[leearco]

http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Medicine-Diet-William-Tisler/dp/1482623498/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1362303599&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=lee+tisler

As you can see from the picture the front cover has a funny edge.

Can anyone suggest the best way to fix this?

I am using Gimp

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I wouldn't bother. Intentional or not it just looks like the book is three dimensional and that the second line is the back cover.

However if that line is in your cover file you can surely just crop it out.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[thebookcoverdesigner]

I'd also move the subtitle down a tad. You can't read half the first line at thumbnail size due to the dark background.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Did you create the cover elsewhere and C&P it into Gimp? If that's what you did, then you didn't enlarge the original image to fit the Gimp canvas.

 

[leearco]

Did you create the cover elsewhere and C&P it into Gimp? If that's what you did, then you didn't enlarge the original image to fit the Gimp canvas.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I originally created the cover in Gimp for the kindle version.

I grabbed the pdf with the dimensions of what the cover should look like and size. I covered the areas for front and back cover and still got it with the funny lines. I thought I have covered the area properly, so will have another go on the weekend

 

[Kathy Clark Author]

Book covers for paperback books takes some fine tuning and patience.  In each case we have masked the difference between the back, spine and front so that if the crease is off a little it isn't noticeable. Generally, the original artwork has to be larger than the space they say as there is a slight adjustment it seems.  That will take care of the edges.

 

[Richardcrasta]

It's a beautiful cover, to me, truly effective--except for moving the subtitle down a bit, as it's presently partly obscured by the picture. I wish I had covers (the ones I made myself--the professional ones are of course good) that were 70% as good as this!

(Off-topic: Just bought the Kindle edition, by the way. Will be the first diet book I have purchased, ever, and also my first book on Chinese medicine, ever!)

 

[unkownwriter]

Are you covering the bleed lines on the cover template? You have to have extra around the edges to account for trim size, which can vary at CS's printing plant.

If the cover isn't just right, CS will adjust it for you, and usually it comes out wrong. Also, I've read that the online previewer isn't always accurate, though the digital preview usually is spot on. So the cover might have looked fine, but it wasn't, thus the fix by CS.

You also might want to try asking over at the CS forums, there's one just for covers:

https://www.createspace.com/en/community/index.jspa

 

[gregm]

Here is a LINK to CS's tutorial explaining "bleeds".

UPDATE: Got to remembering my printing years, and thought I would add this. Spine has to be allowed for. If you know the exact measurement of the thickness (past books that have the same # of pages) you need to allow for that. If you don't, the printer will center the spine and allow the rest to fall. So, while they say .125 for bleed, allow a tad bit more if you don't know the spine thickness. They usually will mask off any extra. Better to have a little more than to be short.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

CS does require a half inch bleed. I drop my front cover art into The Spruce template, which automatically adjusts for the spine.

 

[leearco]

It's a beautiful cover, to me, truly effective--except for moving the subtitle down a bit, as it's presently partly obscured by the picture. I wish I had covers (the ones I made myself--the professional ones are of course good) that were 70% as good as this!

(Off-topic: Just bought the Kindle edition, by the way. Will be the first diet book I have purchased, ever, and also my first book on Chinese medicine, ever!)

I hope you like it

 

[leearco]

Gertie - where can I get the Spruce template?


thanks for the links and comments, I hope to be able to make adjustment asap

 

[unkownwriter]

If you want to do your own covers, without using one of the "premade" ones, here's a template generator that's supposed to be better than CS's:

http://bookow.com/resources.php

The generator is by someone who is active on the forums, and experienced in cover making. Just plug in some numbers, and get a custom template.

He also has a bar code generator further down the page.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Gertie - where can I get the Spruce template?

thanks for the links and comments, I hope to be able to make adjustment asap

It's a Create Space template. When you upload your book or make a new cover, go to their Cover Creator. The list is in alpha order so it's on the last page. Open it and drop in your cover. Make sure it has a half inch bleed with none of the text or artwork closer to the edge than half an inch. You can then pick the color for the spine and back (I usually can't get an exact match so I go for a contrast), pick the "theme" (font for the spine an back blurb), add your author photo if you want (if you don't want, uincheck the "visible" box) and drop in your text.

Doesn't take more than a few minutes.

I've used other templates, too. See A Walk in the Woods in my siggy with the weeping willow on the cover.