DON’T BE JUDGED BY YOUR COVER
Cover design templates & tutorials to make your book stand out.
You wrote a great book, but everyone is ignoring it.
You try to get reviews but your emails go unanswered. You advertise and promote but nobody is buying. Your book is getting rejected by people who haven’t even read it yet. That means you have a packaging problem. But what if professional book cover design is out of your budget?
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Hi, I’m Derek Murphy. A few years ago I had a thriving six-figure book cover design business working with exclusive bestselling authors, and touring the world to speak at publishing conferences (even one on a cruise ship). I gave it up to focus on my own writing – hoping to put my PhD in literature to use – but started making free resources to help authors make their own book covers on a budget, without any specialized design skills or software.
The incredible demand for this unique skillset has grown to nearly 3 million views, and I’ve put together a ton of insider secrets about book design, self-publishing and book marketing for you. So if you’re at all interested in publishing a book (that actually sells) keep reading.
Ok, so what is this site exactly?
It started with a crazy idea: making book cover templates in Microsoft WORD – a resource most authors have that can be surprisingly effective at book design. I made a bundle of 150+ design templates for all the most popular fiction and nonfiction genres.
I even invested a ton of money in an online design tool, but it broke when Flash stopped working. I still have my free ISBN barcode maker and free 3D book mockup generator – so check those out because you’ll need them later. More recently, for those authors who want to get a bit more serious and have access to Photoshop, I’ve been making detailed Photoshop tutorials.
Ok sure, you can buy a whole package, and things are set up so you can add your art or picture, save your cover and be done in 15 minutes. That said, it’s a hack not a solution: covers are super important, and if you can afford it, you should probably hire a professional.
But if you want to play around at designing your own, my templates will save you some time and effort. I’ll also tell you where to find the best photos, artwork, and genre-appropriate fonts for book cover design.
This is too important not to share, because it’s so absolutely crucial, and it’s the one thing you can definitely, easily control – if you bother to spend a little time. That’s why I’ve made a ton of resources and my guide to book design, 100% free for life. You can even download some sample templates to play around with. And I’ll give you two bonus guides, to self-publishing and book marketing – in the hopes it saves you the extra $5000 most authors spend on a failed launch.
The free stuff will help you understand the basics, so you can start designing your own covers without making noob mistakes. But if you actually want a great cover that sells the book, I recommend grabbing the full bundle. It works out to less than $1 per template; you can make unlimited covers with them; and for a limited time I’m offering my $297 course on book marketing as a special bonus.
- Already made up your mind? Great! Click a button below.
- Still skeptical, need more info? Keep scrolling for a ton of positive testimonials.
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Get the free package of sample templates, 3+ hours of free cover design tutorials and 2 bonus guides.
- 15+ templates
- 3+ hours of tutorials
- Cover Design secrets (Guide)
- Publish on a Budget (Guide)
- Book Marketing is Dead (Guide)
A huge bundle of book cover templates & tutorials, plus bonus courses on editing, formatting, and building an author platform.
- 150+ cover design templates
- 30+ hours of book design tutorials
- Interior Formatting Templates
- Advanced Photoshop Tutorials
- Marketing Materials
- Reach Your Readers ($297 value)
Save a ton of time and get help now – I can help you avoid common mistakes and succeed faster, by making sure your book is perfect inside and out.
- Feedback On Your Cover
- Edit Your Blurb + Keywords
- Deep Critique of Your 1st Chapter
- A bundle of 6 courses
- 3 Months Coaching + Mentorship
7 Must-Have Qualities for a Cover that Sells
Cover Design Basics (Starter Video Series)
How to upload your files and publish your book
Don’t Forget to Grab Your Free Guide!
Sign up now for my free starter package of templates and the full video series on book design, and I’ll send you a BONUS book on publishing on a budget. You’ll learn….
You’ll learn:
➽ 3 Foolproof Layouts That Work for Any Genre
➽ 8 Cover Design Secrets Readers Can’t Resist
➽ 60 Fonts You Should Never Use on your Book Cover
➽ 7 Foolproof Design Strategies to Make your Cover Perfect
➽ The Best Free Online Graphic Software for Your Book Covers
➽ 300+ Recommended Fonts for Every Genre
➽ 5 Common Book Cover Myths Most Indie Authors Believe
➽ The Simple Tweak that Tripled my Book Sales
➽ How to Find the Best Art and Photos (that NOBODY else is using!)
Maybe you don’t have time to read a bunch of books, and are looking for fast solutions. You’re probably wondering whether the free package is good enough, or if it’s worth upgrading to the $47 offer. Real quick, here’s a summary of what you get access to when you sign up. Everything is hosted on the “Teachable” platform, which will give you life-time access to the course modules and downloadable template files. I keep it updated and my newer tutorials are the bomb. That said, I’m an ADHD racoon pirate and it’s impossible to keep everything updated.
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150 Book Cover Templates for MS Word
Open and edit the templates with Microsoft Word.
- Strip background
- Transparent layers
- Limitless fonts
- Blend layers
- Text effects
- Save PDF, convert to JPG
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Learn to DIY your own covers
Just in case you need them.
- Expert design
- Easy to customize
- Limitless functionality
- PSD files and font list
- Save to any format
- More flexibility
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3
Photoshop templates
Just in case you need them.
- Expert design
- Easy to customize
- Limitless functionality
- PSD files and font list
- Save to any format
- More flexibility
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4
Headers, ads and online graphics
Templates for Facebook and Twitter, image quotes for Pinterest, ad boxes and optin offers… we’ve got you covered.
- Adboxes
- Optin offers
- Headers and covers
- Promotional graphics
- Image quotes
- Facebook ads
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5
Full print cover templates
I’ll show you how to turn your cover into a full print cover.
- Calculate spine width
- Back copy that sells
- ISBN/barcode
- Author photo / bio
- Publishing imprint
- Print specs
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Business cards, bookmarks and postcards
Not just for the web!
- Postcards
- Bookmarks
- Business cards
- High quality print materials
- Professional image
- Marketing edge
FACT: Even a slightly better book cover can double or triple sales overnight.
Cut your marketing budget in half, spend less time on social media, and still sell more books – with a great cover.
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There’s way more stuff than you’ll ever need, but even a fraction of it could make a huge impact. The free package is full of information but it can be time-consuming. The paid package has a bunch of done for you templates, tools and time savers… not to mention the courses on book marketing and building an author platform. If you just want to throw up a book and don’t care about sales, go for the free package. If you hope to be a successful self-published author, then the $47 deal is the best offer on the internet, because it’ll help you avoid expensive mistakes. That said, if everything feels overwhelming and you need more support and guidance, check out the coaching offer, which is the only choice that comes with personal feedback.
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- Instructions and tutorial videos
- The best fonts and images
- Blend and combine layers
- Easy to edit templates
- No design skills required
- Amazon / Kindle ready
- Printable, high-resolution files
- Full print covers (spine and back)
- Compatible with all publishers
- 100% unique and custom
- Award-winning design
- Templates for all genres
- Much more than premade covers
- Includes promotional materials
- Pay once, make dozens of covers!
Smart people saying nice things…
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My cover templates are already a steal for $47 (other people charge more than that for a *single* template) but I have an obligation to try and sell stuff, even though it feels icky to me. It keeps the lights on so more authors can access my free tools. So if you grab the package deal today, I’m adding in some special bonuses, including my $297 course on book marketing. You’ll get help building your author platform, email list, getting more reviews and more.
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MS Word and InDesign Interior Formatting Layout Templates
Reach Your Readers (Author Platform Building)
(That’s over $671 worth of free bonuses, in case you are wondering).
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Get the free package of sample templates, 3+ hours of free cover design tutorials and 2 bonus guides.
- 15+ templates
- 3+ hours of tutorials
- Cover Design secrets (Guide)
- Publish on a Budget (Guide)
- Book Marketing is Dead (Guide)
A huge bundle of book cover templates & tutorials, plus bonus courses on editing, formatting, and building an author platform.
- 150+ cover design templates
- 30+ hours of book design tutorials
- Interior Formatting Templates
- Advanced Photoshop Tutorials
- Marketing Materials
- Reach Your Readers ($297 value)
Save a ton of time and get help now – I can help you avoid common mistakes and succeed faster, by making sure your book is perfect inside and out.
- Feedback On Your Cover
- Edit Your Blurb + Keywords
- Deep Critique of Your 1st Chapter
- A bundle of 6 courses
- 3 Months Coaching + Mentorship
“A rising tide lifts all boats.”
Even if you never buy anything from me, I want to make sure I do everything in my power to help your book succeed. So here are 3 free, full-length guides to help you out. Avoid promotion mistakes that can kill sales. Plug up the holes in your sales funnel so you’re not throwing money away. Learn how to advertise effectively (for less) and run powerful promotions. Make friends with key influencers who can sell thousands of copies. You don’t even need to give me your email – just click to download.
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