How to Create A Bestselling Book Cover on Wattpad

Guide to Finding 'The Picture', Websites to Use, and Copyright

Hey guys, this guide was published YEARS ago and as of April 25th 2019, there are huge changes.... ESPECIALLY in this chapter. If you've already read it, take another read. Lots more info, especially about COPYRIGHT.

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Have you ever seen the show 'Say Yes to the Dress'? If you have, you would know that people talk all the time about how they can feel it when they find their dress. They just know that it's the perfect one for them. The one that they were meant to have.

What does any of that have to do with cover making?

When you are searching for a picture, you will know when you find the one that is meant to go with your story. You'll stop, look at it a little bit, and then it hits you: this is the perfect cover for the story! That's really what it is about. You can't rush photo sesearching. Just go with it.

Just to note so it's right here for people... wattpad covers are 512X800

Now lets go over the basics... copyright.

It's something we don't necessarily want to think about, but should. When I first started on here.. heck, when I first wrote this guide, copyright wasn't a huge issue. This is just a place people come to have fun, and edited pictures are just kind of glanced over. It probably shouldn't be, but it was. Now, as more and more people get published on here, everyone should really be careful of what pictures they are using. We are going to go over the basics of copyright because honestly, it's SUPER important.

What is copyright?

Copyright is owning a photograph. It is property. When you own something, you have the right to reproduce, create, distribute, and display, as well as make money off of, said property however you see fit. But when you do not personally own the image, that's not the case. You have absolutely no right to it.

What is Creative Commons?

This is a type of licensing. With this, someone is granting another some of the rights of owning that photograph. This happens when photographers give images to magazines. They still own it, but you allow someone else to have some rights to it. There are a couple subcategories, or packages, if you will, for creative commons. Someone can allow an image to be used for commercial use, and require attribution (or not) to name two.

If you license a photo through creative commons, someone can use your photo for free but must also adhere to the licensing you choose. Here are the options:

Attribution: you can distribute, tweak, recreate, use commercially, just so long as you give credit to the artist.

Attribution non-commercial: someone can do everything above BUT they cannot use it commercially. There must also be attribution to the owner.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs: People can download the work and share them, but you have to credit the owner and you cannot change them in any way OR use them commercially.

What is fair use?

This is only here so you guys will know about it, because it's not something you'll be looking for, but you should be aware.

Fair use allows unauthorized use of copyrighted things to be used, but only for the benefit of society. It means in small amounts- like when someone reviews an essay, book, or movie of sorts. They take some things out of it as examples, but not enough to completely take the work. Again, you won't necessarily have to deal with that but I wanted to include it just in case you saw it anywhere and didn't know what it meant.