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Cover Designer

Why Cover Design Matters

For print books, the cover is a complete wraparound package: front, spine, and back. Print-on-demand services require this as a single PDF with precise dimensions. The Cover Designer helps you create print-ready covers without external design software.

For ebooks, you'll also want a front cover image. The Cover Designer can export both formats from the same design.

Opening the Cover Designer

  1. Open the book you want to design a cover for
  2. Go to Project > Cover Designer
  3. The designer opens with tabs for Front, Back, Spine, Background, and Export

Zone-Based Design

The Cover Designer uses zones—text layers that stack on your cover. Each zone contains text content with its own typography and positioning.

How Zones Work

  • Zones render in order: first zone is the bottom layer, last zone is on top
  • Each zone can display book data (title, author, series) or custom text
  • Typography controls apply per-zone
  • Position zones by anchoring to the top or bottom edge

Default Zones

Front Cover
- Series name (top)
- Title (center)
- Author name (bottom)

Back Cover
- Blurb (top area, leaving bottom 1.5" for ISBN)

Spine
- Title (reading top to bottom)
- Author (reading bottom to top)

Designing the Front Cover

Managing Zones

  1. Click the Front tab
  2. View the zone list showing all front cover zones
  3. Click a zone to select it and show its settings
  4. Use Add Zone to create new text elements
  5. Use Delete to remove zones

Zone Settings

Setting What It Does
Name Display label in the zone list
Content Source Title, Author, Series, Blurb, Subtitle, or Custom text
Custom Text When using custom content, enter your text here
Anchor Position from top edge or bottom edge
Offset Distance from anchor edge (in points)
Alignment Left, center, or right

Typography Settings

Setting What It Does
Font Typeface selection
Size Font size in points (6-200pt)
Color Text color with hex input
Tracking Letter spacing in em units
Leading Line height addition in points

Effects

Setting What It Does
Gradient None, light fade, or dark fade
Shadow X/Y Shadow offset in points
Rotation Rotate text (-180° to +180°)
Skew Slant text (-45° to +45°)

Designing the Back Cover

The back cover works the same as the front cover, with one key difference: the bottom 1.5 inches is reserved for ISBN barcode and publishing information.

Back Cover Tips

  1. Keep your blurb in the top portion of the back cover
  2. Leave room at the bottom for ISBN and publisher details
  3. Most print services add barcode automatically—check their requirements

Designing the Spine

The spine has limited space—especially for shorter books. Verkilo automatically handles spine text orientation.

Spine Width

Spine width depends on two factors:

  • Page count: More pages = wider spine
  • Paper type: Cream paper is thicker than white

Spine Width Formula:
- White paper: page count × 0.002252 inches
- Cream paper: page count × 0.0025 inches

Example: A 300-page book on white paper has a spine of about 0.68 inches.

Minimum Spine Width

If your spine is narrower than 0.25 inches (roughly 110 pages on white paper), spine text is hidden. Very thin books can't display readable spine text.

Setting the Background

Background Options

Setting What It Does
Color Solid background color
Image Upload a background image (PNG, JPG)
Zoom Scale image (100-200%)
Offset X/Y Position image horizontally/vertically
Darken Overlay darkness (0-80%) to improve text readability
Gradient Add light or dark gradient overlay

Background Tips

  1. Ensure text contrast - Use darken overlay if text is hard to read
  2. Account for bleed - Images should extend 0.125" beyond trim on all sides
  3. High resolution - Use at least 300 DPI images for print

Exporting Covers

Print Cover (PDF)

For print-on-demand services:

  1. Go to the Export tab
  2. Set your Trim Size (must match your interior)
  3. Enter your Page Count (affects spine width)
  4. Select Paper Type (white or cream)
  5. Click Print (PDF)
  6. Save the file

The exported PDF includes:
- Back cover on the left
- Spine in the center
- Front cover on the right
- 0.125" bleed on all edges

Ebook Cover (JPEG)

For digital distribution:

  1. Go to the Export tab
  2. Click Ebook (JPEG)
  3. Save the file

The ebook export is front cover only, sized at 1600×2560 pixels (Amazon's recommended dimensions).

Setting as Book Thumbnail

Use your cover as the book's thumbnail in Verkilo:

  1. Export an ebook cover
  2. Click Set as Thumbnail
  3. The cover image becomes your book's display image

Templates and Books

Series Templates

Create a cover template at the series level, then customize for each book:

  1. Design your cover in Template Mode (toggle in header)
  2. Select or create a series template
  3. Save the template
  4. For each book, apply the template and customize

Book-Level Customization

When you edit a book's cover:
- Changes are saved to that book only
- The series template isn't modified
- Other books in the series keep their designs

Preview

The preview panel shows your cover at the current zoom level.

  1. Click Generate Preview to update
  2. Use zoom controls to see details
  3. Check spine alignment and text positioning
  4. Verify background coverage extends to edges

Tips for Professional Covers

  1. Match your interior - Use the same trim size for cover and interior

  2. Check spine math - Incorrect page count = misaligned spine

  3. Test print - Order a proof copy before wide distribution

  4. Mind the wrap - Elements near edges may wrap onto adjacent surfaces

  5. Follow service guidelines - Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, etc. have specific requirements

  6. Keep important content centered - Avoid text too close to the spine or edges

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