You can navigate to the book cover design page by first clicking on the Library tab at the top left side of your Writing Studio dashboard. Then, select the book that you want to edit. On the right side of your book title and description page, you will see an icon that says, “Edit Cover.” Another way to add a book cover is to click on the “+” sign next to “Book Covers” and then select, “Add Cover.” Click on the Edit Cover icon to open the design tool.

You will be directed to a selection of template choices that you can select and then edit. The first template is a "Blank Cover" that you can select if you want to either upload your own cover design or design the cover in Chapterly. You can also choose from the numerous free templates available that you can edit by changing the text and images on the cover design.

Once you've got a template chosen, you'll be directed to the design page. Take a moment to learn your way around, and don't be afraid to test the various features as you go.

Every change you make to the cover design will be saved automatically. If you are not happy with the change(s) that you made, you can click on the Undo arrow in the top navigation bar, or you can also click the Redo arrow to return the previously edited version. You can also use the Ctrl+Z shortcut to Undo.

If you want to add your own custom book cover design that you created outside of Chapterly, you may do so. To upload your own cover design, please select the "Blank Cover" template for your cover design, click next. Next, select the book type: Hard or Soft Cover, Saddle Stitch, eBook, or Dust Jacket as the book type. Click "Create Cover" to load the blank book cover.

Then, click on the circle/square icon at the top of the design toolbar and select, "background-image" from the dropdown menu. You have the option of choosing from the huge database of Unsplash images, or you can add your own image by clicking on "Upload." If you have already uploaded an image, select "Album" to add the custom cover image as the background, and click open. The image that you uploaded for your custom book cover will populate on the cover design page and the cover will be saved automatically.

Our cover designer is formatted primarily for printed covers, so in order for the cover image for a 5" x 8" to display properly, it must be no less than 1500px x 2400px to look good on paper when printing at 300 DPI. If the dimensions of the cover image uploaded are less than that, the maximum print size for that image will produce a 2" x 3" thumbnail to avoid a loss of image quality. If you're attempting to upload a cover that was designed for an ebook, which generally has slightly different dimensions, it will prevent the image from fitting correctly on the canvas.

The dimension requirements are the same for a front cover no matter the eventual intended format. When you get to the export stage, Chapterly will automatically adjust the ebook cover to the correct size.

You may find that a small border of empty space shows on your cover. This happens when the image resolution or size isn't quite right to be compatible with the cover creator. You can resolve this by upscaling the image.

You can edit the name of the cover design, cover size, font type, color, orientation, outline, and shadow of text also by clicking on the double arrow (>>) at the top right-hand side of the cover design page.

You can add a new text box to the cover by clicking on the “T” in the design navigation bar, which will add a new text element to your cover. Type within the box, then make the necessary adjustments using the side panel.

Pro Tip! If you're having trouble with the Text feature, check to make sure your alignment settings on the side panel are correct. Generally, you'll want the text centered within the box. Click Auto to allow you to adjust the text by manipulating the text box itself.

There are several ways to share a book cover with your audience. Once you’ve got it looking just right, you can click the Post button right from the design tool in the Writing Studio. You can also make a post from the Audience feature for either the Book Cover (which will share only the cover, not the text) or the Book (which will share every part of the manuscript you’ve written so far, along with the cover).