Creating My First One-Piece Cover
Posted on December 29, 2007
Filed Under Self-Publishing with Lulu |
Creating front and back covers for your book becomes second-nature after several practice runs. There are two things I’ve come to appreciate with this feature: the automatic calculation of the spine and the automatic inclusion of the barcode on the back cover.
One-piece covers are a bit trickier to create because I found myself constantly adjusting the spine layer so it would butt seamlessly with the front and back covers, despite using Lulu’s calculated measurements. The second hurdle was getting the title to fit properly within the spine without distorting. The third hurdle was finding out that Photoshop doesn’t have the same text justification features as InDesign. Then I had trouble importing the text I’d created from InDesign into Photoshop. I eventually had to create a jpeg image of the text, and then change the background color on the front cover to match the back because they turned out different.
After all that was corrected, I uploaded my files to Lulu and ordered my proof, thinking that everything was okay. It wasn’t. When my book arrived in the mail, I found that the barcode was missing from the back cover. A quick search on Lulu revealed that I had made the mistake. I was in so much of a hurry to get the book published that I failed to read the directions.
Lulu does not provide the barcode for one-piece covers. I figured that I would have to shell out $80 to correct this mistake because I had already purchased the ISBN. Christmas Day, I created the barcode, tacked it onto my cover (after looking at several books to figure out where to place it), and uploaded it onto Lulu. As it turned out, I didn’t have to pay the fee because I hadn’t approved the book yet.
This morning, I found out that I had forgot to include the price in the barcode when I was writing this post. Lulu says that including the price is optional, so I won’t sweat it. You should know that if you do include the price, it must match exactly with the retail price that you set on Lulu. Also, you shouldn’t add a UK retail price to the cover because it won’t match once Lulu converts it to US currency. Check out this link to see a snapshot of the barcode placement.
I’m curious to see how my barcode will look on my final copy, because I centered it on the bottom instead of placing it on the right side. And, I just now realized that I didn’t include the smaller "9000" barcode.
If you’re thinking about designing your own one-piece cover, I suggest you download and read the free ebook that I just found. It’s called ISBN Barcode Guidance for Lulu Authors. The ebook explains exactly what each code means, provides guidance on how to create the barcode as well as where to place it and why, and gives links to tools and resources. I wish I had found this book last month, but I have it now.
After all this frustration, will I create another one-piece cover again? You bet. I think I’ve made all the "beginner" mistakes that I’m going to make with this cover. I’ll be more prepared when I set out to make my next cover.
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10 Responses to “Creating My First One-Piece Cover”
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Dear Lu Lu,
I have published my autobiography called “My Vanished World- A True Story of a Shan Princess” but now it has ran out of print but I have not been able to have the mainstream publisher to republish it. Can you help? I have the book as well as the writing and pictures on discs.
Nel Adams
Question:
This is my first time making a catalog cover for a friend. I know there’s going to be a spine involved and I have not encountered something like this before. I was wondering if there is a feature in indesign for a spine…or do I just calculate the spines with while formatting the the spreads width? Lets say give an inch and a half in the middle to play with while justifying the back and front to the left and right? Would that be the right course of action?
Nel: I’m not a representative of Lulu, but perhaps I can direct you to their Live Help or their forums. My suggestion, if I were in your shoes, would be to contact your publisher to see if they will relinquish the rights back to you. Once that’s done, you’re free to republish your book anywhere you want.
Ron: Once you elect to upload a one-piece cover, Lulu will give you the measurement based on the number of pages your catalog contains. Add the spine’s width to the overall measurement of the catalog cover. Dan Rodney has created an InDesign script called Make Book Jacket that automatically calculates the width of your spine so you don’t have to fiddle with it. The script costs $20, which is cheap if you plan on designing thick catalogs and books.
I want to put some of my grandfathers writings into book form and give them to family members as a momento. I dont want to make them for public consumption and would only need about 6 or 7 copies. Do you think Lulu would be appropriate or should I look elsewhere.
Thanks for all the tips by the way
You’re welcome, Laura.
To answer your question, Lulu would be perfect for your project because you can set it to “Private” status and buy as many copies as you’d like. Also, you can send your book’s link to your relatives, should they like to buy a copy.
Dear Deborah,
Thank y9u for your advice. I own the publishing right. I already have all cover designed and all the written pages on a disc. I just don’t know how to go about transferring on to Lu Lu’s. I have no technical skill and I am abit nervous. Is it more or less constructing a web site on “frontpage”?
Nel
Dear Deborah,
Sorry there were mistakes on the previous letter
Dear Deborah
Thank you for your advice. I own the publishing right. I already have the cover designed and all the written pages on a disc. I just don’t know how to go about transferring them on to Lu Lu’s. I have no technical skill and I am a bit nervous. Is it more or less like constructing a web site on the “frontpage”?
Nel
Hi, Nel!
You’re quite welcome. To address your concern, yes it’s pretty easy to publish on Lulu. Make sure you read their FAQ thoroughly before you start the publishing process.
Great cover.
Thanks, Tami.