• Colour: swatch picker plus a hex input.
• Weight: Regular / Bold / etc.
• Letter case: Upper / Normal / Title.
• Alignment: Left / Center / Right.

Text Layout: where it sits

Below the typography controls, the Text Layout grid offers eight presets: Classic, Center, Top, Bottom, Left Mid, Left Low, Right Mid, Right Low. Pick whichever lets the background breathe. Fine-tune exact positions on the Adjust tab afterwards.

Adjust tab: fine-tuning

For granular control, switch to the Adjust tab (slider icon, far right). Each element has a collapsible Settings card:

• Size: scale each element independently.
• Letter spacing and line height: tighten or loosen the lettering.
• Vertical and horizontal position: nudge to the exact spot.
• Text shadow: toggle on for legibility over busy art; tune blur, offset, colour.
• Text strip highlight: a coloured bar behind the text, for light backgrounds.
• Logo image: optional brand/imprint logo with its own position and opacity.

Live preview

Every change updates the preview on the left in real time. When you are happy, click "Save Cover".

Steps

The Download button sits next to "Save Cover" in the footer of the Cover Designer.

1. Open the editor for your book.
2. Click the Cover button in the left sidebar.
3. In the bottom right footer, click Download.
4. Pick "Full cover (with text)" or "Image only (no app text overlay)".
5. The JPEG saves to your Downloads folder.

Which option?

• Full cover (with text): finished cover exactly as you see it in the preview. Default. Upload to KDP, Kobo, Apple Books, post to social.
• Image only (no app text overlay): just the background art, no app typography. Useful when your AI cover already has its title baked in, or you want raw artwork for a banner, ad, or Canva design.

Format

2000×3200 JPEG, sRGB, 1.6:1 aspect ratio. Comfortably exceeds KDP's minimum; works for Kobo, Apple Books, and B&N Press. Filename includes the dimensions.

Premium feature

Cover downloads unlock with any paid plan (Creator or Premium) or a one-time chapter credit pack (unlocks for life).