No. When you design something for print it’s utterly specific to that printing process, so each time you need a different file, which will need to be produced from scratch. 

For more details, please take a look at sizes and format.

I can’t, no, because I need the specific spine width to design something and as such if I went ahead and designed it and then you changed your mind then I would effectively be designing it twice. I could charge you twice but it’s cheapest to get it right the first time, wouldn’t you agree?

I do employ AI as a tool to source fantastic images for some of these covers, and they are clearly marked as such. The good news for you? You’re in the clear with full licensing for AI images. I exclusively use MidJourney, a service that provides full commercial rights.

Amazon KDP 

When you upload any new book or edit it, KDP is prompting authors to disclose the extent of AI involvement in both book content and cover creation. Allow me to provide some clarity regarding the book covers I design. As always, transparency remains a guiding principle, and I communicate openly with my authors.

Here are the details:

“We are actively monitoring the rapid evolution of generative AI and the impact it is having on reading, writing, and publishing, and we remain committed to providing the best possible shopping, reading, and publishing experience for our authors and customers.” They say.

It’s clear they’re steering away from endorsing the flood of subpar content churned out by bots on their platform. I wholeheartedly agree – my book covers are a testament to quality, crafted with considerable time and care, whether sourced from stock images or generated by AI.

While Amazon’s stance doesn’t explicitly ban AI, it appears to be a strategic move to weed out low-quality outputs. If an outright ban was the goal, they would have expressly stated so. They simply want transparency. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if Amazon introduces its own AI tools down the line.

Microsoft, operating under the Bing banner, has an upcoming product on the horizon, detailed further here.

Even ShutterStock, a leading stock image vendor, is venturing into the AI Image Generation scene. They have a white-labeled version of Dall-E in action on their website – check it out here.

On the topic of commissions, I always keep clients in the loop about using AI for idea generation. No surprises here – I believe in transparency and ensuring everyone is on the same page.

How to respond:

If you’re uploading a book with a cover where I have used AI this is what you need to tell them, under AI generated content:

• YES.
• Images: One or a few AI-generated Images, with Extensive Editing 
• Tools: MidJourney.

MidJourney stands out as THE service providing full commercial terms for the images it generates, ensuring a 100% above-board approach. Fortunately, it’s not just compliant but also recognized as the top player in the field.

Naturally, if you’ve incorporated any other AI tools in the creative process, it’s crucial to disclose this information. Specifically for image artwork, detailing the aforementioned information is a must for clarity and adherence to guidelines.

While the designs stay consistent for both print and digital covers, it’s crucial to get the resolution, color mode, ratio, and file size just right. This ensures your design looks absolutely stellar in any format.

Every Pack has got you covered! They tick all the boxes, meeting all the specs needed to submit your cover art for your Books, eBooks or Audiobooks.

eBooks: 

Technical Requirements for digital publications:

• JPG file format.
• 72 dpi resolution or more.
• 24-bit (True Color).
• RGB color (digital).
• File name is a condensed book title. Alphanumeric characters only.
• For eBooks cover designs are 1600 pixels wide by 2560 pixels high.
• For Audiobooks, cover art is squared and fill out the entire 1:1 square ratio: 2,400 x 2,400 pixels in size. 
• Kindle Vella are also squares, which then get turned into circles on the smartphones of Vella users. This is important, because the corners of the Vella covers won’t be visible to the readers. 
• File size should be bellow 50 MB for Kindle eBooks, bellow 8 MB for audiobooks and bellow 2 MB for Kindle Vella.

Image Content Requirements:

• Cover art with white or very light backgrounds can seem to disappear against the white background. KDP recommends having a narrow (3-4 pixel) border in medium gray to define the boundaries of the cover. 

Audiobooks: 

Image Content Requirements:

• Must contain the name of the title.*
  
  • Title must be legible.
  • Pixelated and/or blurry illegible text will not be accepted.
• Amazon, Audible or competing marketplaces branding, such as logos, badges or overlay, cannot be used (won’t be allowed) on artwork. 
• References to competing marketplaces, soliciting for 3rd party websites, personal information, or URLS to external sites/contacts is not allowed on artwork.
• No pornographic or offensive materials. 
• No references to pricing.
• No watermarks or 3rd party copyright images allowed.
• Cannot show scans of jewel cases, promotional stickers, or cellophane.
• No references to physical media or to audio format.
  
  • Ex: CD, DVD, Blu-ray, jewel cases or any media other than the digital product presented to customers is not allowed.
• No references to running time, for audiobooks.
• Artwork designed as physical packaging will not be accepted.
  
  • Ex: physical box sets, cd cases, or images purposefully designed to appear as physical items/media which could unintentionally confuse customers are not allowed.
  • The words “Audiobook” must be stated on the cover art for this style to avoid confusion and pass approval.
• Advertising physical or digital supplemental content apart from digital audio presented is not allowed.
  
  • Ex: stickers, prizes, illustrations, posters, toys, or any offer of physical content.
  • This does not refer to the use of supplemental PDF material, which is allowed.
    
    • If the audiobook’s Artwork you’re submitting to Audible, mentions that a PDF or supplemental material is included with the production, a PDF must be sent to ACX support https://help.acx.com/s/article/can-i-add-a-pdf-of-additional-information-to-my-audiobook 
• Artwork cannot show barcodes or QR codes.
• Artwork cannot show book jackets, i.e, the front and back cover of the physical book.

*If any other credits are included on cover (ex: subtitle, primary or secondary author names), they must match the audiobook’s opening and closing credits exactly. Vella story covers don’t contain a title or author’s name.

Books: 

Technical Requirements for books (to be printed):

Same as above except they are delivered:

• PDF file format.
• CMKY color.
• 300 DPI.
• No watermarks.
• InstaSpark requires a valid ISBN.
• Required size including:
  
  • Bleed: 0.125″ (3.2 mm) is required on all sides. Bleed at the bottom of the page cannot exceed 0.125″ (3.2 mm).
  • Margin: Any content you don’t intend to be trimmed off should be a minimum of 0.25″ (6.4 mm) from the outside cover edge. Every book varies slightly when bound. Allow for 0.0625″ (1.6 mm) variance on either side of the fold lines for your cover and the edge of the spine. 
  • If a barcode is provided, it will position it according to KDP’s requirements:
    
    • At least .25” (6.3 mm) from the spine and trim of the cover.
    • Right-side up and square to the cover
  • If no barcode is provided, I’ll leave that white space.

Formatting requirements for barcodes

If you choose to provide your cover barcode, it must meet these requirements:

• Image quality:
  
  • Vector images* are preferred
  • Rasterised images** should be 300 PPI (pixels per inch)
• 100% black (not RGB/CMYK color or registration black).
• Transparent or solid white background.
• Suggested size is 2″ x 1.2″ (50.8 x 30.5 mm).
• Minimum size is 1.4″ x .8″ (35.56 x 20.3 mm).

Note: 

* Vector images are comprised of “paths” that create the shape of an object with points, lines, and curves and which can be scaled up or down with no loss in quality. Objects like fonts are vector objects. 

** Rasterized images are objects made up of numerous color-coded pixels which together make a single picture. Rasterised images cannot be scaled up or down without changing their resolution. Objects like .jpeg and .tif files are rasterized objects. Two-stage barcodes, typically used for Japanese books, aren’t supported.

If your barcode includes an ISBN, it must meet these requirements:

• Include a valid ISBN. 
• Not overlap with any text. 
• Price code should match list price (if included)

You can include a QR Code or UPC barcode in addition to the ISBN barcode. It can’t appear in the space reserved for the ISBN barcode.